ABSTRACT
Spreadsheets are flexible and accessible. They allow people to use control techniques that would not be available economically any other way. Spreadsheet tightening or replacement is applicable to virtually any computerized spreadsheet, but especially to ones that are important. It implements mathematical techniques incorrectly and, for example, incorrect net present value discounting is common. Computer supported authorizations for example, decisions by a lending company on whether to lend to a potential customer are often computer supported, even to the point where many decisions are entirely automated. Discrepancy searching is useful in computer supported authorizations and other checks on data. It is also one of the primary tools of a recovery/cleansing project. Unfortunately, it is used for large financial decisions and incorporating net present value calculations are in this category. The authorizations might be easier with computer supported authorizations, perhaps using discrepancy searching and/or anomaly searching to highlight potential problems.
