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The spreadsheet application (like MS Excel), which first wowed business users with its solid graphics, fast processing, and versatility, has held its position as the indispensable software for finance executives for 36 years.
This workhorse of finance has lasted so long and become so ingrained in everyday work that many question — despite at least three or four revolutions in IT infrastructure since its birth — whether Excel could ever be replaced.
“Everyone in finance uses Excel from their first day of work to wherever their career takes them. It’s familiar, and it’s intuitive; it’s also scalable,” says Tim Beauchamp, director of finance at communications agency Cognito.
“Excel offers all you need for most analyses and also offers something to the novice,” Beauchamp adds. At Cognito, which boasts more than half a dozen offices globally, Excel is critical for budgeting and forecasting, analysis of the company’s accounts, and evaluating and reporting underlying performance.
“It’s also nimble enough to be able to respond to the less routine occasions when insights need to be presented numerically or graphically” to people outside finance, says Beauchamp.
Unlike software that has become stale or outdated with the ubiquity of internet access and the increased role of analytics, Excel has evolved with the times.
“Microsoft has continued to listen to customers and support their program,” says Michael Poveda, a partner at accounting firm UHY LLP. “A lot of applications are left by the wayside and stop getting supported by their parent companies in favor of newer intellectual properties.”
Microsoft also continues to update and improve Excel, adding valuable features like 2020’s XLOOKUP function, which allows users to run searches within a table of data more efficiently.
For those demanding users who want a function not yet available, there is also the option to “customize” Excel, says Samantha Louise, CFO and co-founder of digital marketing firm Versus. “You’re not restricted by a software package’s programmed limitations,” she says.
