Ray Panko:

Is Professor of Information Technology Management in the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii, he has conducted groundbreaking research into human error rates and spreadsheets.

Panko has collected evidence for spreadsheet error rates, based on field audits by organisations such as Coopers and Lybrand, KPMG, and HMCE (the UK's Customs and Excise department). Of 54 spreadsheets audited between 1997 and 2000, no fewer than 49 were found to contain significant errors - a defect rate of 91 per cent.

He also maintains a spreadsheet Research (SSR) website is a repository for research on spreadsheet development, testing, use, and technology.

“Initially, spreadsheet research focused on errors, including typing errors, pointing errors, logic errors, and omission errors. More recently, regulatory compliance pressures have focused a great deal of attention on how corporations are doing financial reporting and other critical corporate processes. What they are finding is lots of spreadsheets, often hundreds arranged in manually-operated webs. Suddenly, spreadsheet error and security research is no longer "just academic."

For further information check out http://panko.shidler.hawaii.edu/ssr/

Patrick O'Beirne:

Is the managing director of Systems Modelling Ltd and he is an Expert Advisor to the European Commission and a member of the European Spreadsheets Risks Interest Group (EuSpRiG). He is a frequent speaker at international conferences on spreadsheet risk controls.

There's an amazingly overlooked iceberg of problems in end-user computing. Spreadsheets are developed by people who are very skilled in their main job function, be it finance, procurement, or production planning, but often have had no formal training in spreadsheet use. Recent spreadsheet applications are so laden with wizard tools that users believe all they have to do is find a function that will do the work for them without requiring any thought on their part.

Apart from the direct costs of mistakes, there are inefficiencies from less-than-optimal decisions being made on poorly constructed models, embarrassment and loss of reputation, and unwanted regulatory attention.

Think of the important decisions made in your company supported by spreadsheets - have these models been tested or reviewed? Do you have internal standards for spreadsheet development? We all know that people make mistakes. Yet end users and their managers have the over-confident belief that their work is perfect - because they do not check. IT auditors focus on mainstream information systems but regard spreadsheets as user problems, outside their concerns.

For further information check out http://www.sysmod.com/spreads.htm