On June 2014, the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) launched its “20 Principles for Good Spreadsheet Practice”, at its headquarters in London. The Principles provide essential guidance across all aspects of effective spreadsheet use. They encapsulate decades of hard-won professional experience. They are a valuable body of work that advances the professionalism, commercial efficiency and effective risk management of spreadsheet modelling.
The FAST Standard Organization has created a short video that gives a good overview of the ICAEW event and introduces the principles.
The ICAEW was founded in 1880 and has offices in London, Brussels, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. It has more than 142,000 members worldwide. It provides qualifications and professional development, but also has a strong alumnus that brings thought leadership to the fields of accounting, finance and business.
During the presentation of the principles, Richard Anning, Head of ICAEW IT Faculty, said, “Poorly designed spreadsheets can cost businesses time and money but we believe that use of these principles will help organisations reduce risk and improve efficiency of spreadsheet use”.
Small and large businesses can lose money if they use poorly designed spreadsheets that lack basic components like integrity check, proper structuring and documentation. It is important to follow principles that will help your firm reduce spreadsheet risk and save time and money by avoiding critical errors.
You can download and read the 20 Principles for Good Spreadsheet Practice by clicking here.
ICAEW recommends that firms should adopt a standard and officially recognized FAST modeling Standard in their document. As of January 2016, Financial Arena is of the first accredited training providers globally to provide training for the FAST Modeling Standard Certificate. The FAST Modeling standard is an international recognized methodology in financial modelling that is used by major firms in their modelling assignments. (you download the FAST Standard or visit our page about FAST Standard).