WORK
computer skills
Hints and tips
Preventing spreadsheet-related financial meltdown
or helping UK plc save £2bn through improved
spreadsheet efficiency are all very well, but what
most Excel users really want is a killer tip that will
leave friends and colleagues gasping in
astonishment and admiration.
How to
Excel like a pro
se the F4 keyboard shortcut to cycle through
U
the available absolute and relative options for a
cell reference without having to type in the
$ signs.
Simon Hurst explains why Excel
matters and how you can sharpen
up your skills to get the best out
of your spreadsheets
ormat your numbers to include negatives in
F
red and with brackets and zeros as a dash
using the custom number format:
#,##0_);[Red](#,##0);-?:
Create a row of month ends by typing in the
first month end, dragging the fill handle to the
right and then using the fill options button to
choose Fill Months.
Spreadsheet background
As useful as Excel skills undoubtedly are,
they are often used when other techniques
or applications would do a better job. Even
when a spreadsheet is the correct choice,
unless properly structured and designed
they can be error-prone.
However, the challenge is not just
avoiding catastrophic failure but also
preventing the more insidious effect of
inefficiency.
Most spreadsheet users will know –
either from their own experiences or from
working with colleagues’ spreadsheets –
that an enormous amount of time can be
wasted if you are not aware of the
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many powerful shortcuts and tools that
Excel possesses.
A recent ACA student training webinar
covered a range of Excel skills. Several polls
were conducted during the one-hour
session. The graph below gives examples
of the results:
grasp of excel skills
22
46
%
24
33
C
onfident or very confident in the use
of PivotTables
F
ormally trained in using
spreadsheets efficiently
C
onfident in designing spreadsheets
to minimise the risk of errors
C
onfident in the creation of absolute
and relative cell references
Understanding the
fundamentals
As well as responding to specific questions
posed by students, the webinar at icaew.
com/listenagain covers some of the
fundamental skills and techniques that
underpin the safe and efficient use of Excel:
absolutes and relative formulae – using
$ signs in a cell reference in order to fix the
row and/or column that the formula refers
to when it is copied to other cells;
using Excel functions – using the Insert
Function button in the formula bar to
search for a function to solve a particular
problem and to find help and instructions
on how to use the function;
range names – naming cells and groups
of cells to make Excel formulae easier to
understand and to make it easy to refer to
constant values such as a tax rate; and
efficient use – using keyboard
shortcuts to work more efficiently in Excel.
ouble-click the fill handle of a cell to copy
D
it down to the end of a range.
In a chart, you can click on a column to select
one of several data series. If you then choose a
different chart type, such as a Line, that chart
type will be applied to that series only, giving
you a chart with mixed types.
Knowing what Excel can do
As well as possessing the appropriate Excel
skills, it’s also important to understand
what Excel is capable of, so you choose the
most appropriate technique to solve the
task in hand. The webinar included a brief
introduction to the use of PivotTables as a
means of analysing accounting data. It also
looked at the new Tables feature in Excel
2007 and 2010 and the use of Data
Validation and Protection to help make
spreadsheets more robust.
How can ICAEW help you
with Excel?
VITAL
iew the hour-long ACA training webinar
V
at icaew.com/listenagain
On page 8 of this edition of Vital you can
view our top 10 Excel shortcuts.
october 2012 vital
vital october 2012
FREE OFFER
Why Excel is important
Unlike some of the subjects that form part
of the exam syllabus, almost all accountants
are likely to spend significant parts of their
working lives using spreadsheets or being
responsible for information derived, in part
at least, from spreadsheets.
Given their prevalence throughout the
world of business and finance, it is perhaps
surprising that there is so little formal
education on how to use spreadsheets
safely and efficiently. A recent poll on the
ICAEW Excel Community forum showed
that more than 66% of those responding
had no such formal training and fewer than
10% had been given formal training before
entering employment.
Given this lack of formal education on
the use of spreadsheets, you can play
a significant part throughout your career in
helping organisations use spreadsheets
intelligently and more efficiently. Having
strong spreadsheet skills will certainly look
good on the CV – many employers ask for
general skills and often expertise in specific
subjects such as PivotTables.
12 months’ free membership
to the Excel community
If you want to develop your Excel skills
this resource from the ICAEW IT Faculty
is second to none. You have until
31 October 2012 to register for this free
offer, which is exclusive to Vital readers.
Email [email protected] quoting the
promotional code ITEXSJ along with
your full name and student number.
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