End User Computing Solutions

Michael Rose

Collins Barrow Durham Consultants Inc.

AGENDA

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1. End User Computing – What is it?

2. Key Problems with EUC

3. Solutions – Long Term (not our thing)

4. Solutions – Short Term (what we do)

5. Case Study – Share of Wallet Report

6. Referrals – who to talk to, what to look for

7. Questions

EUC – WHAT IS IT?

Typically Excel spreadsheets or Access databases

– Developed by End Users, not programmers

Often mission critical

– Fills gaps in company systems or reporting

Examples:

– Manipulate data downloaded from main business

systems, e.g. G/L, product system, ERP

– Financial statements, budgets, forecasts

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EUC – BENEFITS (fast & cheap)

Doesn’t require company IT resources

– No $ required

– No overhead (project plan, business case, business

spec, system spec, …)

Quick to develop new reports or applications

Easy to use; tools are already available

Can be done by staff with low to medium skill

level

Easy to make changes

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EUC – PROBLEMS

Key person risk – Only one person knows how to run

– No documentation

Original author has moved on– Applications now run by people who didn’t design

them, can’t fix them, and don’t know if the results make sense

Very manual– Many steps, easy to make mistakes

Time consuming to run – No time to understand results

– Deadline pressure leads to errors, employee burnout

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EUC – PROBLEMS

Prone to uncaught errors

– Easy to overtype formulas or miss a step

– Material reporting errors possible

Getting data to/from external systems can be

tricky

No management visibility

– Managers unaware of number and scope of mission

critical apps

– Leads to unexpected blow-ups, particularly if key

person leaves

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SOLUTIONS – LONG TERM

Comprehensive inventory of EUCs

Develop EUC policy and controls

Move critical EUCs into traditional IT framework

But …

– Costly, complex, and time consuming

– Difficult to implement

– Impractical in small-medium enterprises

– Doesn’t address immediate risks

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SOLUTIONS – SHORT TERM

Embrace EUCs

– They’re here to stay … make them better

Automate existing applications

– Eliminate most manual steps

– Use VBA to create macros, custom functions

Develop new, automated, easy-to-use applications

Create documentation

– User guide (step-by-step instructions)

– System documentation (how it was done)

– Comments in VBA macros to document programs

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COLLINS BARROW OFFERING

Engage “Super User” – Mike Rose

– Knows client’s business

– Automates processes (new and existing)

– Writes clear documentation

Process

– Review existing processes or new requirements

– Quote a fixed price for the work

– Work interactively with client to develop solution

– Document solution and train users

– Warranty work (fixes as required)

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CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT

Monthly report tracks sales to each customer

– System generated report shows sales for ALL

customers, broken down by product category

– Downloaded to Excel

Sales support team distributes report to Account

Reps (280+)

– Split into individual spreadsheets so Account Reps

see only their own customers

– Requires 6 hours of tedious work

No documentation

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ORIGINAL SYSTEM

CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT

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All inputs on a

single form

Go button

Automated Solution

CASE STUDY – SHARE OF WALLET REPORT

Download of monthly report as before

Automated Excel application – One spreadsheet per Account Rep

– New: One spreadsheet per Sales Manager showing all their Account Reps

– New: Flexibility to accommodate new or deleted columns in download report

– New: Automatic filtering and improved formatting and aggregation

Start to finish: 5 minutes– Savings of 6 x 12 = 72 hours/yr. ≈ $3,500 every year

User documentation provided

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AFTER AUTOMATION

WHO COULD USE THIS SERVICE?

Medium sized or larger clients– For profit or not-for-profit

Typically Finance or Operations area

Highly stressed employees (or managers)– Particularly around month/quarter/year end

What you often hear:– “I never have time to understand the reports”

– “Month ends are crazy around here”

Who we can help:– Using a lot of Microsoft Excel or Access

– Want to automate and document critical and time consuming apps

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CONTACT

Contact us today for a free assessment

Mike Rose, Associate Consultant

Collins Barrow Durham Consultants Inc.

1-866-392-5672 ext. 111

msrose@collinsbarrow.com

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