Mike and Iris were reviewing the asset valuation worksheets that had been collected from all the company managers. "Iris," Mike said after a few minutes, "the problem, as I see it, is that no two managers gave us answers that can be compared to each other's. Some gave only one value, and some didn't actually use a rank order for the last part.
In fact, we don't know what criteria were used to assess the ranks or even where they got the cost or replacement values." "I agree," Iris said, nodding. "These values and ranks are really inconsistent. This makes it a real challenge to make a useful comprehensive list of information assets. We're going to have to visit all the managers and figure out where they got their values and how the assets were ranked."
Discussion
1. If you could have spoken to Mike Edwards before he distributed the asset valuation worksheets, what advice would you have given him to make the consolidation process easier?
2. How would you advise Mike and Iris to proceed with the worksheets they already have in hand?