Advanced Spreadsheeting

Catalog description

This course focuses on using advanced features of Microsoft Excel to create efficient spreadsheet models and analyze real-world business problems. Because a spreadsheet can be a part of a bigger Information System, Excel can be used as a tool for pre-processing data or integrate with other tools such as databases. Moreover, Visual Basic for Applications built into Excel allows us to develop programs to perform tasks that are not available from the standard Excel interface (buttons and command). Course topics include: an introduction to MIS problem solving approach (e.g. efficient & flexible spreadsheet design), determining effective data display with charts and linking & consolidating worksheets, text functions & formulas (including formulas manipulate text, look up values, array formulas and etc.), data screening & validation, locating & managing data with reference functions, troubleshooting & customizing workbooks with macro, visual basic programming and other advanced tools, and data analysis (e.g. Excel Toolpak & basic statistics). Although certain level of familiarity with programming is preferred, such skills are not required. Most programming will be taught from the scratch. The course is designed to be extremely practical, and the skills learned from the class can be put to immediate use in other classes, the workplace, and almost all other areas. Students from all concentrations are encouraged to take the course, and the advanced skills stressed repeatedly by recruiters will be covered in this class.