Spreadsheet software remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software used in workplaces around the world. Learning to confidently operate this software means adding a highly valuable asset to your employability portfolio. Across the globe, millions of job advertisements requiring Excel skills are posted every day. At a time when digital skills jobs are growing much faster than non-digital jobs, completing this course will position you ahead of others, so keep reading.
In this last course of our Specialization Excel Skills for Business you will build on the strong foundations of the first three courses: Essentials, Intermediate I + II. In the Advanced course, we will prepare you to become a power user of Excel - this is your last step before specializing at a professional level. The topics we have prepared will challenge you as you learn how to use advanced formula techniques and sophisticated lookups. You will clean and prepare data for analysis, and learn how to work with dates and financial functions. An in-depth look at spreadsheet design and documentation will prepare you for our big finale, where you will learn how to build professional dashboards in Excel.
This course is part of the Excel Skills for Business Specialization
Excel Skills for Business: Advanced
Offered By
About this Course
4.8
344 ratings
Skills you will gain
Dashboard (Business)Financial ModelingMicrosoft ExcelData Cleansing
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1Spreadsheet Design and Documentation
As an intermediate Excel user, you have the basics down. The first module of the Advanced course focusses on creating and maintaining accurate, flexible, responsive and user-friendly spreadsheets. You will learn how to design flexible and auditable spreadsheets, construct transparent calculations, create user-friendly navigation, and use styles, themes and formatting to tie it all up in a nice bow.
7 videos (Total 69 min), 7 readings, 5 quizzes
7 videos
Week 1 Discussion4m
Practice Video: Spreadsheet Design Principles12m
Practice Video: Calculations14m
Practice Video: Formatting11m
Practice Video: Documentation10m
Practice Video: Interface and Navigation12m
7 readings
Welcome10m
Course Structure & Assessments10m
Course goals and weekly learning objectives10m
Read me before you start: Quizzes and navigation10m
Read me before you start: Versions and regions10m
Download the Week 1 workbooks5m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips20m
5 practice exercises
Spreadsheet Design Principles6m
Calculations6m
Formatting6m
Documentation6m
Week 1 Final Assignments
Week
2Advanced Formula Techniques
Excel often requires you to perform complex analysis on large sets of data. This can be made a lot easier using array formulas, which can perform multiple calculations simultaneously and ensure the accuracy of your spreadsheet. This module covers the use of array formulas, how to build them and use them effectively.
7 videos (Total 41 min), 2 readings, 5 quizzes
7 videos
Week 2 Discussion4m
Practice Video: Tables and Structured Referencing9m
Practice Video: Using Functions to Sort Data8m
Practice Video: Introduction to Array Formulas5m
Practice Video: Working with an Array Function (TRANSPOSE)4m
Practice Video: Solving Problems with Array Formulas4m
2 readings
Download the Week 2 workbooks5m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips25m
5 practice exercises
Tables and Structured Referencing6m
Using Functions to Sort Data6m
Introduction to Array Formulas6m
Week 2 Practice Challenge45m
Week 2 Final Assignments
Week
3Data Cleaning and Preparation
Been handed a messy spreadsheet? This module focuses on data cleaning and preparation. You will learn how to use dynamic and automated fixes, clean messy data, automate these processes through functions, and ensure data remains clean dynamically. We will use functions to fix dates, replaces blanks and remove unwanted characters from data – all to help us build an efficient solution that lasts.
7 videos (Total 37 min), 2 readings, 7 quizzes
7 videos
Week 3 Discussion4m
Practice Video: Replace blanks with repeating values5m
Practice Video: Fix Dates (DATE, MONTH, YEAR, DAY, TEXT)6m
Practice Video: Remove Unwanted Spaces (TRIM, CLEAN)4m
Practice Video: Diagnostic Tools (ISNUMBER, LEN, CODE)7m
Practice Video: Remove Unwanted Characters (SUBSTITUTE, CHAR, VALUE)6m
2 readings
Download the Week 3 workbooks5m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology, and Ninja Tips25m
7 practice exercises
Replace blanks with repeating values6m
Fix Dates (DATE, MONTH, YEAR, DAY, TEXT)6m
Remove Unwanted Spaces (TRIM, CLEAN)6m
Diagnostic Tools (ISNUMBER, LEN, CODE)6m
Remove Unwanted Characters (SUBSTITUTE, CHAR, VALUE)6m
Week 3 Practice Challenge45m
Week 3 Final Assignments
Week
4Financial Functions and Working with Dates
This module introduces financial functions into our Excel knowledge base. Financial functions are often used in businesses and Excel has a variety of tools to help you with that. This week, you will learn to apply date formulas in calculations, create loan schedules with financial functions, as well as use depreciation functions.
7 videos (Total 48 min), 2 readings, 6 quizzes
7 videos
Week 4 Discussion6m
Practice Video: Working with Dates (EOMONTH, EDATE, WORKDAY.INTL)5m
Practice Video: Financial Functions (FV, PV, PMT)8m
Practice Video: Loan Schedule (PMT, EDATE)10m
Practice Video: Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return (NPV, IRR)7m
Practice Video: Depreciation Functions (SLN, SYD, DDB)6m
2 readings
Download the Week 4 workbooks5m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Excel Terminology, and Ninja Tips40m
6 practice exercises
Working with Dates (EOMONTH, EDATE, WORKDAY.INTL)10m
Financial Functions (FV, PV, PMT)10m
Loan Schedule (PMT, EDATE)12m
Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return (NPV, IRR)10m
Depreciation Functions (SLN, SYD, DDB)10m
Week 4 Final Assignments
4.8
83 Reviews33%
started a new career after completing these courses
27%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
18%
got a pay increase or promotion
Top Reviews
By ZN•Sep 13th 2018
This course has really changed my life! I especially loved the section on dashboards, where excel's functions were used creatively to construct interative and dynamic dashboard.
By MP•May 25th 2018
This was a great experience in learning Excel. The intro course walks you through the basics but by the time you finish the advanced class you'll see the true power of Excel.
Instructor
Dr Yvonne Breyer
Director, Learning and TeachingFaculty of Business and Economics
About Macquarie University
Macquarie is a hub of inspired and unconstrained thinking. Macquarie was founded with a unique purpose: to bring minds together unhindered by tradition. Created to challenge the education establishment, Macquarie has a rich track record of innovation. Macquarie actively shapes the complex issues that define the future of humanity.
About the Excel Skills for Business Specialization
This specialization is intended for anyone who seeks to develop one of the most critical and fundamental digital skills today. Spreadsheet software remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software used in workplaces across the world. Learning to confidently operate this software means adding a highly valuable asset to your employability portfolio. In the United States alone, millions of job advertisements requiring Excel skills are posted every day. Research by Burning Glass Technologies and Capital One shows that digital skills lead to higher income and better employment opportunities. At a time when digital skills jobs are growing much faster than non-digital jobs, completing this specialization will position you way ahead of others.
In this Specialization, learners develop advanced Excel Skills for Business. Upon completing the four courses in this Specialization, learners can design sophisticated spreadsheets, including professional dashboards, and perform complex calculations using advanced Excel features and techniques. Learners have acquired the skills to manage large datasets efficiently, extract meaningful information from datasets, present data and extract information effectively. In addition, learners have mastered the skills needed to validate data and prevent errors in spreadsheets, create automation, apply advanced formulas and conditional logic to help make decisions and create spreadsheets that help forecast and model data.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
What version of Excel do you teach?
In this course, we are using Microsoft Excel 2016 (Office 365) on a Windows PC with all options set to default. The Office 365 version of Excel is the latest version at the time of writing and developing this course. If you have a different version of Excel or you are using a Mac, some tools and buttons will look different, they may be located in a different spot, or some might be missing altogether. If there are any major differences, we usually point them out during the practice videos. If you cannot find a tool that we mention, you can always ask in the forums or search the Internet. Most of the functionality we demonstrate is also available in other spreadsheet programs, although the interface will look different. Most other spreadsheet software can import and export files in the Microsoft Excel format. If you are not sure which version of Excel you are using, check the Microsoft support pages for help.
If you cannot use Excel 2016 on a PC, you will be able to follow along with the videos, however, please note that some of the assessment tasks will require Excel. Where possible, we have designed assessment tasks so that users of older versions of Excel (such as 2013) can still solve them.
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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