Chapter 1 Use excel to do quantitative analysis (numerical analysis) Know what rows, columns, etc. are What are the things you want to keep in mind when creating a workbook

(planning, etc.)? Three different data types used in excel: Dates, Numbers, Text Why is it important to know the difference between those On first tab create documentation tab telling people how to use it, what its

about, etc. Introducing Excel

Spreadsheet: collection of text and numbers laid out in rectangular grid (used in business for budgeting, inventory management, decision making)

What-if-analysis: when you change one or more values in a spreadsheet and assess the affect those changes have on the calculated values

Use excel to store data, generate reports, analyze data Workbook can have two types of sheets:

o Worksheet: contains grid of rows and columns where user enters data o Chart sheet: contains Excel chart providing visual representation of

worksheet data Having multiple sheets allow you to better organize data in the workbook Cell reference: the column and row location identifying each cell in the

worksheet (ex. B6) Can move directly to a specific cell using the “Go To” dialog box or by typing

in a cell reference in the Name box Planning a Workbook

Should develop a plan before entering data into workbook Use a planning analysis sheet:

1. What problems do I want to solve? The answer defines the goal or purpose of the workbook.

2. What data do I need? The answer defines the type of data that you need to collect and enter into the workbook.

3. What calculations do I need to enter? The answer defines the formulas you need to apply to the data you’ve collected and entered.

4. What form should my solution take? The answer defines the appearance of the workbook content and how it should be presented to others.

Entering Text, Numbers and Dates

Text data: any combination of letters, numbers and symbols that form words and sentences

Number data: any numerical value that can be used in a mathematical calculation

Date and Time data: formats for date and time values (left-aligned) AutoComplete: helps make entering repetitive text easier (does not work

with dates or numbers) To make two lines of text in a cell press Alt key while pressing Enter Date as numerical value: number of days between date and January 0, 1900 Storing dates/times as numerical values lets excel perform date/time

calculations (ex. Determining elapsed time between two dates) Working with Columns and Rows

To make cell content easier to read, resize columns and rows in worksheet Default column width: 8.43 standard-sized characters (64 pixels) Default row height: 15 points (20 pixels) Can define specific column width/row height using Format command When insert new column, has same width as one to its left When insert row, has same height as row above it Clearing: removes data from worksheet leaving blank cells Deleting: removes data and cells from worksheet

Working with Cells and Ranges

Range reference: indicates location and size of a cell range Adjacent ranges: upper-left and lower-right cells in rectangle (ex. A1:G5) Non-adjacent range: separate each adjacent range by semi-colon (ex.

A1:A5;F1:G5) Drag and drop: select range and drag it to new location Cutting: places cell contents on to Clipboard so can paste to new location When insert cells, existing cells shift down when selected range is wider than

it is long, shift right when longer than it is wide Working with Formulas

Operators: combine different values resulting in single value Arithmetic operators: perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

and exponentiation Formulas contain cell references so you can change value without having to

modify formula Order of precedence: set of predefined rules used to determine sequence in

which operators applied in calculation (BEDMAS) Can copy formulas down a row to save time and avoid potential mistakes in

retyping same formula over and over Introducing Functions

Function: named operation that returns a value (used to simplify formulas) Less likely to make a mistake (ex. =SUM(F1:F10)) Avoid putting data values within formulas, make an outside cell reference

Break up formulas to show other people all the sums calculated in separate places instead of one formula so they can better understand final result

AutoSum can quickly generate: o Sum of values in column/row (SUM) o Average value in column/row (AVERAGE) o Total count of numeric values in column/row (COUNT) o Minimum value in column/row (MIN) o Maximum value in column/row (MAX)

Editing Worksheet Content

Use Find & Select button to replace certain things in workbook with different things

Search string: string of characters you need to locate to change Replacement string: new text characters that replace the previous characters

Previewing and Printing a Workbook

Normal view: shows contents of worksheet Page Layout view: shows how worksheet will appear when printed Page Break Preview: shows location of different page breaks within

worksheet (can control what content appears on what page) Can change worksheet from portrait to landscape orientation to print entire

worksheet on one page Formula view: view of worksheet contents that displays formulas instead of

resulting values (use Ctrl + ‘) Scaling: reduces width and height of printout to fit number of pages by

shrinking text size Chapter 5

No questions about Pivot Charts only tables

Structured range of data a bunch of records/fields that represent some set of data

We use tables to be more organized, automatic, use names of columns in references

Sorting, filtering of subtotals

Use pivot tables to categorize things more and analyze at a higher level

Looking at more summarized data Planning a Structured Range of Data

More common use of worksheet is to manage data (lists of clients, products, transactions)

Can store/update data, sort, search/retrieve data, summarize, create reports Structured range of data is a list or table

Data definition table: documentation that lists fields to be maintained for each record and description of info each field will include

Freezing: keeps the headings of a row/column visible while scrolling down the worksheet

Makes it easier to identify data in each record Creating an Excel Table

Excel table makes it easier to identify, manage and analyze groups of related data

Productive and error reducing table features: o Add new rows/columns to table that automatically expand range o Add Total row to calculate summary function (ex. SUM, COUNT, MAX) o Enter formula in one cell that is automatically copied to all other cells

in that table column o Create formulas that reference cells in a table by using table/column

names instead of cell addresses Can assign specific name to table making it easier to identify table by content Table names must start with letter or underscore and cannot include spaces Check boxes in Table Style Options on Design tab can remove/add elements

and change formatting of table (ex. Display/hide header row) Maintaining Data in an Excel Table

Use Find command to locate a record and edit data in this field Sorting Data

Can sort the data in the column you want by using it as the sort field Ascending order: arranges text from A-Z, smallest to largest, oldest to newest Descending order: arranges from Z-A, largest to smallest, newest to oldest Sometimes need to sort more than one column (should use Sort dialog box) Primary sort field: first sort field Secondary sort field: second sort field (etc.…) Can use up to 64 sort fields in a single sort Custom list: indicates the sequence in which you want the data ordered Predefined custom sort lists: two days-of-the-week, two months-of-the-year Use Sort & Filter group on Data tab, click Sort, click Order arrow then Custom

List, enter each entry for custom list, click Add Filtering Data

Filtering data temporarily hides any records that do not meet specific criteria In excel table, each column header has a filter arrow Can filter column of data by: cell colours/font colours; specific text, number,

data; or by selecting exact values you want to filter in column Can filter using Begins With, Ends With and Contains operations Ex. “Begins with Sm” would show all records beginning with “Sm”

Can further filter data; each additional filter applied to currently filtered data AND condition requires all of selected criteria be true for record to be

displayed (ex. “Category equals Painting” AND “Condition equals Poor”) OR condition requires only one of selected criteria be true for record to be

displayed (ex. “Category equals Installation” OR “Category equals Sculpture”) Criteria filters: enable you to specify various conditions in addition to those

that are base on “equals” criterion Ex. All art objects valued greater than $20,000 acquired after 7/1/2011 Filtering limits data enabling you to more effectively analyze data Use Sort dialog box to perform more complex sort

Using the Total Row to Calculate Summary Statistics

Can calculate summary statistics (sum, average, count, max, min) on all columns in Excel table or on filtered table

Click “Total Row” in Table Style Options group on Table Tools Design tab Can split worksheet window into two or four separate panes (use Split) Can easily view data from several areas of worksheet at same time To create two panes: select cell in row 1 or column A To create four panes: select any other cell

Inserting Subtotals

Summarize data in a range by inserting subtotals Subtotal command: inserts subtotal row into the range for each group of data

and adds grand total below last row Must sort data before using Subtotal command (because inserts subtotals

wherever value in specified field changes) Subtotal command cannot be used in Excel tables Subtotal feature also outlines worksheet to control level of detail displayed Level 3: individual records, subtotals and grand total (most detail) Level 2: subtotals and grand total Level 1: only the grand total

Analyzing Data with PivotTables

PivotTables help organize data into meaningful summaries Must specify which fields in data source you want to summarize Value fields: fields containing summary data Category fields: fields that group values in PivotTable (condition, location,

year acquired, etc.) Category fields used as row labels, column labels and report filters Can easily hide, rearrange and display different categories in table Best to create a layout of how you want PivotTable to look before Great way to summarize data to help support specific points Can display data as percentages of totals (useful for comparing product sales

with total sales/comparing expense categories to total expenses)

Creating a PivotTable Must specify where to find data for PivotTable (ex. Excel table/range) Specify whether to place in new or existing worksheet If in existing worksheet must specify cell that upper-left corner will be in Place fields from field list (from table) into four areas:

o Report Filter: field used to filter report by selecting one or more items, enabling you to display subset of data in PivotTable report

o Row Labels: fields you want to display as row (one row displayed for each unique item, can have nested row fields)

o Column Labels: fields you want to display as columns (one column displayed for each unique item, can have nested column fields)

o Values: fields you want to summarize Default: uses SUM function for numbers in Values area, uses COUNT function

for text/nonnumeric values (can change this to whatever function you need) Can view data in different ways by rearranging fields Compact report layout: places all fields from row area in single column and

indents item from each field below outer fields Outline report layout: each field in row area takes column in table (shows

subtotals for each group at the top of every group) Tabular report layout: displays one column for each field and leaves space for

column headers (total appears at bottom of each group) Filtering a field lets you focus on subset of items in that field (like in table) Can sort PivotTable like you sort an Excel table Can hide field headers and expand/collapse buttons in Show group options Slicer: provides quicker and easier way to filter PivotTable

Refreshing a PivotTable

Cannot change data directly in PivotTable Edit data in Excel table Must refresh PivotTable to reflect updated data

Grouping PivotTable Items

Can combine items in rows of PivotTable when field contains numbers, dates or times

Allow you to analyze data by different levels of summarization (Ex. Days, months, years, etc.)

Use Group Field command in PivotTable Options Chapter 7

How many arguments are required What do those arguments mean Nesting is a function inside a function to get them to do different things Conditional: going to format this differently IF something…

Working with Logical Functions Logical functions like IF, AND, OR determine whether condition is true/false When enter formula in one cell of column, formula is automatically copied to

all cells in column Can edit formula in any cell in column and all cells in column will be modified Can customize formula in one cell but then new edits will not be

automatically copied to rest of column Using the IF Function

Sometimes value stored in a cell depends on certain conditions IF function: logical function that evaluates a condition and returns one value

if condition is true and another if it is false =IF(logical_test,[value_if_true],[value_if_false]) logical_test: condition that is true or false value_if_true: value returned by function if condition is true value_if_false: value returned by function if condition is false

Using the AND Function

Sometimes need to test two or more conditions and test if all are true AND function: logical function that returns the value TRUE if all logical

conditions are true and FALSE if any or all of logical conditions are false =AND(logical1[,logical2,]…) logical1 and logial2: conditions that can be true or false Can use up to 255 logical conditions in an AND function Nested functions: when results of one function are used as argument of

another function Ex. =IF(AND(G2=”FT”,M2>1),K2*0.03,0)

Using the OR Function

OR function: logical function that returns TRUE value if any of logical conditions are true and FALSE value if all of logical conditions are false

=OR(logical1[,logical2,]…) logical1 and logical2: conditions that can be true or false Can nest IF function inside OR function as well to identify what happens

when OR function is true/false Using Structured References to Create Formulas in Excel Tables

Can replace specific cell/range address in a formula with structured reference (actual table name or column header)

Structured references: make it easier to create formulas that use portions or all of Excel tables because names/headers usually simpler to identify than cell addresses

To reference entire column of data in table: Tablename[qualifier] Tablename: name entered in Table Name box for table wanted to be used

Qualifier: column header Fully qualified: =IF(Employee[Add Life Ins]=”Y”,Employee[Annual

Salary]*0.001,0) Unqualified: =IF([Add Life Ins]=”Y”,[Annual Salary]*0.001) Must use fully qualified if outside of worksheet

Creating Nested IFs

Nested IF function: when one IF function is nested in another (so can have more than just two options)

Ex. =IF([Pay Grade]=1,2500,IF([Pay Grade]=2,5000,7500)) Reference cells in a formula to quickly update calculations without having to

edit formula Common Excel Errors

Syntax error: error in a statement that violates rules of Excel (ex. Unmatched parentheses or required argument omitted from function)

Logic error: formulas that work but return incorrect result (ex. Formula uses wrong calculation, references wrong cell, uses faulty reasoning)

Using Lookup Tables and Functions

Lookup functions: allow you to use tables of data to “look up” values and insert in another worksheet location

Lookup table: stores data you want to retrieve and organizes it in different categories

Compare values: categories for lookup table (lookup value must match one of these)

Exact match lookup: value entered must match one of values in first column of lookup table

Approximate match lookup: value entered falls within range of values in first column of lookup table

Using the VLOOKUP Function to Find an Exact Match

VLOOKUP function: searches a lookup table and retrieves appropriate value =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]) lookup_value: value you want to use to search first column of lookup table table_array: range reference of lookup table or table name col_index_num: number of column in lookup table that contains value you

want to return range_lookup: indicates whether compare values are range of values (approx.

match) or exact match (use TRUE for approximate and FALSE for exact) Using the VLOOKUP Function to Find and Approximate Match

Categories in first column/row of lookup table can represent range of values (Ex. Quantity discounts, shipping charges, income tax rates)

Approximate match lookup: determines whether lookup value falls within range of values

Each row in first column of table represents low end of category range Excel searches first column of table until it locates largest value less than

lookup value then move across row to retrieve value Compare values must be in alphabetical/low-to-high order

Looking Up Values Using the HLOOKUP Function

HLOOKUP function: searches horizontally across top row of lookup table and retrieves value in column specified

Used when comparison values located in first row of table and want to look down row

=HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num, [range_lookup]) lookup_value: value you want to search in first row of lookup table table_array: range reference of lookup table or table name row_index_num: number of row in lookup table that contains value you want range_lookup: whether compare values are approx. or exact match (True is

for approximate, FALSE is for exact) Major difference between HLOOKUP and VLOOKUP: the way lookup table

is organized (i.e. more rows than columns or more columns than rows) Using the IFERROR Function

Error values: indicate some element in formula/cell reference in formula preventing excel from returning calculated value

Error value begins with “#” and then error name (not very descriptive/helpful)

IFERROR function: can determine if a cell contains an error value and display message you choose rather than default

=IFERROR(expression, valueIfError) expression: formula you want to check for an error valueIfError: message you want displayed if Excel detects area in formula Allows you to easily find and handle formula errors

Conditional Formatting

Changes a cell’s formatting when contents match specified condition Designed to make searching data range simple and efficient Can see if values in a data set are duplicates (will highlight duplicate values) Choose what you want to highlight (ex. Duplicate values) and choose colour

to highlight them in Each time apply conditional format, you define conditional formatting rule Specifies type of condition and type of formatting when condition occurs To create own formula: select range of data you want to format, click

Conditional Formatting button and click New Rule

Summarizing Data Conditionally COUNT function: tallies number of data values in a range SUM function: adds values in a range AVERAGE function: calculates average of values in a range Sometimes need to create conditional count, sum or average using cells that

meet particular condition Using the COUNTIF Function

Conditional count (COUNTIF): calculate number of cells in range that match criteria specified

=COUNTIF(range, criteria) range: range of cells you want to count criteria: expression defining which cells to count

Using the SUMIF Function

Conditional sum (SUMIF): adds values in a range that meet specified criteria =SUMIF(range, criteria [, sum_range]) range: range of cells you want to filter criteria: condition used to filter range sum_range: range of cells to total (not necessary)

Using the AVERAGEIF Function

Used to calculate average of values in a range that meet specified criteria =AVERAGEIF(range, criteria [, average_range]) range: number of cells you want to filter before calculating average criteria: condition used to filter range average_range: range of cells to average (optional)

Chapter 10

Total revenue=total cost, break-even point What is the difference between the methods, why would you use each one

what are the limitations of each Understanding Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships

Cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis: branch of financial analysis that studies relationship between expenses, sales volume and profitability

Can help predict the effect of cutting overhead/raising prices on a company’s net income

Variable expenses: change in proportion to the amount of a business a company does (when sales volume increase, cost of production does too)

Fixed expense: an expense that must be paid regardless of sales volume (ex. Salaries and benefits for employees, maintenance fees, taxes, insurance)

Mixed expense: expense that is part variable and part fixed Break-even point: where revenue equals expense

CVP analysis sometimes called break-even analysis Cost-volume-profit (CVP) chart: graphs revenue and total expenses against

sales volume (break-even point is where lines cross) Preforming a What-If Analysis with Goal Seek

What-if analysis lets you explore impact of changing different values in worksheet

Goal Seek: automates the trial-and-error process by allowing you to specify a value for a calculated item then returning input needed to reach that goal

What-if analysis can determine what the total revenue would be if you sell a certain amount of product

Goal Seek can determine how much of a product must be sold to generate a specific revenue

Working with Data Tables

Data table is more efficient than Goal Seeking Data table: Excel table that displays results from several what-if analyses

Creating a One-Variable Data Table

One-variable data table: specify one input cell and any number of result cells Range of possible values for input cell is in first row/column of table Corresponding result values will be in accompanying rows/columns Useful in business to explore how changing a single input cell can impact

several result cells Results from the data table can be made clearer by a CVP chart Data tables are dynamic so changes in worksheet automatically update data

table values Creating a Two-Variable Data Table

Two-variable data table: uses two input cells but can only display a single result value

Can analyze variety of combinations simultaneously First column of data table displays range of values for first input cell First row of data table shows range of terms for second input cell Result values are displayed at intersection of each input value Reference to result cell is in upper-let corner of table (intersection between

row and column input values) May be confusing so can cover up reference with a text format Row input cell: cell on which values place in first row of data table are based Column in put cell: cell on which values placed in first column of data table

are based CVP chart will plot each result value as a different line Array formula: performs multiple calculations in a single step returning

single value to one cell or multiple value to several cells (use curly brackets)

Using the Scenario Manager Scenario Manager: performs a what-if analysis with more than two input

cells Should define names for all input and result cells being used in analysis (not

necessary but makes it easier for you and other people to understand) Use Scenario Manager to define scenarios (examples):

o Status Quo: everything remains the same for upcoming year o Expanded Operations: company will expand production and

marketing o Reduced operations: decreases amount spent for fixed expenses and

assumes decline in sales o Sale: assumes unit price will drop and company will reduce fixed

expenses to compensate Scenario Manager calls input cells changing cells because they contain values

that are changed under the scenario Can view scenarios created by using the Scenario Manager dialog box Editing a scenario will automatically update the worksheet calculations

Creating a Scenario Summary Report

Can create single table with results from all scenarios Tabular layout makes it simpler to compare results of each scenario Must identify result cells to create summary report Displays values of input cells and result cells under each scenario

Creating a Scenario PivotTable Report

Scenario PivotTable report: displays results from each scenario as pivot field in PivotTable