Consolidating and analyzing data

Transcription

1 L E S S O N 5 Consolidating and analyzing data Lesson objectives Suggested teaching time To better understand how to analyze and consolidate data in Excel, you will: minutes a b c Use the Data, Consolidate command to consolidate data from several workbooks into a single workbook. Use the Goal Seek and Solver utilities to find suitable input values for a formula based upon a target value and constraints. Use Scenario Manager to create, view, save, and delete versions of a single workbook that use different input values. 5-1

2 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training a Concepts > Consolidating data from more than one worksheet Consolidating data enables you to summarize data from several ranges in a single range. To consolidate worksheet data, you specify a range in which to place the information (the destination area), and then specify the various ranges from which to consolidate data (the source areas). The source data can come from the same worksheet or workbook, or from a different workbook. Consolidation can be a complicated process. The purpose of this task is to get students comfortable with the structure of these workbooks so that they can focus on the concept of consolidation. & The name Quantity is defined in each sales representative s workbook because it is the quantities that we want to consolidate. Having range names for the source ranges will greatly simplify the process of consolidating the data. Students might ask why they do not see the name Commission in the Name dropdown list. Explain that only names that refer to ranges appear in this list. Commission, as they will see, is a name for a constant. Task A-1: Preparing to consolidate data q Objective: To examine several workbooks from which you will consolidate data. What you do 1. Open Jaen, Monder, Hanover, and Consolidation 2. Activate Consolidation, if necessary Comments/Prompts You will consolidate data from the individual sales representatives workbooks here. 3. Activate Jaen Each of the individual sales representatives workbooks have the same structure as this one. 4. Select and observe cell E5 This cell calculates commissions by multiplying the sales total (in D5) by the value in the name Commission. 5. Display the Name dropdown list Select Quantity 6. Choose _Insert Name Define _ Select Commission and observe the Refers To box There is only one name listed here: Quantity. The name refers to the range C5:C14, which contains the quantity values. This name is also defined in the Monder and Hanover workbooks. To display the Define Name dialog box. 7. Click on Close To close the dialog box. This name refers to a value rather than a range (15%). This is called a constant. When a name is a constant, in other words refers to a value, it does not appear in the Name drop-down list. 5-2

3 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data Consolidating data by position Concepts > One of the ways that you can consolidate data is according to its relative position. Use this technique when the data to be consolidated has an identical structure, such as worksheets created from the same template. Task A-2: Consolidating data by position What you do Comments/Prompts Consolidating data 1. Activate Consolidation Select the range C5:C14 2. Choose _Data Consolidate..._ This is the destination range for the consolidated data. To display the Consolidate dialog box. This is where you specify the data to be consolidated, the function to be used, and the method of consolidation. 3. Click on Browse To display the Browse dialog box, which in this case is a tool for entering a reference to another workbook. 4. Select Jaen and click on OK M There are many methods of entering references in this dialog box. Students might want to click on the range selection button and select the ranges that way, or simply type references. No matter which method they use, stress that these references need to be exactly correct for the Consolidate command to work properly. 5. In the Reference box, place the insertion point after the filename Type Sheet1!Quantity To begin building the first source reference. The file name appears in the Reference box. To complete the first source reference. 6. Click on Add To add the first source reference to the All References box. Notice that when you add the reference, the path disappears. This is because Excel recognizes that this is an open workbook. 7. In the Reference box, replace the text Jaen with Monder Click on Add To create the second source reference. 5-3

4 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training 8. In the Reference box, replace the text Monder with Hanover Click on Add To complete the third and final source reference. Explain that this step is necessary if students want the consolidated workbook to be updated when they make changes to the source data. If all they want is a onetime snapshot, they can leave this option unchecked. Concepts > 9. Check Create Links To Source Data 10. Click on OK To consolidate the data. Outline structure for consolidated data To link the consolidated data back to its source data. When you consolidate with links to the source data, Excel creates an outline structure for the consolidated data. Figure 5-1: The Consolidation workbook. Task A-3: Observing consolidated data What you do Comments/Prompts 1. Observe the row numbers and outline symbols They are along the left side of the screen. When you consolidate with links to the source data, Excel automatically creates an outline in the destination workbook. 2. Select and observe cell C8 It contains the formula =SUM(C5:C7). The range C5:C7 is currently hidden within the outline. 5-4

5 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data 3. Click on the row-level symbol 2 To view all the hidden data. 4. Select and observe cell C5 This cell contains a link back to the Hanover workbook. 5. Select and observe cells C6 and C7 6. Click on the row-level symbol 1 These cells contain links to the Jaen and Monder workbooks, respectively. To hide the detail data once again. 7. Save the workbook as My Consolidation 8. Close all files without saving changes (You can do this in a single step by holding down the Shift key and choosing File, Close All.) Concepts > Consolidating data by category You can consolidate data according to category. Use this technique when source areas have similar data in different relative locations, or a different number of rows or columns in each category. Task A-4: Consolidating data by category What you do 1. Open Category Consolidation Comments/Prompts M Be sure students notice that the range is not identical on all three sheets. 2. Activate and examine the sheets in the workbook 3. Select the Consolidated sheet and select cell A6 This workbook contains sheets with sales data for three sales representatives. The sales data does not have the same shape for each representative; in fact, some have sold products that one or more of the others have not. In this situation, consolidation by position will not work. To begin the process of consolidating by category, you select the upper-left cell of the destination range. 4. Choose _Data Consolidate _ To display the Consolidate dialog box. 5-5

6 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training 5. Click on the Collapse Dialog button to the right of the Reference box Activate Jaen and select the range A6:B8 Click on the Collapse Dialog button again Click on Add To collapse the dialog box so you can select a source range. To return to the Consolidate dialog box. To add the first source reference to the All References list. 6. Add the other two source references as shown in the graphic on the right 7. In the Use Labels In area, check Left Column 8. Click on OK To consolidate the data. Excel will use the product names to determine how to consolidate the data. Students might ask if they can create links to the source data when consolidating by category. The answer is yes, they can. Here we did not for the sake of simplicity. 9. Observe the consolidated data 10. Save the workbook as My Category Consolidation 11. Close the workbook Excel adds up the total sales for each product. 5-6

7 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data b Concepts > Using the Goal Seek and Solver utilities Often you know the answer you want a formula to return, but you do not know the necessary input values to get that answer. For example, you want a car loan with a $ monthly payment. To arrive at that figure, you have to change the term, the principal, and the interest rate many times before reaching the desired result. The Goal Seek and Solver utilities can handle this kind of problem for you. You specify the cell containing the formula you want to fix, and the value at which it should be fixed. You then specify the cell (or cells in the case of Solver) containing the value(s) that should be changed. Excel varies the cell(s), trying different numbers until the desired result is reached. Goal Seek enables you to solve problems that have one variable. Solver enables you to solve problems that have multiple variables and multiple constraints. The Goal Seek utility You can use the Tools, Goal Seek command to solve a formula based on the value that you want that formula to return. (For more information on Goal Seek, see Excel's online Help system.) The Solver utility Solver is used to perform complex "what-if" analyses. You can use it when you are looking for the optimal value for a cell by adjusting the values of several cells, or when you want to set limitations (constraints) on one or more of the values involved in the calculation. Solver examines worksheet data and suggests solutions to problems. Instead of guessing answers to analytical problems, you can use Solver. The Solver must be installed. To use Solver, you must define the problem by specifying: The target cell: the cell in your worksheet that you want to minimize, maximize, or set to a certain value. Changing cells: the cells that affect the value of the target cell. Constraints: logical formulas in the worksheet that specify conditions you want each answer to satisfy. 5-7

8 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training Task B-1: Using Goal Seek q Objective: To arrive at a loan payment of $500 by changing the loan s principal amount. What you do Comments/Prompts Suppose you are planning to buy a new car, and you know you can afford a monthly payment of $500. How much can you borrow? The Goal Seek utility can help. 1. Open 5 Year Loan This is a 5-year loan-amortization workbook. It calculates payments for a given principal, interest rate, and term. 2. Select and observe cells D3, D4, and D5 The loan amount, 18,000, is in cell D3. The yearly interest rate, 12%, is in cell D4. Finally, cell D5 contains the term in months, 60. Try not to get bogged down explaining the formulas in this worksheet. The PMT function and, in particular, the formulas for the monthly interest and principal paid, are fairly complicated, and understanding them is not essential to understanding Goal Seek. 3. Select and examine cell F4 The PMT function calculates the payments based upon the values in cells D3, D4, and D5. 4. Scroll to view rows 8 through In cell D3, enter Select and observe cell F4 These rows contain formulas that calculate detailed loan information for each monthly payment. To change the loan amount. The payment has changed from $ to $ It s simple to find a payment based on a principal amount, but what if you want to find a principal amount based on a particular payment? 6. Choose _Tools Goal_Seek _ To display the Goal Seek dialog box. The active cell, F4, appears in the Set Cell box. 7. In the To Value box, type 500 To indicate that you can afford a $500 monthly payment. 8. In the By Changing Cell box, enter D3 You can type the reference or click on the cell. Goal Seek will now find a principal amount that results in a $500 payment. 5-8

9 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data 9. Click on OK Excel displays the Goal Seek Status dialog box, letting you know that Goal Seek found a solution. 10. Click on OK Observe cell D3 To accept the solution and return to the worksheet. The principal amount for a 12% interest rate over 60 months that results in a payment of $500 is $22, If you have the time, give students a chance to explore this worksheet before moving on. Encourage them to use Goal Seek to find principal amounts for different payments and interest rates. 11. Close the workbook without saving changes 5-9

10 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training c Concepts > Using Scenario Manager to view a worksheet with different input values In Excel, you can create and save sets of input values that produce different results called scenarios. These sets of input values are also referred to as changing cells and are saved as scenarios with a name that you specify. Each scenario represents a "what-if" assumption that you can apply to a worksheet to see how it affects other parts of the worksheet. The limit for the number of changing cells per scenario is 32. Scenarios are helpful when you have a "what-if" situation with uncertain variables. For example, when projecting for next year's expense or income budget items, you may want to work with different sets of values that calculate the expense and income totals. By creating different sets of changing cells for both expense and income, you can switch among them to do a what-if analysis. You can create scenarios by using the Tools, Scenarios command. The scenarios are saved when you save your file. Note: Remember to save your original sets of changing cells as scenarios. Using Solver to create a scenario Working with Solver and the Scenario Manager can be helpful when you want to capture different sets of input values and then create scenarios of the different sets. When you define changing cells with the Scenario Manager, those changing cells are automatically displayed as the changing cells in Solver, as long as you have not yet defined a Solver problem. You can save the changing cell values used in Solver as a named scenario. Deleting scenarios To delete a scenario, choose Tools, Scenarios; select the scenario to delete; click on Delete; and click on Close. Deletions cannot be canceled or undone. Task C-1: Creating a scenario q Objective: To create a scenario of the original 1999 budget projections. What you do Comments/Prompts & Before you begin changing values in the workbook, you want to preserve the original projections so that you can compare later projections with these original values. 1. Open Scenarios This worksheet contains expense and revenue projections for a fictional company. 2. Observe cells C11, F11, and C13 3. Select the range C4:C9 Hold down the C key, and add the range F4:F8 to the selection These formulas calculate the projected total expenses, revenues, and profit for the company. The current profit projection is $176,000. You will create a scenario for this workbook that preserves the original revenue and expense values. 5-10

11 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data 4. Choose _Tools Scenarios _ To display the Scenario Manager dialog box. There are no scenarios defined. 5. Click on Add To display the Add Scenario dialog box. 6. In the Scenario Name box, type 1999 Original Observe the Changing Cells box To name the scenario you are about to create. Because you selected the ranges C4:C9 and F4:F8 before choosing the Scenarios command, those ranges appear here. 7. Replace any text in the Comment box with 1999 budget projection, no planned changes. 8. Click on OK To display the Scenario Values dialog box. You can set scenario values for the changing cells here if you like. 5-11

12 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training 9. Click on OK To accept the current values and to return to the Scenario Manager dialog box. The new scenario now appears in the Scenarios list. 10. Click on Close To close the dialog box. 11. Save the workbook as My Scenarios Task C-2: Creating a second scenario q Objective: To create a scenario in which the advertising budget is increased by 33%. What you do Comments/Prompts 1. In cell C6, enter To increase the projected advertising budget by 33%. Students might point out that an increase in the advertising budget should result in some change in the revenue projections. Explain that this is a very simple workbook for demonstration purposes. Also point out that they will see the results of this task in Task C Display the Scenario Manager dialog box Click on Add 3. Name the new scenario 1999 Advertising Push Edit the comment to read 1999 expense projection with 33% advertising increase. (Choose Tools, Scenarios.) To display the Add Scenario dialog box. 4. Click on OK To display the Scenario Values dialog box. 5-12

13 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data 5. Change the scenario values for cells F4:F8 as shown in the graphic on the right In the next task, students will open a version of the workbook containing several scenarios. 6. Click on OK Close the Scenario Manager dialog box 7. Save and close the workbook To reflect a 10% increase in all revenues due to the advertising increase. To return to the Scenario Manager dialog box. Concepts > Viewing scenarios You can display a scenario by choosing Tools, Scenarios; selecting the desired scenario; clicking on Show; and clicking on OK. Task C-3: Viewing scenarios What you do Comments/Prompts 1. Open Viewing Scenarios Examine the profit value in cell C13 This workbook is similar to the Scenarios workbook. The profit using the current figures will be $176, Choose _Tools Scenarios _ To display the Scenario Manager dialog box. There are three scenarios defined. 3. Select each scenario and read its associated comment 5-13

14 Excel 2000: Advanced Ashbury Training 4. In the Scenarios list, select Advertising Push Observe the Changing Cells box 5. Click on Show, and then click on Close Observe cell C13 6. Display the Customize dialog box On the Commands tab, in the Category list, select Tools This scenario is budget projections with a 33% advertising increase. It shows the ranges C4:C9 and F4:F8. The scenario increases the advertising expense but also increases all the revenue figures. The profit projection is now $254,000. It looks like increasing the advertising budget will have a positive effect on the bottom line. (Choose Tools, Customize.) You might need to scroll down in the Category list. From the Commands list, drag the Scenario dropdown list to the Standard toolbar, to the left of the Undo button 7. On the Standard toolbar, observe the Scenario dropdown list 8. Close the Customize dialog box 9. From the Scenario dropdown list, choose Initial Projections 10. Show the New U.S. Office scenario It shows the name of the current scenario, Advertising Push. To show the Initial Projections scenario. This scenario involves opening a new U.S. sales office in Rochester, NY. This scenario would change four expenses: Salaries, Rent/Utilities, Office Expenses, and Liability Insurance. It would also increase the United States revenue projection. The profit under this scenario would be $204,000. It looks like increasing the advertising budget would be a better investment. 11. Close the file without saving any changes 5-14

15 Ashbury Training Lesson 5: Consolidating and analyzing data ( Practice Unit for Lesson 5 In this activity, you will consolidate workbooks and use Solver to create several scenarios. To check your work, you can refer to Figure Open the files All Divisions, North American Division, and South American Division. 2. Activate North American Division and go to the name Quarters. Activate South American Division and go to the name Quarters. 3. Activate All Divisions. In the range B4:E8, consolidate the data from North American Division and South American Division by using the name Quarters. Note: Be sure to create links to the source data. 4. Use the outline symbols to view detail for all items. 5. Observe the linking formulas that have been created in cells B4 and B5. 6. Hide all detail. 7. Save the file All Divisions as My All Divisions 8. Close the remaining files without saving changes. Figure 5-2: The completed file My All Divisions. 9. Open the file Practice - Loan. 10. Save the current loan information in cells D3:D5 as a scenario named low-end loan 11. Change the loan s principal amount to $18,000, the interest rate to 13%, and the term in months to Save the new loan information (D3:D5) as a scenario named high-end loan 13. Show the low-end loan information. 14. Reset the Standard toolbar. 15. Save the file as My Practice - Loan. Close the file. 5-15

16 Excel 2000: Advanced ) Wrap-up for Lesson 5 a What are some situations in which you might consolidate data at your job? Answers might include to summarize data from multiple locations into one location. b What is an advantage of using Goal Seek? Goal Seek prevents you from having to manually test several values to arrive at a desired outcome. When using Solver, how can you control the outcome of the solution? You can use constraints to limit the outcome possibilities. c What is a scenario? A scenario is a saved set of values that can be applied to a worksheet. 5-16