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Celebrate Spreadsheet Day with these Excel tips and tricks

Harness the power of this data management tool, which can do almost everything an accountant needs, from forecasting to taking advantage of AI

Woman working on laptopExcel has changed the way accountants collect and analyze data (Getty Images/Westend 61)

Accountants are revered for their love of numbers, including their passion for spreadsheets. On October 17, CPAs can celebrate their love for this data management software by marking Spreadsheet Day. 

This year is the 10-year anniversary of the celebration, which gives nod to the first spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, which officially launched October 17, 1979. 

“To me the great success of the spreadsheet is all around its versatility as a tool,” says Ken Puls, FCPA, FCMA, president and CTO of Excelguru Consulting Inc. “Whether you need to build a decision-support tool for tax analysis, a forecasting tool to build budgets or reconcile two lists to figure out which cheques haven’t cleared the bank, you can do it with a spreadsheet. While they can perform structured analysis quite well, they can also easily be extended for ad-hoc, what-if scenarios that are critical to any accountant.”

To honour the versatility of the program, we’ve rounded up our top Excel stories with tips ranging from how to use time-saving Power Query to nifty keyboard shortcuts.

11 EXCEL SECRETS FOR ACCOUNTANTS 

How do you get the most out of Excel? These tricks will turn you into a pro in no time. This article was another one of the website’s most read stories in 2018.

NEW EXCEL FEATURES TO MAKE YOU EVEN MORE PRODUCTIVE 

Up-to-date software allows you to take advantage of AI and time-saving features.  

MEMORIZE THESE 10 EXCEL SHORTCUTS TO BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY

These keyboard shortcuts demonstrate how to create spreadsheets with expert pace and ease. 

SHOULD YOU USE POWER BI ON ITS OWN OR WITH EXCEL? 

Both programs offer data analysis and modelling. But, depending on what you are working towards, one program may be more effective than the other. 

DATA VISUALIZATION WITH POWER BI: THE NEW FRONTIER

Excel and Power BI share much of the same technology helping to collect and model data. Combined, they can be used to build a financial statement. 

BECOME AN EXCEL EXPERT

Boost your ability to create functional and dynamic spreadsheets with this Excel certificate program and learn to create effective tabular data sets. Also, take a deep dive into lookup functions, logic and reference functions with this online course.