[technology] excel
?
shutterstock.com
(Overview)
SUM()
NoMore
What is your No. 1 most-used Excel worksheet
function? Is it the SUM function? Believe it or
not, there’s s an Excel function that’s superior
to SUM and once you discover it, you’ll hardly
use SUM again.
I’m referring to the SUBTOTAL worksheet function and if you haven’t explored it yet, I would
strongly encourage you to play with it and use
it as a replacement for SUM. This function has
the ability to dramatically improve both the
accuracy and efficiency of your workbooks.
Ready to see it in action? Let’s get started.
By Jeff Lenning, CPA, CITP
12 C a l l i o p e | S u m m e r 2 0 1 1
wicpa.org
wicpa.org
Calliope|Summer 2011
13
Note:
Figure 1
If you’d like to play along, please feel
free to download the accompanying
Excel workbook from http://clickconsulting.
com/sum-no-more so you can work while
you read.
(arguments)
Do you know what
“function arguments” are?
Subtotal
Figure 2
I think using the word “always” is a bad
idea, so I’ll say this: I almost always use
the SUBTOTAL function instead of the
SUM function.
Why?
Figure 3
Figure 4
The key to the SUBTOTAL function is
that it excludes other SUBTOTAL functions in its range. I’ll restate this key point,
but this time, with feeling. The SUBTOTAL function excludes other SUBTOTAL
functions from its result. If the beauty of
that hasn’t settled in yet, let me illustrate.
Let’s consider a typical balance sheet. A
fairly standard approach to computing a
subtotal, such as the Fixed Assets subtotal,
is by using the SUM function, as shown in
cell C17 in Figure 1.
Now that the Fixed Assets subtotal is
computed, we’ll move down to the Total
Assets computation. A fairly standard approach is to write a formula that references
each individual cell to be included in the
total, as shown in cell C19 in Figure 2.
And that, my friend, is a fairly common
formula approach to preparing balance
sheets and other Excel reports.
So, what’s wrong with that?
The approach is inefficient and prone
to errors.
It is error-prone, because as soon as a
new item is inserted into the balance sheet,
such as Inventory, the balance sheet no
longer foots. And, thus, the Total Assets
formula must be updated or rewritten,
which is inefficient.
Let’s see why using SUBTOTAL instead
of SUM is a better approach. For the Fixed
Assets subtotal, rather than use the SUM
function, as we did in Figure 1, we’ll use a
SUBTOTAL function, as shown in cell C17
in Figure 3.
Now, instead of picking and choosing
which cells are included in Total Assets
as we did previously, we can simply use a
SUBTOTAL function to add up the entire
range of assets, as shown in cell C19 in
Figure 4.
If you are concerned that Fixed Assets will be double-counted, don’t be.
Remember, the key feature of the SUBTOTAL function is that it excludes all other
SUBTOTAL functions in its range. Thus,
it will not double-count Fixed Assets since
the Fixed Assets total was computed with
a SUBTOTAL function.
In our example above, the SUBTOTAL
function is used for Total Assets and all
other subtotals such as Fixed Assets.
As we insert new items, we know that
(1) the report will continue to foot and
(2) we won’t have to update the Total
Assets formula. As you can probably
tell, SUBTOTAL is a much better
approach than SUM functions in
many situations.
Jeff Lenning, CPA, CITP is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and trainer.
He provides Microsoft Excel and Access training to enterprise clients and provides
continuing education to CPAs on technology related topics including Excel and Access.
He is also president of Click Consulting, a technology consulting firm in Seal Beach,
Calif., which specializes in tech support, web-application development, and technology
training. Contact him at [email protected] or 562-430-5716.
14 C a l l i o p e | S u m m e r 2 0 1 1
wicpa.org
Function arguments are those values
or cell references placed between the
parentheses after the function name.
They are used by the function to compute
the results.
For example, the SUM function accepts
a function argument that represents the
range to sum.
The SUBTOTAL function has two
function arguments. The first argument
is a code (e.g., 9, 1,2) that tells the SUBTOTAL function what kind of math to use
(e.g., sum, average, count). The second
argument is the range.
9 is the only code I use and have
memorized, because I only use the
SUBTOTAL function for adding ranges.
So, all of my SUBTOTAL functions are
similar to the one used in Figure 4 above,
which follows:
=SUBTOTAL(9,C9:C18)
Where:
• 9 is the function_numcode
for add (sum)
• C9:C18 is the range to add
If instead of adding the range you want
to find the average of the range, you would
use 1 for the first argument, for example,
SUBTOTAL (1, range). For a list of all
function numbers, please refer to the Excel
help system.
PROFESSIONAL
LIABILITY
INSURANCE
Jeff Lenning, CPA, CITP will present, “Tools of the Trade: Excel and
Access Applications for Accountants in Industry”
on Oct. 17 at the WICPA Professional Development Center, Brookfield.
(better together)
In addition to making your reports more
bulletproof, try using the SUBTOTAL
function with filtered data.
When you enable Filters on a range,
you’ve probably noticed that the SUM
function includes all rows in the filtered
range, whether or not those rows are
visible. The SUBTOTAL function however, only includes rows that are visible in
filtered data tables, as demonstrated in cell
E29 in Figure 5.
Thus, using the SUBTOTAL function
in conjunction with filtered data allows
you to perform easy analysis and create
interactive reports.
I hope you’ll find as much use out of
the SUBTOTAL function as I have over
the years, and I hope that it enables you
to do your work more efficiently and
more accurately.
go
wicpa.org
Figure 5
Easy.
Affordable.
Outstanding
Coverage.
888-803-9898
4200 Commerce Court, Suite 102
Lisle, Illinois 60532
Now,
www.protexure.com
and SUM no more.
Calliope|Summer 2011
15