The system went live in March. The spreadsheet still decides.

When a shadow spreadsheet survives a system implementation, it is rarely defiance: it is usually a diagnosis of the system, and worth reading as one.

By Steve 5 min read
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A system goes in. Data is migrated, users are trained, the vendor’s implementation consultant signs off, and the project is closed. Eleven months later, the weekly management meeting still opens with someone reading numbers off a spreadsheet that lives on one person’s laptop. Nobody defends this arrangement. Everybody uses it. The instinct is to treat the spreadsheet as a discipline problem: people who won’t let go of the old way. That reading is usually wrong, and it is expensive to be wrong about, because it points at training and mandates…

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Important: General information only. Rialto Bridge articles describe patterns and considerations that may apply to a business; they are not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice, and they take no account of your particular circumstances. Consider your own situation and seek advice from a qualified professional before acting.

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