Master essential tools, shortcuts, and formulas to navigate the Excel interface with confidence and build practical spreadsheets efficiently.
Join CPA David Ringstrom in Introduction to Spreadsheets Part 1, a comprehensive course designed to take you from ground zero to confident proficiency within Microsoft Excel. Whether you are a complete novice interacting with the software for the first time or an experienced user looking to fill knowledge gaps and unlearn inefficient habits, this course offers valuable insights for everyone. Excel is a vast program, and even seasoned professionals can fall victim to "death by a thousand cuts"—small, repetitive inefficiencies that compound over time. This course aims to eliminate those frustrations by teaching you the most effective techniques for building and managing spreadsheets.
Throughout this session, you will learn by doing as you construct a practical, real-world project: a loan amortization schedule. This example allows for the exploration of a wide variety of essential tools, from basic data entry to complex formulas. You will discover how to navigate the Excel environment, distinguish between different file formats, and master the art of formatting to ensure your data is clear and professional. The course also demystifies the logic behind Excel calculations, ensuring you understand how to control mathematical order of operations and cell references.
Key learning outcomes include:
By the end of this course, you will have a solid foundation in Excel for Windows, with skills that translate seamlessly to the Mac platform. You will be equipped to create, format, and print spreadsheets with confidence, ready to tackle more advanced topics in the future.
CPA, Author, Professional Excel Spreadsheet Trainer and Consultant
David H. Ringstrom, CPA, is the author of Microsoft 365 Excel for Dummies, and a nationally recognized instructor who has taught over 2,500 live webinars. His Excel courses are based on over 30 years of consulting and teaching experience. David’s catchphrase is “Either you work Excel, or it works you,” so he focuses on what he sees users don’t, but should know about Microsoft Excel. His goal is to empower you to use Excel more effectively. David has authored or co-authored 10 books, including Exploring Microsoft Excel's Hidden Treasures, QuickBooks Online for Dummies, and Idiot's Guide to Introductory Accounting.
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.
