Excel Do's and Don'ts: how to make your spreadsheets shine

Name: Excel Do's and Don'ts: how to make your spreadsheets shine
Rating: 4.6 (43 reviews)

Tips and spreadsheet best practice guidelines that can help you and your company avoid embarrassing and costly mistakes

Created byPamela Hellig FFA, FASSA, CERA

Last updated 11/2021

English

What you'll learn

Excel best practice tips and guidelines for personal and professional use

Course content

7 sections • 7 lectures • 1h 21m total length

Introduction: Best Practice for Excel Spreadsheets17:11
An introduction to the course content - highlighting the importance of following Excel and general spreadsheet best practice guidelines and the goals that this course sets out to achieve.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following questions:
What are the advantages and risks of using Excel?
What are some high profile Excel disasters and how could they have been avoided?
What are the benefits of implementing spreadsheet best practice?
What are the main controls you can use to derisk your spreadsheets?

Lesson 1: Version Control, Change Control and Backup17:24
Lesson 1 is the first lesson covering tips and tricks of spreadsheet best practice. This lesson focuses on the importance and application of version control, change control and backup.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following questions:
Why are version and change controls so important?
Why is backup so important?
What are some principles of version control and change control?
What simple things can you do to ensure you have version and change controls in place?

Lesson 3: Documentation10:19
Lesson 3 looks at everyone's favourite topic - documentation!
Documentation is essential in minimising the risk and maximising the efficiency of your spreadsheets.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following questions:
Why is spreadsheet documentation so important?
What is an appropriate amount of documentation?
How does spreadsheet documentation look in practice?

Lesson 4: Checks7:15
Lesson 4 is arguably the most important lesson in this course, because every spreadsheet should include sufficient checks. This lesson highlights the importance of checks and suggests how to include them in your spreadsheets.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following questions:
What do we mean by checks?
Why are checks important?
How do spreadsheet checks look in practice?

Lesson 5: Structure and format18:27
Lesson 5 provides tips and suggestions regarding using structure and formatting to make your spreadsheets easy to use and difficult to break.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following questions:
What are the main principles of spreadsheet best practice?
How can structure, format and formulae be used to make my spreadsheets easier to use and less risky?

Requirements

A working knowledge of Microsoft Excel

Description

Excel is one of the most user-friendly software applications in the world, with billions of users. But the qualities which make it so appealing - its easy of use, versatility and flexibility - also lead to Excel spreadsheets posing major risks to individuals and companies.

Spreadsheet errors, caused by carelessness or a lack of control around spreadsheets, cost individuals and companies billions of dollars every year. Yet by implementing several intuitive and easy tips and best practice guidelines, many of these unintentional errors could be avoided. This issue is becoming so prominent that many regulators around the world are implementing laws around End-User Computing (EUC), which encompasses Excel and other End-User Applications.

This course is the road safety guide to using Excel - just as we aren't allowed to drive without knowing some basic road safety rules, so too should no-one, from beginner to advanced users, be using Excel without some basic best practice training.

The lessons cover controls (versioning, change management, backup, input control, access control, documentation and checks) as well as general tips and best practice guidelines, which are easy to implement and solidify into good habits. An example spreadsheet is included in the course materials and provides a template for anyone wishing to implement these controls in their own life and work.

Who this course is for:

Anyone looking to improve the quality and accuracy of their spreadsheets in a personal or professional context.
Anyone who wants to know more about End-User Computing (EUC) Management

Excel Do's and Don'ts: how to make your spreadsheets shine

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 17min

Version Control, Change Control and Backup1 lecture • 17min

Input Control and Access Control1 lecture • 11min

Documentation1 lecture • 10min

Checks1 lecture • 7min

Structure, formatting and formulae1 lecture • 18min

Course Materials1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: