K2's 2023 Excel Essentials For Staff Accountants
Overview
Staff accountants have specific needs when working with Excel – needs that are often not met by their existing Excel knowledge. Chief among these are the needs to quickly summarize data, prepare accurate and aesthetically pleasing reports, and create accounting-centric calculations for elements such as depreciation, amortization, and interest. By participating in this eight-hour session, staff accountants will gain the essential skills they need to maximize their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.
This session begins with a quick overview of Excel best practices. It then progresses rapidly into discussions that address PivotTables, sophisticated formulas, Tables, formatting, and working with dates in Excel. Throughout the session, you will learn from accounting-centric examples to reinforce key learning points. In this session, you will learn in a “laptop-friendly” environment, and participants will have access to all the demonstration files used in the session. In sum, this seminar is a “must” for all staff accountants seeking to improve their efficiency and accuracy when working with Excel.
Highlights
- Best practices for creating and working with Excel workbooks
- Effectively using Excel functions when creating formulas
- The importance of PivotTables in modern reporting environments
- Best practices for formatting your workbooks
Prerequisites
Fundamental knowledge of Microsoft Office Excel 2019 or newer
Designed For
Accounting and financial professionals who want to use the power of Excel PivotTables to analyze and summarize data
Objectives
- List five critical best practices associated with creating workbooks and construct workbooks that comply with these principles
- Utilize PivotTables and PivotCharts to summarize and present data quickly, without writing formulas
- Build sophisticated formulas to assist with reporting and analysis, including formulas that use functions such as VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, CHOOSE, XNPV, XIRR, PMT, IPMT, ACCRINT, and TRIM
- Create Tables from ranges of Excel data and identify the primary advantages of working with Tables
- Apply formats quickly and efficiently to Excel reports and understand the importance of features such as the Accounting format, Accounting Underlines, Precision as Displayed, Center Across Selection, and Flash Fill
- Work with date-oriented data in Excel and create calculations – such as those involving depreciation expense and interest accruals – that involve the passage of time
Preparation
None
Notice
This course is offered by a 3rd party vendor and will not be accessible in the My CPE Tracker section of the ISCPA website. Course access information will be emailed directly to you by Accounting Continuing Professional Education Network (ACPEN).
Leader(s):
Leader Bios
Thomas Stephens Jr, K2 Enterprises LLC
Tommy Stephens received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (Major in Accounting) from Auburn University in 1985. In 1992, he earned a Master of Science degree (Major in Finance) from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Presently, Tommy is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Information Technology Professional, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
During his professional career, Tommy has gained valuable experience in a variety of positions, including:
• Working as an auditor and technology consultant for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm; • Leading an Internal Audit staff and managing a Cost Accounting team for a Fortune 500 company; • Serving as a Chief Financial Officer for an international engineering organization; and • Founding and managing his public accounting firm that provides accounting, tax, and consulting services to individuals and a variety of small and emerging businesses In 1995, Tommy began authoring and presenting continuing professional education courses to accounting and finance professionals. In 2003, he affiliated with K2 Enterprises, and in 2007, he joined the firm as a partner. To date, he has lectured internationally on subjects such as internal controls for small businesses, technology strategies, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance, and financial accounting standards and applications. Over the past twenty-five years, Tommy has presented over 2,900 educational sessions to over 73,000 participants throughout the United States and Canada.
Presently, Tommy resides in Woodstock, Georgia, where he enjoys an active personal life with his wife. His hobbies include snow skiing, fishing, running, and other outdoor activities. Tommy maintains professional memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, he is a past member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Non-Member Price $275.00
Member Price $225.00