The Spreadsheet Problem: Why Excel Is the Biggest Red Flag in Your Organization

Why are spreadsheets such a common workaround?

Because they’re flexible, familiar, and fast. When a system can’t produce the level of detail an employee needs, Excel becomes the unofficial system of record.

What’s an example of a spreadsheet workaround?

One company used spreadsheets to create individual asset‑level production reports because their application only produced consolidated summaries. Leadership was satisfied with the high‑level view, but asset managers needed granularity—so they built their own reporting layer in Excel.

Why is this a problem?

Because once a spreadsheet becomes “the way we do things,” it becomes invisible to leadership and ungoverned by design.

What risks do spreadsheet workarounds create?

• No version control
• No audit trail
• Single‑point dependency
• Data integrity issues

What’s the most extreme spreadsheet example you’ve seen?

A product‑movement spreadsheet that was eight years old, so large it couldn’t even count its own rows. It held critical operational data going back to 2014—and existed nowhere else. The employee who relied on it called it “the beast.”

How do spreadsheets reveal deeper system issues?

When multiple people say, “I depend on a spreadsheet,” it signals that the official system is missing functionality, reporting, or usability.

What should organizations do?

Identify what the spreadsheet is doing that the system should be doing, then close the gap through configuration, reporting enhancements, or process redesign.

For more insights on spreadsheet risks and hidden processes, listen to What Counts by TrailBlazer Consulting, Episode 8.