Microsoft Excel for Accountants, Analysts & Consultants - Udemy

WHO HAS CREATED THIS COURSE?

This course has been created by Dan Stockdale, a former PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Excel & Modelling Instructor and Consultant. He also has a background as a Commercial Analyst and qualified Accountant in Industry, working consistently over 14 years with CEOs, CFOs, Finance Directors and Strategy.

Dan taught best practice modelling within PwC, and Excel to their new Strategy Consultants, as well as specialising in strategic, operational and financial modelling as a consultant.

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WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

This course has been designed for Accounting & Finance professionals, Analysts, Consultants, Strategists and those working in a Commercial Role – the learning, demos and exercises have been set in a relevant context for this audience to help them then apply the learning in their actual work.

If you fit into one of the above roles then you do NOT need to know everything in Excel. You NEED to know only certain elements of Excel and then, importantly, how to APPLY them. That’s what this course excels at.

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WHY TAKE THIS EXCEL COURSE, AND NOT ANOTHER?

This course has been designed to be different from the competing courses by focusing heavily only on the areas that are actually important and relevant to the above audience, applying the learnings in a range of commercial contexts that are challenging and realistic. This focuses your time and attention only on what will BENEFIT you.

For example, 15 functions in Excel will do approximately 90% of your work, but only if you truly understand how to use and apply them, both in isolation and together, and within the context of an Analyst, Accountant or Finance professional’s work. A generalist course that, for instance, teaches 30 functions dilutes those that are most important and doesn’t allow you to master any of them…and is often taught by someone with little to no experience in the above areas!

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IS IT INTERESTING?

Yes! And challenging! The learning, demos and exercises have been framed in a commercial context but in areas of interest, including:

• IMDB Top 250 film data

• US health clubs

• Online sports streaming

• Olympic medals

• Cinema simple financial models

• Haute couture fashion retail

• New York gyms

• International flights

• Spotify most streamed songs

• Sydney real estate agents

• Top female tennis players

• ...and much more!

  
  

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WHAT’S IN THE COURSE?

This course is split into 4 main sections, each of which are supported by high quality, challenging Excel exercise downloads, and solution videos & downloads:

1. Excel Essentials – shortcuts, tips, tools and techniques that will rapidly speed up your work so that you’re operating as fast and efficiently as you can be.

• Exploring the Ribbon - what’s in there, what’s important, what’s secondary.

• Customising the Quick Access Toolbar to speed up your work.

• Top keyboard shortcuts for fast navigation and undertaking regular actions.

• A look at a very powerful add-in used by the World’s top firms (NB: this add-in is available on Windows only, not Mac)

• Other tips and techniques to work as efficiently as you can.

2. Functions, Formulae & Calculations – a comprehensive look at the theory, advice and demos of the most important and relevant functions, top tips for formula construction & auditing, and the creation and use of Named Ranges.

• Overview of the Function Library.

• Most useful functions and their application: INDEX, MATCH, INDEX & MATCH vs VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, SUMPRODUCT, COUNTIFS, MAX & MIN, RANK, IF, AND, OR, TRUE & FALSE.

• Formula construction – top tips for building formula involving multiple functions.

• Formula auditing tools – navigating your calculations and finding errors.

• Range names – how to create, use and edit to make your work more transparent.

3. Data & Analysis Tools – master Excel’s most useful tools – Pivot Tables, Goal Seek and Data Tables – as well as techniques for introducing scenarios into your spreadsheets and modelling.

• Pivot Tables - how to create, use and customise.

• What-If tools – Goal Seek to find inputs.

• What-If tools – Data Tables to sensitise inputs.

• Techniques for creating scenarios and flexing inputs.

4. Formatting & Views – ways to make your work presentable, presentational and professional, to increase trust in it and improve its usability.

• Importance of formatting your spreadsheets.

• Cell styles - their use and customising.

• Conditional formatting of outputs.

• Presenting the data you want through Sorting & Filtering.

• Improving the look of work through Freeze Panes, Grouping & Hiding.

• Data Validation to make your spreadsheet more robust & usable.

The above sections cover the CORE learning of the course. There is also an additional SUPPLEMENTARY Demos section filled with more specialised and niche applications of the functions taught, so that you can truly master them.

There are quizzes throughout to help test your knowledge and ensure you're on the right track, and you'll receive a personalised Certificate of Completion at the end!

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COURSE OBJECTIVES & FORMAT

Course objectives

• Gain broad, advanced, commercially-orientated knowledge of Excel suited to Accounting & Finance, Analyst, Consultant and Strategy positions, as well as other roles with a commercial focus.

• Be able to apply in multiple ways the most useful and relevant Excel functions to your analysis and spreadsheets.

• Learn how to construct formula containing multiple functions.

• Utilise a range of inbuilt Excel tools in your data analysis and work.

• Be able to format your work to look professional and presentable.

• Extend your knowledge of Excel functionality relevant to analysis.

• Increase the speed with which you work in Excel and produce analysis.

Format

• Theory elements are taught through short video lectures, followed by video demos of the theory applied within Excel.

• High quality exercises are provided throughout to download and put your new knowledge into practice. These are set within a commercial context, making learning relevant, challenging and realistic.

• All exercises are accompanied by a downloadable solution file, along with a comprehensive video of the solution.

• Regular quizzes are provided to help test your knowledge along the way.