Excel Spreadsheet Security and Integrity

1. Spreadsheet Security. Review MS Excel/spreadsheet protection controls.

1. General Controls. Identify two general controls that may be used to protect spreadsheets. Explain how the identified controls ensure spreadsheet security. Hint: Search for “spreadsheet control best practices” or “spreadsheet security”.

 

1. Transparent design: A simple transparent format will aloow user and the end- users access to be simplified as everything will work in flow and will be easy to understand.
2. Managing input: Input can be managed by protecting the worksheet, workbook and entering data validation procedures.

 

1. Hoonuit Microsoft (MS) Excel Tutorials (Auto Protection Controls). Complete the Excel 2016: Protecting your Spreadsheets tutorials:

 

1. Protecting Your Spreadsheet: Worksheets and workbooks both can be protected using excel. When a file or spreadsheet is saved, the save as dialogue box opens and there is an option to go to the tool menu where password can be set to open and edit a worksheet or a workbook. They can be unprotected in the same way. We learn to lock and unlock specific cells where the data to be entered in the cells get limited. We can protect the structure of the workbook and mak the workbook as final which will allow the user to access it as read only.

 

1. Why do you think most spreadsheets exclude such controls? Discuss

 

Such password protection creates a risk of not being able to access the workbook/worksheet if the password is forgotten. Also not many users know about this function in Excel.

 

2. Spreadsheet Integrity. Review MS Excel/spreadsheet integrity controls.

1. Application Controls. Identify two application controls used to ensure spreadsheet integrity. Explain how the identified controls ensure spreadsheet data integrity. Hint: Search for “spreadsheet controls” or “spreadsheet integrity”.

 

1. There needs to be strong encryption of data allowing for greater safety and security of data as the spreadsheets do not have much control over the security.
2. There has to be a backup created so that the original data is protected and not altered or modified. A regular maintenance of network hardware for such back up is very important.

 

1. Hoonuit MS Excel Tutorials (Auto Validation Controls). Complete the Excel 2016: Evaluating Data tutorials: B. Data Validation (required)

 

This online training series focuses on how to create data validation rules when entering data into your sheet. We learn to specify data validation criteria, create data validation rule message and identify invalid data within a data validation range. We can create a data validation drop down menu so that only a selected set of data can be entered by users. We can also find the cells that contain the data validation rules and clear existing data validation rules.

 

1. Why do you think most spreadsheets exclude such controls? Discuss.

Such controls limit the use of the spreadsheet as only a limited number of data sets can be used disallowing for greater possibility of calculation and analysis.

 

3. Spreadsheet Testing. Review MS Excel/spreadsheet testing procedures.

1. Testing Procedures. Identify and explain two testing procedures that may be used to assess spreadsheet integrity. Explain how the identified controls ensure spreadsheet data integrity/security. Hint: Search for “spreadsheet testing” or “spreadsheet testing tools”.

 

1. Error checking: It contains three options that will identify the cells that contains errors such as #value! And help us to fix the formulas.

 

2. Evaluate formula: This option opens up a dialogue box that opens the complete formula applied and helps analyze the parts of a complex formula.

 

 

1. Hoonuit MS Excel Tutorials (Auto Testing Tools). Review automated testing functions such those integrated into MS Excel by completing Atomic Learning tutorials. Complete the Excel 2016: Frequently Used Formulas & Functions Training tutorials:

 

1. Auditing and Error Checking

 

Checking for simple errors is easy on Excel, we can display the formula using the show formula option. We can identify the precedent and dependent cells. We can check for errors when evaluating the formula.

 

1. Why do you think most users fail to test their spreadsheets? Discuss.

 

The error checking formulas and functions of spreadsheets are usually not suitable for all companies, only small companies with limited number of data a simple calculations can benefit from it.

 

4. Spreadsheet Compliance. Explain why spreadsheet control represents a significant Sarbanes-Oxley compliance concern for accounting professionals. Hint: Search for “spreadsheets and compliance” or “spreadsheets and Sarbanes Oxley.”

 

Sarbanes Oxley requires spreadsheets to be error free and consistent. Spreadsheets by nature are vulnerable to manual human errors and spreadsheet changes and modification, this stands in the way of compliance. For safety and security of data or to have it as a source, a backup add-on software may be required to keep up with the compliance.