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Spreadsheets
Some years ago an accountant used
a ledger always. It typically consisted of a grid of rows and columns with data
written in them. Today, it is probably replaced by a video screen also with rows
and columns of information. In the latter case the accountant has obviously
moved to the more modern electronic spreadsheets, of which a common product in
the market today is LOTUS 1-2-3.
The principal advantage of using
spreadsheets will now be examined. Like in the case of the word processor for
words, a spreadsheet makes the use of figures i.e. numbers easier. Everybody has
experienced sometime a case when a long calculation has been undertaken and
finally it is discovered that one of the values has changed for a parameter used
in the formula.
A more concrete example could be
the case of a sales manager trying to project the commission applicable to his
sales personnel and hence the net revenue from his region. The commission is a
variable and also depends on how much the concerned personnel sold. In such
cases, the sales manager would do well to use a spreadsheet, to analyses the
effect of various commission values for various slabs of results from his
personnel and put up his proposal to the senior management.
A spreadsheet is an arrangement of
rows and columns, the intersection of which forms cells where numbers, formulae
or 'labels' (a label is neither a formula nor a number, it is just a title or
description) can be inserted. The package can typically do all sorts of
computations on the numbers entered, depending on the formulae you give or the
functions you use. And of course the effects of 'what if' situations can be
studied, like the previous example of the sales manager. A spreadsheet can also
allow you to see the data in the form of graphs. Microsoft has its product
MS-EXCEL as the spreadsheet in its suite of office automation software.
