Lean Accounting Series : Article 6 - Let Microsoft Excel not take away all the spotlight, reserve it for the true performer.

Use a tool wisely and cautiously

An accounting department uses accounting software to assist in the maintenance of books and Microsoft Excel which is a tool to assist in the preparation of accounts. It is often observed that the major reliance is always on the tool rather than the software. This excessive dependency roots from the ease of operating Excel and the liberty of manual massaging of the data. While the right usage of the tool can provide great assistance, the over usage and dependency leads to inefficiencies in the accounts department. The usage of a tool like Excel must be kept minimal to make mandatory changes to present the books of accounts in the required format. Automation must reflect in the maintenance and presentation of books, rather than maintaining all data manually and tweaking it as per convenience.

Excel is a great tool to provide assistance not replacement.