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Courses/Office Productivity/MS Excel

Excel Model Makeover 2

Reducing Entry Time from 2 hr to 2 min

Created byLenny Wu
3.8
(11 reviews)
IntermediateUpdated Jan 20, 2025
Excel Model Makeover 2

What You'll Learn

check_circleMaster the best practices of designing, modeling and validating an “accounting” model
check_circleRecognize when to data entry and when not to
check_circleUnderstand 4 best practices in building a data entry model
check_circleIdentify 2 best practices in building an accounting summary model
check_circleDiscover methods to build validation and auditing functionality into your models

About This Course

The course is presented in four parts.

First, the course introduces a business case of an “accounting” model that unintentionally includes all the hurdles to prevent fast data entry. The model takes a staff 1+ hour to update 1 vessel file, and what’s worse, it takes over 2 hours to generate an up-to-date Status report for a fleet of 60 vessels!

Next, the course will demonstrate how the author has overhauled the old model so that it: o Reduces the data entry and report time from 1 hour to 1 min, and o Reduces the integration time from 2 hours to 2 minutes!

Third, we draw a line between when to data entry and when not to. Generally speaking, we need to avoid data entry as much as possible, thanks to the technologies. However, if you do need data entry, only enter data at a minimum with the remaining filled in from data extracts.

Fourth, we demonstrate the 7 Dos and Don’ts in data entry, reporting, and validations. Some of the best practices are: o Do NOT enter data in a summary table, making it hard to update o Do NOT enter invoice details in a cell note, resulting in double entry o Do NOT apply accounting debits or credits in the entry form, which may confuse data entry clerks o Do NOT summarize on “moving targets”

Last, the course illustrates some advanced modeling skills on: o How to build validation and auditing checks? o How to “quickly” set up links to 60 vessel files?

Prerequisites and Advanced Preparation ● Basic Excel knowledge ● Example: be able to open one Excel file and connect to external data files, etc.

Field of Study: Computer Software & Applications

Your Instructor

Lenny Wu
Lenny Wu

Financial Reporting Expert

menu_book38 courses
star2,457 reviews

Lenny is Senior Financial Analyst at Ausenco. Lenny has over 15 years combined experience in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), financial reporting and modeling, and compliance auditing. Lenny supervises Adaptive Insights system budgeting, and is a CPA, CGA, and a Certified Adaptive Insights Professional and Certified Xero Partner. Lenny is a proponent for "One-click Reporting" for analysts and "Self-service Reporting" for executives. He has strong belief that reporting and closing should be hours rather than days or even weeks. Lenny also acted as local CPA chapter board officer and volunteered for Canada Revenue Agency as a Community Volunteer Income Tax Program consultant. Education MBA, Finance : George Washington University - SBPM (School of Business and Public Management) - [1998 to 2000]

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

What Students Are Saying

3.8
Student's Choice
11 reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 327+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 29 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.