9 Best Excel Skills for Accountants in 2019

Learning Excel has never been more important, and the platform continues to add to its list of features. The following is a list of the most important Excel skills for accountants, but it is by no means a full set—professionals are encouraged to consistently update their knowledge of the spreadsheet program, specifically as the product updates itself from time to time.

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1. Filling and formatting :

Excel has the ability to auto-fill cells and add special formatting to cell batches more easily than ever. Learn the shortcut keys and pay attention to Excel’s new automation features to accelerate your work rate in the platform immensely. For example, holding Ctrl + Shift with the numerals below allows you to immediately apply common formats to large amounts of data :

• + 1 - Format numbers with two decimal places
• + 2 - Format cells as time
• + 3 - Format cells as date
• + 4 - Format cells as currency
• + 5 - Format cells as a percentage
• Ctrl + Shift + 6 - Format cells in exponential or scientific form

2. Sparkline charts :

A chart line is a feature that allows you to embed charts inside cells, greatly improving your ability to consolidate large amounts of information into a single spreadsheet. The chart can be in a number of formats, consist of win/loss, bar or line format. Creating these charts is a relatively simple procedure:

1. Select your range of numbers
2. Click on the Insert menu
3. Choose one of the built-in chart options
4. Select a location range that is in the same worksheet 

3. Making charts visually appealing :

Excel Charts has many features for not only creating reports but also making them look attractive to readers. Here are a few tricks that you can use to quickly increase the visual appeal of your charts.

• Time series charts – Bar and line charts are usually the best option for plotting data over a specific period of time. You can use the following shortcut keys to create a line chart (Alt+N+L+N) or a bar chart (Alt+N+C).
• Breaking down data into components – If you are trying to show data with multiple components, the pie chart is generally the best option. You can enter information as percentages or absolute values. The shortcut key for this is Alt+N+Q.
• Scatter plotting – This is a great tool for examining the trends in data points. The shortcut for plotting points this way is Alt+N+D.
• Trend line – Your line and bar charts have the capability to add trendlines and scatterplots to more easily interpret the data and understand the relationships there.

4. Using pivot tables :

Pivot tables are interactive, giving users the ability to detect trends and make data comparisons. The PivotTable selection under the Data menu takes you straight into a Wizard that lets you choose the data for a PivotChart and easily format that data however you need.

Insert a pivot table with the Alt+N+V shortcut. Add fields in your Column, Rows, Filter and Values boxes and select the way to tally the data – averaging, counting or adding. You can then use Excel’s built-in functions or create your own calculated items to further shape your data. Your calculated fields are defined by the formulas you set, making it easy to draw derivative findings from a set of data.

5. Auditing formulas :

You no longer have to be a calculus whiz to get the most out of Excel formulas. The Formula Auditing toolbar gives you quick and dirty access to an error checking function that works especially well on large and difficult worksheets. Even if you are working with a smaller worksheet, you can still make the process of creating and auditing your formulas speed along much more speedily.

The Formula Tab is where you will find the Formula Auditing toolbar. From here, you can choose from a number of options, including formula execution, tracing formula precedents, hunting down errors and locating dependent cells.

6. Data validation :

This function is a huge shortcut for worksheets that have many different forms of data. Utilizing Data Validation ensures that a user quickly knows the data type that a cell holds. The user also knows if the cell can contain anything at all. If the data is not accurately validated, an error message pops up that will certainly shorten the time that the user requires to go back over long stretches of data after formatting.

Confide on the option that you utilize, you can enter formulas, times and dates, floats or whole numbers. Users also have the ability to select from a wide set of options, consist of the option to enter only integer numbers. The custom formula feature lets the user set their own conditions using the built-in formulas from the program.

7. What If analysis :

Excel also has the capability to analyze hypothetical scenarios with three main options – Goal Seek, the Data Tables, and the Scenario Manager. The Scenario Manager is perhaps the most robust of these three options, giving the user the capability to input variables of different values in different situations. Users have the option of numbering the scenarios and comparing them against each other, along with the capability to refer to the cells that are changing between scenarios.

The option for the Goal Seek iterates a situation until a preset requirement is met. This is a great way to shorten up the search for a particular cell value that you need to move forward with a set of data. The Data Table lets the user display more than one scenario at a time, which helps to increase productivity if many situations need to be compared against each other. Grow the scope of this feature beyond bookkeeping, Excel serves as an excellent tool for the financial analytics of business development, especially for analysts and solopreneurs who prefer independent contracts with clients.

8. Using templates :

You don’t have to remake the wheel every time you require to use Excel. Familiarizing yourself with the ever-expanding library of templates that are accessible for any Excel version can exponentially shorten your time between problem and solution. You can gain access to templates through the Insert command that is under the Spreadsheet Solutions tab. Here you will find many various types of templates consist of amortization schedules. Even if you do not necessarily want to go through the library of accessible templates, you can create your particular as you problem solve by easily saving a worksheet as a template.

9. From Data to Table :

To finish up these vital skills, we will reel in the discussion with a shortcut that every accountant should know that turns data cells into a table. Click within the parameters of your data set and press Ctrl-T, and voilà – instant table.

Regardless of how long you have been using Excel, is always a good idea to reboot your skills every so often. You can create accounting magic with Excel that is instantly translatable across business disciplines since everyone knows Excel as the industry standard. Make sure that you keep up with new versions of Excel and take note of the new features that are constantly being added to this landmark program.

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