Does Anti-austeriry really annoy anyone else?

Sysmod

We've discussed this on the yahoogroup of the European Spreadsheet Risk Interest Group, of which I'm the current chair. Here's my summary of The Spreadsheet Error Heard Round the World.
I'll leave out the details as so many web sites have covered this story.

1) The authors did not catch the error, and only when they released the spreadsheet did others find it.
Lesson: review by a different pair of eyes can catch errors before they cause loss or embarrassment.
"Peer review" is the gold standard in academic research, and the best self-protection for business users of spreadsheets.
Here's a story from Edward Krudy of Reuters quoted in the Toronto Star: the person who checked the R&R study also checked their own work:

http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/04/18/student_finds_glaring_spreadsheet_errors_in_study_used_to_justify_budget_slashing.html
Student finds glaring spreadsheet errors in study used to justify budget slashing
“I almost didn’t believe my eyes when I saw just the basic spreadsheet error,” said Herndon, 28. “I was like, am I just looking at this wrong? There has to be some other explanation. So I asked my girlfriend, ‘Am I seeing this wrong?’” His girlfriend, Kyla Walters, replied: “I don’t think so, Thomas.”


2) Like most spreadsheet creators, they possibly did not realise at the start how important it would become; in their case, frequently cited in support of austerity and arguably the cause of more grief to the world at large than other problems that have merely cost millions. (See www.eusprig.org/horror-stories.htm )
Lesson: The more important something is, the more care you have to take with it.

3) Technically, the error could have been spotted by simple tests, such as pressing Ctrl+[ on a formula to show what cells feed into the total.
There are many software tools, such as XLTEST, to point out structural flaws.
There is much guidance on safer spreadsheet construction, books such as "Spreadsheet Check and Control", "Spreadsheet Safe", etc.
In the business world, common checks include cross-total balances and reconciliations.

Eusprig papers are published at
http://www.eusprig.org/conference-abstracts.htm
Our Annual Conference will be in Greenwich on 4-5 July 2013.
http://www.eusprig.org/annual-conference.htm

Mr Tibbs

The Sunday Time's rich list for Ireland makes for interesting reading. The super rich are getting richer there is even a headline stating the economy is improving. Glad to see that life is so rosy in D4. Austerity my arse.

Fr_Fitzexactly

Mr Tibbs wrote: »

The Sunday Time's rich list for Ireland makes for interesting reading. The super rich are getting richer there is even a headline stating the economy is improving. Glad to see that life is so rosy in D4. Austerity my arse.

Thats it. Rich lads are hiring cheap Chinese workers and robots to make stuff for half nothing and sell back to us till we have nothing left