[tiffiwiffi1]

Hi,u

I currently have 3 years of accounts payable experience and I am interested in landing a professional level accounting position. I know that I need to learn excel. I do not use the program on my current job. I have completed the excel workbook for dummies book. I just would like to know what aspects of excel should i be focusing on? Pivot Tables? Data lists? Which functions? When and how did you guys learn excel. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for responding.

follow me on the cpa road

[michelle119]

Hi Tiff,

I mainly learned excel in high school and college (just graduated in May). I had two (long) internships over the course of 6 years and mainly used a lot of Pivot Tables and Data lists and various functions. One of my bosses loved excel and v-lookups and h-lookups and I have those down pat. Maybe try and take a Intro/Intermediate course at a community college near you. My mom took some since she needed to learn Excel and Access and they seemed to help her learn the programs (she's computer illiterate). And they were probably inexpensive.

Good luck!

FAR 7/2 - 88
BEC 7/30 - 87
AUD 8/27 - 80
REG 11/12 - 96

[Anonymous]

Tiff,

I can't vouch for an accounting job, but for auditing, pivot tables are critical. These are needed to analyze large data sets in many different ways with the click of a button. With you knowing how to use these could set you apart from other new hires. Personally, I never learned how to use these until after on the job. Some of my coworkers still don't know how to use them, so they resort to simple filters (which I now think are an inefficient way to work, unless there is no other way to analyze the data). Access is another useful tool which is now compatible with Excel since you can export and import tables from one another.

Pivot tables are considered advanced Excel techniques so if you are new to Excel, I recommend getting to know the basics, shortcuts, filters, etc. before moving on to pivot tables. But even after I took a training class on them, I never really got comfortable with them until I used them in the field. Nothing beats the experience. But over time you will learn and it should allow you to look at large amounts of data quicker and better than your peers.

[joohj1187]

I think pivot tables, basic functions, plus the v and h lookups are definitely something you should have down pat (when i first discovered vlookup, i thought it was the most amazing thing ever <= dork).

also, you should definitely get the hang of small little excel tricks that cuts down on a lot of time. Like pressing f2 in a cell to type, instead of double-clicking on it…

FAR: 8/5/2010 - 89
AUD: 8/24/2010 - 92
REG: 10/11/2010 - 94!!
BEC: 11/30/2010

[Anonymous]

You don't even have to press F2. You can just start typing if you are on that cell. And if you're not on the cell, you only need to single click on the cell and just start typing.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I see what you were saying. If the cell is currently filled, F2 will take you to the end of the data in that cell so you can start typing at the end which is definitely faster. But if the cell is blank, just start typing

[Anonymous]

lynda.com

They have excelent hands on programs for around $100.

Don't be afraid to Google things (ex. add row of cells together)

Assume that excel can do almost anything. if you need help, email me at danryan.johnson at gmail dot com Sorry for the lack of a link, i just do not want to be spammed.

[tiffiwiffi1]

Thanks to you all for responding. I have one more question. Should I know how to use the logical function ( ex. the IF function- using the IF function to build formulas for alternate calculations: nested IF functions; formulas that trap error values)?

Also, what about the text formulas? Are they a waste of time to learn? Do any of you accountants use these two weird functions? Thanks for responding.

follow me on the cpa road

[Anonymous]

They can be useful so you can have a value equal “yes” or “no” based on the criteria of your function. (i.e., if value is greater than 0, result is “yes”, and vice versa)

[tiffiwiffi1]

Are basic v lookups o.k? or should I know advanced v lookups? Thanks guys.U R truly helpful!!!

follow me on the cpa road

[michelle119]

I used a lot of basic v lookups, I'm not sure about advanced, do you mean a v lookup with other statements such as if statements within it? If so some of the people I worked with used them but they were not something we used very often.

FAR 7/2 - 88
BEC 7/30 - 87
AUD 8/27 - 80
REG 11/12 - 96

[tiffiwiffi1]

Thanks I just learned the basic V lookups this past weekend. What i mean by advanced lookup was the IF functions that are used with the v lookup? Did you ever use these frequently? I am just trying to make sure that my skills are up to par before I begin a new job. I am trying not to stress out. I thank you all for your advice!!!

follow me on the cpa road

[magic_8_ball_did_i_pass]

https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/excel-2003-training-courses-HA001116128.aspx

I would say use microsoft to teach you. I dont know how the course is run but wouldn't they know best since it is their software. Anyhoo, I hope it helps! And best of all i believe it is free.

IL - BECKER=============> DONE
REG - 80; FAR - 65,79; AUD - 53,78; BEC - 71,68, 75 (used becker and yaeger for 3rd BEC)Ethics 95

I'M GONNA CELEBRATE AND LIVE MY LIFE SAYING AYE OH BABY LETS GO!!!!!

[tiffiwiffi1]

Magic Ball,

Thanks for your advice!!! Congrats on passing REG!!!

follow me on the cpa road

[75 CPA]

Learn how to write Excel macros.

[Nicole]

First, I commend you for being proactive and learning Excel before getting a job. I get so frustrated when people who have been in accounting jobs longer than I have been alive have failed to learn everyday Excel functions and are asking for help on the same things everytime. *rant over*

I agree with a lot of people here with v and h lookups and pivot tables. I use them ALL the time because I deal with a lot of data at one time that has to be traced on a detailed basis. The database system is so archaic that I also have a hard time with getting usable data. For some things I use if functions, filters, and text functions to just make the data usable.

I suggest at least looking through the function list to see what Excel can do and then just use the Help button to look in detail when you need to. No need to commit all of the functions to memory…just know you have options.

Also, find your style to be most efficient. Do you like using the mouse only? Do you like shortcuts on the keyboard? A combination of both? Some people use a left-handed mouse so they can use the right hand as dedicated 10-key.

Good Luck on starting your career!

Florida - Using Bisk, Jeff's Notes, and CPAreviewforfree.com

FAR - 87 (08/14/10) AUD - 97 (11/12/10)
BEC - 83 (02/26/11) REG - 90 (05/31/11)

[Author]

Replies