diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/functions/BaseNumberUtils.java b/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/functions/BaseNumberUtils.java
index ceb7b654d..41ec97e0f 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/functions/BaseNumberUtils.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/poi/ss/formula/functions/BaseNumberUtils.java
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ public class BaseNumberUtils {
 
 
     public static double convertToDecimal(String value, int base, int maxNumberOfPlaces) throws IllegalArgumentException {
-        if (value != null && value.length() != 0) {
+        if (value != null && value.length() == 0) {
             return 0.0;
         }