Microsoft Excel is expensive, derivative and depressing. The 40-year-old spreadsheet software might also be the most killer app of all time, Max Chafkin argues

Ex M&A banker speaking: every major M&A deal you heard about in your lifetime was backed by a financial model created in Excel. To this day, it is THE tool used in the global financial industry. Other tools like Bloomberg Terminal, Factset, CapitalIQ provide inputs for Excel. Excel is where everything comes together. A key benefit of Excel is that it enables easy audits and breaks down what can be black boxes.

@chafkin In big companies, it should probably be a prohibited piece of software, because it’s just a crutch for poorly designed processes and software…🙈

@chafkin Don’t forget VisiCalc !

@chafkin Lotus 123. Wysiwyg

@chafkin Agree. Excel is critical for enterprise use. I’m hopeful this can all be automated via AI at some point… it will be a huge advancement in technology and free up so much time for everyone working with spreadsheets to more strategic stuff.

@chafkin the app is wonderful, the things you do with it is derivative and depressing