THE VARIOUS TYPES OF SPREADSHEET PROGRAMS - Essay Example

The success or failure of a business institution depends solely on the way it handles accounting. Accounting systems are responsible for analyzing and monitoring the financial condition of companies, preparation of documents necessary for tax purposes, providing information support to many other organizational functions, and so on. The origin of spreadsheets is primarily in the context of accounting applications having major uses with cashflow analysis, budgeting and planning. Its origins began primarily in the context of accountancy applications, which to this day still represent one of the spreadsheets major uses with cashflow analysis, budgeting and planning typical of such applications.

Indeed, despite its versatility and use across a range of academic disciplines, the spreadsheet is largely viewed as a business tool with applications covering general administration, sales and marketing, manpower analysis, resource allocation, operational analysis and strategic planning, to name a few [2]. The spreadsheets are used both by highly skilled specialists to generate complex business reports as well as by beginners for routine low-level applications who are unaware of the real potential of spreadsheets.

Earlier research by Pemberton and Robson (1995) concluded that, while the spreadsheet has become a natural feature of the business landscape, extent of usage is only one, albeit limited, performance measure with which to illustrate spreadsheet proliferation in business. In many cases, claims of expertise revolve around only the simplest of features, often at the lower end of the skills hierarchy [3]. Evolution of spreadsheets: Spreadsheets came into market in 1979 with the introduction of VisiCalc, the software allowing personal computer users the flexibility to perform simple operations without recourse to a mainframe computer.

However, the specific term “spreadsheet” dates back with its earliest