Enhance The Excel Experience Part I

Transcription

1 Enhance The Excel Experience Part I

2 Introduction Excel is a powerful tool, but it can make you feel like you need an advanced engineering degree from MIT to master it. With the new features in Excel 2013, however, you can be even more productive in creating meaningful reports to help solve real business problems. During part one of this two-part series, we'll guide you through these features and share tips and strategies that will enhance your Excel experience. Learning Objectives Upon completing this session, participants should be able to: Create and utilize templates to produce new workbooks and worksheets quickly; Apply Excel s Styles feature and other tools to format spreadsheets consistently and efficiently; Work with Excel s Data Analysis Toolpak to perform powerful data analysis; Utilize Tables to automate numerous Excel calculations; and Create PivotTables Excel s most powerful function to summarize and analyze data. Ten Tips in Ten Minutes In this section of the session, we present ten tips, each of which are quick hitters and provide you with an opportunity to harvest a substantial amount of low-hanging fruit. Some of these tips are rooted in formatting, some in data analysis, and some in data entry and manipulation. Buckle your seat belt we are going to move fast! Formatting Multiple Objects Simultaneously Most professionals routinely work on single workbook objects cells, ranges, rows, objects, or sheets when applying formatting. After formatting the first object, some users utilize the formatting process repeatedly until they have formatted all of the objects. Other users copy the formats from the first cell to other cells using the Format Painter available from the Home tab of the Ribbon or the Mini-Toolbar as shown in Figure 1. The Format Painter is used to copy and paste formats, not data, from one cell (or cells) to other cells. Figure 1 - Using the Format Painter to Copy Formats One little-known attribute associated with the Format Painter is the difference in its behavior when you click on it versus when you double-click on it. If you click on the Format Painter and then click on a cell, the Format Painter copies and pastes the selected format to the desired cell. However, if you double-click on the Format Painter, you can click on multiple desination cells to paste the selected format to multiple cells; when using this method, press ESC or click the Format Painter icon to disengage the Format Painter once you have pasted the selected format to all desired locations. 2

3 Using the Accounting Format When asked if they use the accounting format, many professionals respond that they do not use it at all. In reality, the accounting format is one of the more frequently used number formats in Excel. That is because the accounting format is applied whenever the currency or comma styles are selected from the Home tab of the Ribbon, as shown on the left in Figure 2, or from the Mini-Toolbar, as shown in the same figure on the right. The Mini-Toolbar appears whenever a user right-clicks on the worksheet grid. Figure 2 - Currency and Comma Style Buttons on the Ribbon and Mini-Toolbar The currency style applies the accounting format with the dollar sign and two decimal places, while the comma style applies the accounting format without the dollar sign. The accounting format displays negative numbers within parentheses and ensures that decimal points align perfect for financial reports! The accounting format affects the way single and double underlines are applied to numbers and labels. When using the accounting format, single and double underlines for subtotals, totals, and column headings do not span the entire column as do cell borders. The accounting format indents single and double underlines one character space from the left and right cell margins. This provides the necessary break in underlines across adjacent columns without resorting to the common practice of inserting narrow faux columns to accomplish the same effect. Figure 3 displays single and double underlines applied to labels and numbers in cells formatted with the accounting format. Notice how the single and double underlines do not quite span the width of the cells, thereby allowing for breaks in the underlines between adjacent columns. Figure 3 - Report Showing the Effect of the Accounting Format on Single and Double Underlines 3

4 Underlines and double underlines are available from the Home tab of the Ribbon as shown in Figure 4. Underlines may be applied from the Mini-Toolbar or from the keyboard by pressing CTRL + U or by pressing ALT, H, 3, U. Double underlines may be applied from the keyboard by pressing ALT, H, 3, D. Figure 4 - Applying Underlines and Double Underlines from the Ribbon Analyzing Data Quickly with Sparklines Sparklines are thumbnail charts, similar to conditional formatting, available in Excel 2010 and They are simple one-cell charts used to provide quick visual analysis of a data set. To create Sparklines, highlight the data from which the Sparklines are to be created, choose Insert from the Ribbon, and select whether the Sparkline should be in the Line, Column, or Win/Loss format. The Sparklines in Figure 5 show sixmonth sales trends with the high and low value identified on the line. If the data is based on a table connected to an external data source, the Sparklines will be updated when the table is refreshed. Figure 5 - Thumbnail Trend Lines with Sparklines Comparing Two Workbooks with Excel s Inquire Feature With the 2013 release of Excel, Microsoft added the Inquire tool to Microsoft Office Professional Plus version of the suite. Inquire provides a set of tools that allows you to, among other things, document certain aspects of your workbooks. More specifically, Inquire provides seven tools to assist you when designing and documenting your spreadsheets. 1. Workbook Analysis 2. Workbook Relationship 3. Worksheet Relationship 4. Cell Relationship 5. Compare Files 6. Clean Excess Cell Formatting 7. Workbook Passwords 4

5 Each of these tools is available from the Inquire tab of the Ribbon. Inquire s Compare Files feature provides a feature that has long been sought by many users. With Compare Files, you can electronically compare two workbooks and instantly identify all differences between the compared workbooks. To use Compare Files, begin by opening the two workbooks you want to compare. Then, choose Compare Files from the Inquire tab of the Ribbon and select the two workbooks you want to compare, as shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 - Selecting Excel Workbooks to Compare Upon clicking Compare in the lower right corner of the Select Files To Compare dialog box, Excel analyzes the two workbooks and generates a detailed analysis that highlights differences in data, formulas, formatting, and other characteristics. Figure 7 presents a sample of that analysis. Figure 7 - Sample Output from Excel's Compare Files Feature 5

6 Cleaning Excess Cell Formatting On occasions, workbooks become bloated with excess cell formatting. For example, if a user applies conditional formatting to an entire column of a worksheet, yet data only extends to row 100 in that column, then all of the conditional formats from row 101 through row 1,048,576 are extraneous and unnecessary. Further, these excess formats occupy resources and can cause the workbook to open, save, and recalculate more slowly than it otherwise would. Further, excess formatting can also contribute to printing issues, including causing blank pages to print. The Clean Excess Cell Formatting tool provided by Inquire addresses these types of issues by removing cells from the worksheet that are beyond the last cell of your actual used data. You can identify the last cell of the active worksheet by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+END or by selecting Find & Select on the Home tab of the Ribbon, Go To Special, and Last Cell. When you choose Clean Excess Cell Formatting from the Inquire tab of the Ribbon, Excel displays the Clean Excess Cell Formatting dialog box shown in Figure 8. In this dialog box, indicate whether you want to clean the excess formatting from all worksheets in the current workbook or just the active sheet and click OK. Upon doing so, Excel analyzes the selected sheet(s) and strips it(them) of any excess formatting. Figure 8 - Clean Excess Cell Formatting Dialog Box Speeding Data Manipulation with Flash Fill Added to Excel with the 2013 release, Flash Fill allows you to avoid using formulas for some delimiting and concatenating needs. Suppose you open an Excel workbook that contains information similar to that shown in Figure 9, and you need separate name, address, city, state, and postal code information. 6

7 Figure 9 - Name and Address Information in One Field If you are running Excel 2013, you can use Flash Fill to extract the desired elements from the spreadsheet. Flash Fill works by examining your spreadsheet for patterns in your data and extracting information based on the patterns that it identifies. To illustrate the ease with which you can extract information using this tool, examine the modified spreadsheet pictured in Figure 10. Figure 10 - Spreadsheet Modified for Flash Fill In cells B1, C1, D1, and E1, indicate the pattern you would like Excel to identify for Flash Fill. Upon doing so, select any cell in the range of B1 through B12 and on the Data tab of the Ribbon, click Flash Fill. Excel immediately fills the remainder of the column with the extracted names from column A. Repeat the process for columns C, D, and E, and your spreadsheet will appear as shown in Figure 11. 7

8 Figure 11 - Extracted Data Using Excel 2013's Flash Fill Tool You can also use Flash Fill to concatenate or join information together. For example, consider the spreadsheet pictured in Figure 12. Figure 12 - Sample Data for Joining Data with Flash Fill Cell E1 contains a pattern for Flash Fill to use to join data. After entering the pattern, click any cell in the range of E1 through E12 and choose Flash Fill from the Data tab of the Ribbon. Upon doing so, Excel fills the range with joined data based on the pattern established in cell E1 as shown in Figure 13. Figure 13 - Using Flash Fill to Join Data 8

9 View All Formulas All formulas can be displayed by selecting Show Formulas from the Formulas tab of the Ribbon or from the keyboard by pressing CTRL + ` (the grave symbol) as shown in Figure 14. Once Excel displays the formulas, you can examine the worksheet for inconsistencies and errors or print the worksheet for documentation purposes. Figure 14 - Displaying All Formulas in a Worksheet Evaluating Formulas The Evaluate Formula command accessible from the Formulas tab of the Ribbon is a tool to help users understand how complex formulas calculate results. It allows users to step through the intermediate calculations in a formula to validate that the formula is functioning as intended. With it, users can easily determine how Excel is interpreting and calculating nested segments in a complex formula. Figure 15 displays the Evaluate Formula dialog box as a user investigates a complex formula. With each click of the Evaluate button, the underlined part of the formula is calculated, allowing the user to step through the formula evaluation process. 9

10 Figure 15 - Evaluating How a Formula Calculates a Result Solving Rounding Problems, Finally! Consider the example presented in Figure 16; it shows a proverbial rounding error that has frustrated spreadsheet users since the advent of personal computers. In fact, this is not a rounding error at all, but rather a formatting issue caused by the fact that the number of decimal places shown in the worksheet is less than the number of decimal places contained in each of these numbers. Figure 16 Numeric Display Error Corrected by Enabling Precision as Displayed 10

11 The best solution to this problem is to enable global rounding in the affected workbook. When global rounding is enabled, all values are rounded to their cell formats. To enable global rounding in a workbook, users of Excel 2010 and 2013 should click the File tab of the Ribbon, Options, Advanced, and in the section labeled When calculating this workbook, check the box next to Set precision as displayed and click OK. Excel 2007 users should click the Office Button and then Excel Options. Select Advanced on the Navigation Bar on the left. In the Option Pane on the right, check Set precision as displayed in the section entitled When calculating this workbook. Click OK. Regardless of which version of Excel is running, enabling global rounding in a workbook causes Excel to display the warning shown in Figure 17. Figure 17 - Warning Message Displayed When Precision as Displayed is Enabled Do not be alarmed by the warning. Click OK, and all of the cells in the workbook will display data rounded to the current cell format. Sorting by Color or Icon Set Starting with Excel 2007, users can sort data by the background color of cells, the font color, or the icon displayed in a cell resulting from conditional formatting using icon sets. To perform these types of sorts, simply specify the appropriate Sort On and Order criteria in the Sort dialog box as shown in Figure

12 Figure 18 - Sorting by Icon Set Enhancing Productivity with Templates An Excel template is a preconfigured workbook that contains items such as formatting, formulas, and content that you can use as a model for future workbooks. Microsoft makes templates available for download at no charge from and numerous other organizations offer templates, both paid and free. Advantages to working with templates include: A template helps to ensure that all workbooks based on that template are consistent in format and content; Templates speed the process of creating new workbooks; and Templates that contain complex formulas help to ensure that these formulas exist without error in workbooks based on these templates. To create a workbook from a template, choose File, New and then select the template you want to use as the basis for your new workbook. When considering how you can utilize templates, you should understand that two broad classifications of templates exist default templates and application templates. Default templates control how future blank workbooks and worksheets appear, while application templates contain items such as formulas, formatting, macros, and content that is specific to a particular spreadsheet application, such as a financial statement or amortization schedule. 12

13 Creating Excel s Default Templates Excel allows you to work with two default templates book.xltx and sheet.xltx. However, before you can work with either of these templates, you must create them first. Book.xltx controls how all future blank workbooks will appear, and sheet.xltx controls how all future blank worksheets that you insert into a workbook will appear. To create a default template, open a blank workbook and configure it with your desired settings. In your default templates, you can save the following attributes: Cell and sheet formats; Page formats and print area settings for each sheet; Cell styles; The number and type of sheets in a workbook; Protected and hidden areas of the workbook; Text you want to repeat, such as page headers and row and column labels; Data, graphics, formulas, charts, and other information; Data validation settings; Macros, hyperlinks, and ActiveX controls on forms; and Workbook calculation options and window view options. Once you have tailored the workbook to your specifications, use the Save As feature in Excel to save the workbook as a template file type. Most importantly, you must save these default templates book.xltx and sheet.xltx in the XLStart folder, the location of which can vary depending upon any number of factors. By operating system, the standard locations for XLStart are the following. Windows 8 C:\Users\ user name \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart Windows 7 C:\Users\ user name \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart Windows Vista C:\Users\user name\appdata\local\microsoft\excel\xlstart Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\user name\application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLStart By saving the book.xltx template to the XLStart folder, every time you open Excel, a blank workbook with settings inherited from this template appears automatically. Likewise, having saved the sheet.xltx template to the XLStart folder, every time you insert a new worksheet into an existing workbook, that sheet will inherit the settings from the template. Additionally, every time you use the CTRL+N keyboard shortcut to create a new workbook, that workbook will inherit the settings from book.xltx. 13

14 Ensuring Consistency with Application Templates In addition to using Excel s default templates, you can also use application templates to speed the process of creating preconfigured workbooks, such as those you would use as the foundation for a financial statement or expense report. Often, application templates will include prefilled text, formulas, print settings, and perhaps even macros. By default, in Excel 2007 and Excel 2010, Microsoft stores application templates in the following location. C:\Users\user name\appdata\roaming\microsoft\templates\ However, before you can use application templates in Excel 2013, you must configure the application by specifying the location for your template files. To do this, click the File tab of the Ribbon, Options, and Save to open the Excel Options dialog box shown in Figure 19. As shown, enter the default location where you will save your application templates. Figure 19 Configuring Excel 2013 to Work with Application Templates The process for creating an application template is similar to the process for creating a default template. Begin by creating a workbook that has all of your desired settings, formats, formulas, and content in it. Then, use Excel s Save As function (keyboard shortcut F12) to save the document as a template into either the default location or an alternate location. Once you create and save a template, you can create a new workbook that uses the template as its foundation by choosing File, New and then selecting the template on which you would like to base the 14

15 workbook. Notably, all workbooks that you create using a specific template are consistent with respect to the formats, formulas, content, and other settings that the workbooks inherit from that template. Using Styles to Ensure Consistent Formatting In Excel, a Style can contain number, alignment, font, border, and shading attributes. For example, a style for rows containing totals might contain dollar signs in the number format, double underlines, and boldfaced fonts. To create a named style, do the following. 1. Select Cell Styles from the Home tab of the Ribbon. At the bottom of the Style Gallery, click New Cell Style as shown in Figure 20. Figure 20 - Creating a New Style from the Ribbon 2. In the Style dialog box, check all of the formatting attributes that you wish to change. In this example, uncheck all formatting attributes except the Number format. Click the Format button. 3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select the Number tab and then select Custom in the Category list. 4. In the Type box, enter your custom format code. Click OK. 5. In the Style Name box, enter a descriptive name, such as 0.00 Comma, for your new style and click OK. To apply your new named style, highlight the cells that you want to format and click Cell Styles on the Home tab on the Ribbon. Then, select your style from the Custom section of the Style Gallery. Named styles are only available in the workbooks in which they are created. In other words, named styles are not maintained as global settings available in all workbooks. However, users can merge named styles from an open workbook into the active workbook from the Style Gallery. From the Home tab of the Ribbon, click Cell Styles and then Merge Styles from the Style Gallery. In the Merge Styles dialog box, select an open workbook from which to merge named styles into the active workbook as shown in Figure 21. Click OK to merge the named styles. 15

16 Figure 21 - Merging Styles from an Open Workbook Users can make named styles available in all newly created workbooks by saving the styles in Excel s default templates, book.xltx and sheet.xltx. From a practical perspective, most business professionals will use a relatively small set of styles, perhaps only four. 1. The first number at the top of a column, which likely will be formatted in the Accounting format with the currency symbol enabled and zero values displayed as $0.00 instead of All other numbers in a column with the exception of subtotals and totals formatted in the Accounting format with the currency symbol suppressed and zero values displayed as 0.00 instead of Subtotals in a column formatted in the Accounting format with the currency symbol suppressed, a single accounting underline, and zero values displayed as 0.00 instead of Totals formatted in the Accounting format with the currency symbol enabled, a double accounting underline, and zero values displayed as $0.00 instead of -. By creating styles to facilitate applying the formats described in 1, 3, and 4 above and by modifying the predefined Normal style to automatically apply the formats described in 2 above, a business professional can save a tremendous amount of time that would otherwise be spent on formatting, while simultaneously ensuring that formats are applied consistently throughout a workbook. The user should likely save the styles in her default workbook templates. 16

17 Analyzing Data with Excel s Data Analyis Toolpak The Data Analysis ToolPak is an Excel add-in that by default is not activated. On the Data tab of the Ribbon, if you see Data Analysis in the Analysis group, then the Data Analysis ToolPak is active. If the option is not present on the Ribbon, activate it by accessing Excel s Options, choose Add-Ins, and click Go next to Manage Excel Add-ins to open the Add-Ins dialog box. As shown in Figure 22, check the boxes next to Analysis ToolPak and Analysis ToolPak VBA. Figure 22 - Activating the Data Analysis ToolPak The Data Analysis ToolPak provides access to a number of routines that automate calculations and procedures that could otherwise be complex to build and manage. For example, the ToolPak includes functions to automate calculating statistics, creating histograms, performing regression analysis, generating random numbers, and computing moving averages. For example, suppose you need to generate a set histogram to help you with a Benford s Law analysis of accounts payable transactions. You can use the Histogram tool in the Data Analysis ToolPak to complete this task. To do so, open the Data Analysis ToolPak, click Histogram and OK to begin the process of creating a histogram. In the Histogram dialog box, enter the Input Range and the Bin Range and select desired outputs as shown in Figure

18 Figure 23 - Creating a Histogram for Benford's Law Analysis When you click OK, Excel creates a histogram, summarizing the data as shown in Figure 24. From this output, you can begin to make your assertions as to whether the data adheres to Benford s Law. Figure 24 - Histogram Created by Data Analysis ToolPak Another example of using the Data Analysis Toolpak lies in its capability to generate a regression analysis. Regression analysis is an excellent general purpose tool for predicting an expected value given other observed values. For example, a manager may want to use regression analysis to forecast monthly sales in the budget process given the expected amount of advertising expense to be expended in the months prior to sale. To calculate the regression output displayed in Figure 25, select Data Analysis from the Data tab of the ribbon. Then, select Regression in the Data Analysis dialog box, specify the input and output ranges, and click OK to produce the analysis. 18

19 Figure 25 Multiple Linear Regression Output Using the Analysis ToolPak Key outputs to consider when interpreting the results are R Square, the Intercept coefficient, and the X Variable coefficients. R Square is a measure of fit it measures how well the computed linear equation fits the data. Generally, an R Square value of 0.80 or higher means that there is a strong relationship between the independent variable(s) and the dependent variable. In this example, the R Square is calculated to be , which indicates a strong relationship between the variables. The linear equation fits the data very well. The Intercept coefficient and the X Variable coefficients are used to specify the equation for estimating or predicting new values of the dependent variable based on specified values of the independent variable. In this case, the equation for estimating monthly sales as a function of the advertising expense incurred in the two prior months is as follows: Forecast Monthly Sales = $-91,683 + ( * Ad Expense 1 Month Prior) + ( * Ad Expense 2 Months Prior) To forecast the sales revenue for a future month based on anticipated advertising expenses of $25,000 in the prior month and $22,500 two months prior, simply substitute the anticipated advertising expenses into the equation and solve for monthly revenue: Forecast Monthly Sales = $-91,683 + ( * $25,000) + ( * $22,500) Forecast Monthly Sales = $2,116,953 19

20 Utilizing Tables to Automate Calculations in Excel With the 2007 release, Excel added the Table feature. Tables contain related data in a series of worksheet rows and columns that you convert to a table object. You can convert a range of data to a table using any of four techniques. 1. Click in the range you wish to convert to a table and choose Format as Table from the Home tab of the Ribbon. 2. Click in the range you wish to convert to a table and choose Table from the Insert tab of the Ribbon. 3. Click in the range you wish to convert to a table and use either the CTRL+T keyboard shortcut or the CTRL+L keyboard shortcut. 4. From the Data tab of the Ribbon, build a data connection to an external data source and, when prompted, choose to import the data as a Table. Though a complete discussion of Tables is beyond the scope of this session, numerous advantages are associated with converting traditional data ranges into tables. Included in the advantages of using tables in the context of creating, auditing, and verifying formulas are auto expansion, formula replication, and structured referencing. Using Tables to Store Data Tables serve as dynamically expanding and contracting ranges of data. Once you convert a range of data to a table, if the number of rows or columns of data in the table change, Excel automatically updates the definition of the table; upon doing so, all formulas that use the table as their data source update automatically, eliminating the need for manually editing these formulas. To illustrate, consider the table shown in Figure 26. More specifically, focus on the results of the formula in cell E434. Figure 26 - Sample Table Data 20

21 Now focus on the table shown in Figure 27. It includes an additional row of data, and the formula in cell E434 includes the additional row of data in the summation with no manual effort required on behalf of the user. In other words, as the table expands (or contracts), every object and every formula that uses the table as its data source updates to reflect the new volume of data in the table. Figure 27 - Table Expanded to Accommodate Extra Row Using tables as a data source for your formulas and other objects such as PivotTables is a best practice because their use eliminates the need to edit these formulas and objects as the volume of data changes. This not only helps to ensure the accuracy of the spreadsheet, but it also reduces the amount of time necessary to build and maintain the model. Building Structured Referencing Formulas Tables offer a new approach to constructing formulas knows as structured referencing. The formula in cell E434 in Figure 28 is a structured reference formula. Notice that it does not refer to a range of cells. Instead, it refers to the table Table1 and a specific column in the table Amount. While you can continue to use traditional row and column addresses if you desire, using structured referencing is a best practice approach because it facilitates automatic updating of formulas as the size of the table changes. Additionally, building structured reference formulas helps to generate selfdocumenting formulas, similar to those built using defined names. 21

22 Figure 28 - Structured Reference Formula Automating Calculations with Formula Replication Another feature associated with using tables that leads to improved accuracy is that of formula replication. With formula replication, whenever you enter a formula in a column of a table, Excel copies that formula automatically up and down the entire column, eliminating the need for you to copy and paste the formula. For example, if you add a Use Tax column to the table pictured in Figure 28 and insert the formula =.06*[@Amount] to any row in that column of the table, Excel automatically copies that formula throughout the entire column as shown in Figure 29. Figure 29 - Formula Replication within a Table Formula replication is a major benefit associated with using tables, particularly those that resize from time to time because it means you no longer need to be concerned with ensuring that all rows of the table have the correct formula. As such, formula replication constitutes a significant advantage associated with tables and enhances the use of tables as an Excel best practice. 22

23 Working with PivotTables Excel s Most Powerful Function A PivotTable report is an interactive table that automatically extracts, organizes, and summarizes data. Business professionals can use PivotTables in numerous aspects, including financial reporting and analysis. For example, you can use PivotTables to create financial statements, combine disaggregated data into a consolidated financial statement, and analyze financial data. Further, PivotTables can accommodate very large datasets, and the underlying data for the PivotTable need not reside in Excel. PivotTables can provide all of this functionality and more, quickly and with computational accuracy. Excel uses specific terms to identify the elements of a PivotTable report. The main elements, shown in Figure 30, are row fields, column fields, report filters, value fields, items, and the data area Figure 30 - Parts of a PivotTable 1. Report Filters are fields from the source data that act as filters in a PivotTable report. Year is a report filter in Figure 30. The Year field could be used to display summarized data for only 2011 or 2012, etc. 2. Value Fields are fields from the source data that contain values to summarize. Sales is a value field in the previous example. For numeric data, users can choose how to summarize the data (sum, average, count). For text data, users can count the number of times a specific text entry such as Yes or No appears in a field. 3. Column Fields are fields from the source data assigned to a column layout. Quarter is a column field in Figure

24 4. Items are the subcategories of row fields, column fields, or report filters. In this example, the Region field contains these items: East and West. The Product field contains these items: {Pipe, 1/2-inch, Galv} and {Pipe, 1/2-inch, Sch 40}, etc. 5. Row Fields are fields from the source data assigned to a row layout in a PivotTable. Region and Product are row fields in Figure The Data Area is the range of cells in a PivotTable report that contains summarized data. For example, the value in cell C5 summarizes the sales for the product {Pipe, 1/2-inch, Galv} for the East region in the first quarter of In other words, it is a summary of the sales figures for every row in the source data that contains the items {Pipe, 1/2-inch, Galv}, East, Qtr1, and Now that we understand what a PivotTable is and are familiar with the terminology used by Microsoft to describe the various elements of a PivotTable, let s begin our coverage of PivotTables. Simple PivotTables Before focusing on PivotTables in a financial reporting context, a simple PivotTable example is in order to ensure that all course participants have a solid foundation in PivotTable construction. Fortunately, a large portion of the productivity and information analysis benefits of using PivotTables is gained with the simplest of PivotTables. In other words, you need not be an advanced PivotTable user to take advantage of their power and functionality. For many financial reporting and analysis applications, a simple PivotTable that auto-summarizes or auto-tabulates our data will be very effective and will provide all of the power that we need. The table of data in Figure 31 contains sales data extracted from a general ledger. It will serve as the data source for our PivotTable examples. Each record represents the total sales by month for a specific product. There are three columns of data Month, Product, and Sales. The sales figures could be in units, thousands of units, dollars, or thousands of dollars, etc. In this case, we will assume that sales are reported in dollars. One of the few requirements of the underlying data flowing into a PivotTable is that the data must be arranged in columns. A second requirement is that the columns must have headers at the top. Users do not need to sort data prior to creating a PivotTable In our sample data set, there are nearly one hundred rows of data, although many data sets may have thousands of rows. The two latest versions of Excel support over one million rows in the worksheet grid, so there is the potential to have extremely large datasets as the basis for PivotTables. There are no practical limits on the amount of data that can be used in a PivotTable, but the more data there is to summarize or analyze, the greater the power of PivotTables. 24

25 Figure 31 - Sample Data Source for PivotTable Examples In our first example, we would like to tabulate the sales figures by Product and by Month of sale. Our completed PivotTable will have rows for the Product and Months for the columns. To create a simple PivotTable from our data, do the following. 1. Place the cursor in the data and choose PivotTable from the Insert tab of the Ribbon as shown in Figure 32. Figure 32 - Selecting PivotTable from the Insert Tab of the Ribbon 2. In the resulting Create PivotTable dialog box, shown in Figure 33, the data range should be defined already. If not, click the Collapse Dialog button and highlight the data range. Make sure to select the entire data range, including the field names at the top of the data columns. Select New Worksheet and then click OK. Note that a table can serve as a dynamic data range for a PivotTable in the 2007 and newer versions of Excel. 25

26 Figure 33 - Highlighting the Data Range and Select New Worksheet 3. A new worksheet like the one shown in Figure 34 will be inserted in the workbook. On the left side of the worksheet is a placeholder for the PivotTable report. On the right side is the PivotTable task pane. The layout of the task pane can be customized to a user's needs by clicking the drop-down button in the top right corner of the task pane just below the title bar. The task pane contains the PivotTable Field List at the top and four quadrant boxes into which users drag fields from the list to create the PivotTable. The quadrants correspond to the four areas of a PivotTable report: Filters, Columns (column fields), Rows (row fields), and Values (data area). 26

27 Figure 34 - Creating a PivotTable by Dragging Fields to the Quadrants 4. Now, drag each of the fields, in turn, from the field list at the top of the PivotTable Task Pane to the report quadrants at the bottom as shown in Figure Click on the Month field, hold down your left mouse button, drag and point to the Columns quadrant, and then release your left mouse button. 6. Click on the Product field, hold down your left mouse button, drag and point to the Rows quadrant, and again release your left mouse button. 7. Click on the Sales field, hold down your left mouse button, drag and point to the Values quadrant, and then release your left mouse button. Figure 35 shows the results of our efforts. The PivotTable summarizes the raw data into a two-dimensional table with Months across the top and Products down the left margin. Also, note how Excel totaled each row and column automatically. In sum, even for novice users of PivotTables, the total time invested in creating this PivotTable was less than one minute far less than what it would have been using any other Excel technique. This begins to demonstrate the power of the PivotTable for financial reporting and analysis the ability of a PivotTable to summarize large volumes of data almost instantly and with unrivaled computational accuracy. 27

28 Figure 35 - Simple PivotTable Report Created with a Few Clicks Creating a PivotTable in the PivotTable Task Pane is only available in the 2007, 2010 and 2013 versions of Excel. In earlier versions, fields were dragged from the Field List to a PivotTable report template to create a report. For experienced users who prefer to use the former method, a setting can be changed in PivotTable options to allow the method. Right-click on an existing PivotTable or PivotTable placeholder and select PivotTable Options. In the PivotTable Options dialog box, select Classic PivotTable Layout on the Display tab. This setting can also be modified from the PivotTable Tools contextual tab. Since the simplest of PivotTable reports provides a significant proportion of the power of PivotTables, let us investigate a few report-formatting techniques before we examine PivotTables in a financial reporting and analysis context. First, turn off the field headers in the report for presentation. Click Field Headers on the PivotTable Tools, Analyze tab to turn off the headers as shown in Figure 36. Next, rename the Sum of Sales label by typing the desired label into the cell. Simply click in the cell containing the label Sum of Sales and enter Monthly Sales by Product. 28

29 Figure 36 - Hiding the Field Headers and Entering a Descriptive Label for Presentation Users can format cells in a PivotTable for printing and display just as in any other cell or range of cells. In our sample PivotTable, the sales values in the report need to be formatted in the Accounting format with zero decimals and without dollar signs. The first and total rows of the sales values need to be formatted with dollar signs for presentation. Excel also has a large number of built-in visual styles with which to format PivotTables automatically. These styles, available in the PivotTables Styles gallery on the PivotTable Tools, Design contextual tab, contain a wide variety of colors and formatting for the table, table headers, and total and subtotal rows. Figure 37 shows our PivotTable report with the values formatted as dollars and one of the built-in styles applied. Figure 37 - PivotTable with Accounting Format and Style Applied Subtotals and grand totals can be added or removed as well as row and column banding (which use shading so that data points in rows or columns are easily identified) by using buttons and check boxes accessible on the PivotTable Tools, Design contextual tab. Excel also provides three built-in report layouts Compact, Outline, and Tabular that alter the way the report displays. The Compact form, which is the default, displays multiple row fields in a single, expandable and collapsible column. Field names are hidden on the report. The Tabular form is the familiar PivotTable layout that experienced users have been utilizing for years. Multiple row fields appear in multiple columns, and the worksheet grid is visible. The Outline form is similar to the Tabular form, but 29

30 the worksheet grid is not visible in the report. All of the layouts are available from the PivotTable Tools, Design contextual tab. Grouping and Ungrouping Data Now, let us examine some of the power of PivotTables. To calculate and display quarterly sales totals for each of the products, simply group the months into quarters. Position the cursor in a cell containing one of the monthly column headings such as Jan Right-click and choose Group to open the Grouping dialog box. In the By box, click Quarters so that Months and Quarters are highlighted as shown in Figure 38. Click OK to complete the task. Figure 38 - Grouping Months into Quarters Turn off the field headers for presentation. On the PivotTable Tools, Analyze contextual tab, click on Field Headers. Next, position the cursor in a cell containing one of the quarterly column headings such as Qtr1. Right-click on the cell and from the context-sensitive menu, select Subtotal "Quarters" to add a quarterly subtotal for each quarter. Figure 39 shows the initial results. Some of the columns have been removed for presentation. 30

31 Figure 39 - Results of Grouping Months into Quarters Again, position the cursor in a cell containing one of the quarterly column headings such as Qtr1. Rightclick on the cell and from the context-sensitive menu, select Expand/Collapse, Collapse Entire Field. Months are collapsed into Quarters, and all of the totals now reflect quarterly sales totals as shown in Figure 40. Detail can be shown or hidden for a single group or for an entire field from the context-sensitive menu. Figure 40 - Monthly Data Grouped into Quarters To see the detail observations that underlie any of the cells, just double-click on the cell of interest. Excel will insert a new sheet containing the detail observations that underlie the contents of the cell. For example, if a user clicks on cell E9, which contains a sales total of 34,260 in our sample PivotTable, Excel will display the underlying detail as shown in Figure 41. Note that the data appears in Table form and format, which makes it easy to filter and analyze. 31

32 Figure 41 - Drilling to Detail from a PivotTable Summary Far from an exhaustive list of productivity-enhancing options available in Excel, implementing the items presented in this session should help you to achieve better results with Excel in less time. Each of these features and functions discussed will help you to work more efficiently and effectively and allow you to create workbooks faster, analyze data more efficiently and accurately, and prepare and format your reports q then ever. Therefore, ensure that you begin saving precious time in Excel immediately by implementing each of these tools. 32