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Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance is always on the minds of IT Managers. SOX 404 has been introduced to improve financial control of internal reporting. Many organizations use simple, or complex, Excel spreadsheets to track data within the scope of an assessment of IT controls. These can sometimes be very difficult to control, and therefore pose some risk in remaining compliant with SOX. More often than not, organizations utilize spreadsheets or databases to provide critical data or calculations within SOX 404. Although spreadsheets can support complex calculations and offer flexibility, they often leave a lot of room for error.

Controls can be implemented to insure that your spreadsheets don’t get you in trouble and leave you out of compliance:

• Run a risk-based analysis to identify spreadsheet logic errors. There are automated tools that will help with this.
• Baseline your spreadsheet calculations
• Ensure changes to key calculations are properly approved

Also, automate or eliminate manual steps wherever possible to avoid human error.  Another tip is to reduce the number of controls your company needs to monitor and test by creating higher level controls. Often, especially within large operations, you will find that there is more than one way to perform the same function.  Simplify as much as possible to reduce the risk of error.

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