past present future
Mastering financial planning means balancing the , and .
Companies that draw lessons from the past, take well-informed and decisive action in the present, and maintain a forward-looking approach are more likely to achieve profitability.
Unfortunately, many companies struggle with an imbalance that jeopardizes their financial health.
Jonas is one of many CFOs who is facing this particular struggle.
He feels increasingly stressed as the finance department constantly lags behind, overwhelmed by endless streams of manual processes and repetitive tasks.
He has nagging doubts about the company’s operations and worries that relying solely on spreadsheets isn't meeting their needs.
But he can’t see a way to break free from the web of old habits, cumbersome systems, and person-dependent processes.
Not on the same page: Outdated systems that don’t integrate, spreadsheet chaos, and fragmented data are hindering effective management and decision-making.
Silos, versioning chaos, and frequent errors lead to disputes over the numbers and reports meant to inform critical decisions.
On top of that, the company's CEO has introduced a new vision and strategy that demands significant investments and a full-scale reorganization.
This leaves Jonas even more anxious. The fragmented systems with integration issues make it impossible to determine whether there’s enough liquidity to support such an initiative.
Knowing that running out of cash is the greatest threat to the company’s survival, Jonas must take action.
He initially tries to assess the situation on his own, but soon discovers that all roads in the spreadsheets lead to…
Ron. The finance department’s elder statesman and the undisputed King of Spreadsheets.
He’s a true master of every type of spreadsheet software and has decades of unrivalled expertise in every spreadsheet created by the company since 1988.
#REF! Metal: Ron is a passionate fan of metal music. It's not just the sound he appreciates, but the complexity and skill it demands from its musicians, which he deeply admires and relates to.
From his office, he manages several older PCs filled with thousands of important spreadsheets in various file formats—a jungle only he can navigate.
Spreadsheet Raiding & Excavation: When spreadsheets bring the company to its knees and numbers go missing, Ron taps into his inner Spreadsheet Raider. With meticulous excavations, he fights wild formulas and unruly cells to unearth lost numbers.
Unfortunately, the stability and integrity of his Spreadsheet Empire are so delicate that he can't allow anyone to tamper with even a single cell, fearing it could trigger the mother of all formula errors.
Though he won’t admit it, all the talk of digitalization has made him uneasy, fearing that his skills might become obsolete… and that he may have to abdicate as the Spreadsheet King.
The problem with Spreadsheet Kings: Though they are exceptionally skilled and can work wonders with spreadsheets, they leave the company vulnerable because there's only so much one person can manage alone.
Anxiety and stress have peaked, and Jonas is more concerned than ever about the company’s future.
But his worries are interrupted by frustrated shouts from the office of the new Financial Controller, Sara.
Sara has reached her breaking point. The spreadsheet chaos is making it impossible for her to manage budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, and investments.
Time lost to spreadsheets: Sara wants to use her skills to provide financial advice and analysis to the organization. Unfortunately, she spends nearly all her time just gathering and maintaining data across multiple spreadsheets.
She explains how person-dependent processes slow the work to a crawl, and how difficulties in consolidating data from various sources leave her never fully confident in the numbers.
Jonas sees that Sara is both capable and motivated to address these issues, and they agree to work together with Ron to improve the situation.
Sara wastes no time and marches straight into Ron’s office.
But this isn’t the first time someone has tried to tame Ron’s spreadsheets.
From the outset, Sara’s determination is tested. The more she uncovers and reviews the access and procedures, the more overwhelmed she feels.
As Sara attempts to consolidate the data amid the chaos, cells, formulas, and systems begin to clash… and the Spreadsheet Raider Ron must come to her rescue.
Then, amid the turmoil, the very scenario Jonas feared begins to unfold as the CEO show up, looking less optimistic about his strategy.
The Board is demanding detailed data and forecasts for various scenarios arising from the new strategy.
Jonas and his team need to quickly generate thorough calculations on potential outcomes of the new pricing structure, restructuring, development investments, sales figures etc.
Panic sets in. A frantic Jonas tells Ron and Sara to drop everything and start crunching the numbers.
But Sara decides that this is the last straw. Something has to change about the spreadsheet tyranny.
