Prof.

Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon

What-if analysis
One of the most powerful features of Excel is the

automatic recalculation of formulas when any of the source data changes. You can use this feature to perform What-if analysis. Using What-if analysis, you can change one set of data and see how the changes are reflected in another set of data. This helps in decision-making. For example, the cost of a product includes the cost of raw materials, wages of workers and other miscellaneous expenses. Thus, you can relate the cost with the variables using a formula .
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 2

Contd.
If you want to determine the change in the cost when

any of the components of the total cost changes, you can do so by changing the value of the variable. The new value of the total cost can be immediately seen in the cell containing the formula for calculating total cost. Note the changes in the cost figures for some of the products and the corresponding change in the Total Cost figure.

Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon

Goal Seek in Excel

When you use the Goal Seek command, Excel changes the

value in one cell until the value in a second cell reaches a number that you desire. For instance, if you had a spreadsheet that calculated farm profit from a variety of inputs, including cow numbers, expenses, milk yield, and milk price, you might use goal seek to define your break-even milk price. You would tell the computer to change milk price until Profit was zero (break-even), and you would do that using Tool, Goal Seek. To use Goal Seek, go to the Tools command. If Goal seek is not an option, you must first go to Add-ins (also under Tools), and select Goal Seek. Once Goal Seek is loaded, choose it under Tools.
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 4

Contd.
In Goal Seek there will be three boxes to fill in. 1. The first says "Set cell." Enter the cell address (or click on the cell) of the cell whose value you want to fix or set to a specific number (i.e. Profit cell). This cell must contain a formula or function. Otherwise it will not be linked to the cell you will be changing to obtain zero profit. 2. The second says "To value." Enter the appropriate value you wish to see in that "Set" cell (i.e. 0 if you want the Profit to come out zero). 3. The third says "By changing cell." Enter or click on the cell you want Goal Seek to change to obtain the zero profit. (i.e. milk price). This cell must not be a formula or function. Then click "okay."
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 5

Troubleshooting a Goal Seek

Make sure the "Set Cell" cell is a formula or function or

cell reference. Make sure you have set that sell to a reasonable number. Make sure the "By Changing Cell" cell is a number or blank, and not a formula, function or cell reference like =C5. Make sure there is a link by formulas between the two cells you entered in the Goal Seek. However complicated the link might be, they must be related for the Set cell to be changed by the Change cell. Finally, make sure your formula in the "Set Cell" cell is correct (as well as all others).
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 6

Database capability
Every organisation works towards maintaining data of various

kinds like employee details, purchase details, sales details etc. The purpose of sorting and maintaining data is to retrieve it later for day-to-day transactions and management planning. The data which is collected from the source is the raw data. Various operations can be carried out with the data, like, sorting, searching and totalling. This is processed and manipulated to be transformed as information. The most important database feature of Excel is to store, manage and analyse data
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 7

Creating a Database
On a blank worksheet, label the cells in row 1 with the field

names you want to use. Example, Lastname, Firstname, Address, Phone Number. (These field names can be modified later) Field Name Guidelines
Use letter not numbers as field names Give each field a different name Format the field names so that they stand out with a distinct font,

format, border or shading.

Click cell A1 and choose Data and Form. A form pops up with data entry boxes for each field you

have created. Enter the data for each field. Use the Tab key to move from field to field. Press Enter when you are finished entering the information for that record. The record information will be entered on the Excel worksheet.
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 8

Contd.
Adding/Deleting a Record
You can add a new record using the Data Form, or simply

type new entries directly on the Excel worksheet. When you delete a record using the data form you cannot undo your deletion. If you delete a record on the worksheet you can press the Undo button to get your record back.

Finding a Record
When you click the Criteria button on the Data Form the

form becomes a search tool. You can search for a particular record by entering the lastname, for example and pressing Enter on the keyboard
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 9

Contd.
Adding/Deleting/Modifying Fields The ease with which you can modify fields is one of the strong features of the Excel database. To add a field to your database, insert a new column anywhere on the worksheet. You can enter a new field name and the data for the individual records right on the worksheet. When you go to Data, Form, the new field will appear in the Dialog Box.

Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon

10

Sorting
There are 2 Sort buttons on the toolbar. You can use these to sort any field by Ascending or

Descending order. When you sort a field, the entire record information will move with the sorted data. You can also click Data, Sort. The Sort dialog box pops up. Select a field to sort by and choose from Ascending or Descending. Select By to choose a secondary field to sort by.

Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon

11

AutoFilter
AutoFilter will sort i.e. filter a field to give you just the information you want. From the Data menu select Filter, AutoFilter. Dropdown arrows appear. Click an arrow to sort by that field. To see all the records click back on the drop down arrow and select All. You can also customize AutoFilter to do a more specific search. To turn AutoFilter off, go back to Data, Filter, AutoFilter and uncheck it.
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 12

Data Validation
Data Validation allows you to define fields and the type of

information that can be entered there. You can specify whether an entry can be a number or text or even restrict it further. Once you've specified what data is valid, Excel prevents other data (invalid) from being entered. To activate this feature, click on the column letter heading to black out the entire column. Click Data, Validation on the toolbar. There are 3 tabs in the Data Validation dialog box: Settings, Input Message and Error Alert =IF(D11=>100,"PAID","NOTPAID")
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 13

Application of excel spreadsheet

ROI and ROE Performance Measure Forecasting Techniques Comparative Ratio Analysis Using Data from Robert

Morris Associates (RMA) GANTT Chart for Scheduling Resources Data Input and Analysis Number of Days, Months and Years Between Two Dates Number of Days, Months and Years Between Two Dates Maximum Sustainable Growth
Prof. Nivedita Roy, IBS-Gurgaon 14