When companies first determine they need a formal compliance program, many are unclear if they need a compliance tool to manage it. Those that determine they do need a tool, often wrestle with the myriad of choices available in the market—many of which are expensive and time-consuming to implement. Not surprisingly, many organizations turn to Microsoft Excel as their compliance tool of choice when first undertaking a GRC program.
It makes a lot of sense. Excel is a widely used and pervasive spreadsheet tool. Just about everyone in the business is familiar with it and knows how to use it. Companies just starting their compliance journey often find that Excel is more than sufficient to help manage the initial steps on that journey.
But compliance is hard and complicated work and companies are often under intense pressure to demonstrate control over regulatory complexity. And while Excel may be a great fit when you first undertake a compliance program, eventually as your program scales, you may find that managing compliance by spreadsheet is crushing you.
Knowing when you need to make the leap to a more sophisticated compliance management process and a comprehensive GRC tool can make a huge difference in terms of audit costs and a pass or fail outcome. So, what are the signs that using Excel has become totally impractical? And how do you know when your program has outgrown Excel?
Learn “How to Choose a Compliance Management Tool” and common compliance pitfalls and how to avoid them for a smoother compliance journey.