Analyze your company data with Excel tables

Although the basic functions are often familiar, there are advanced tools and functions that can make your work considerably easier and better. In this article, we will introduce you to four of these tools.

1. pivot tables

These enable the dynamic analysis of large amounts of data. They allow you to combine, sort and filter data in order to identify patterns and trends. Clear reports can be created from raw data with just a few clicks. For example, totals, average values and other calculations can be carried out without changing the original data. Pivot tables can be created with just a few clicks and are extremely flexible. These pivot tables also make it easy to view data from different angles.

Example
You are in a Businesses that sells different product lines. By using a pivot table, you can quickly analyze total sales per product category as well as sales by region and sales channel. This enables you to identify effective sales strategies and take targeted measures to increase sales. By using pivot tables, you save valuable time in data preparation and quickly gain meaningful insights into the sales performance of your Businesses.

2. power query

Power Query is a powerful tool for importing, transforming and cleansing data from various sources. For data analysis, raw data often has to be laboriously processed with several intermediate steps. Power Query can retrieve data from other files and sources and merge it in Excel. Data processing is carried out via a user-friendly interface in which you can record steps for data cleansing and transformation, which are carried out again each time the data is updated.

Example
You work with several departments that use different systems. By using Power Query, you can merge all the data from different sources into one report. This allows you to create consistent and accurate reports without the need for manual data entry or tedious reconciliation processes.

3 SVERWEIS

The SVERVIEW is a function that searches for a specific value in a table and returns a corresponding value from another column in the same row. This function is particularly useful for linking and consolidating data from different tables. The SEARCH always searches in the first column of the specified range and returns the value in the row that is in the same row in a specified column.

Example
If you regularly receive orders from different customers, you can use SVERWEIS to quickly find the corresponding customer name for an order number. This simplifies order processing and enables you to communicate more efficiently with your customers.

4. conditional formatting

Conditional formatting is a tool that helps you to visually emphasize certain criteria in tables. This can be done using colors, symbols or data bars that help to quickly identify important trends, patterns and outliers in the data. With conditional formatting, you can create rules that are automatically applied to format data when it meets certain conditions. This allows data views to be dynamically adjusted and displayed in a visually appealing way.

For example
Let's say you manage a portfolio of customer invoices. By using conditional formatting, you can quickly identify which invoices are overdue. This enables you to take timely action to ensure your Businesses' liquidity and optimize the dunning process.

Conclusion

The Excel functions mentioned above are valuable tools for financial experts as well as non-experts. They help to manage complex data, automate reports and gain deeper insights into financial data. By using these functions, you can increase your efficiency and make more informed decisions. Try out these tools in your daily workflow and experience the benefits for yourself.

What's more, the future promises even more simplification and efficiency gains in the financial sector. Tools such as ChatGPT and Cockpit R2 already show promising approaches for the automation of analysis and reporting processes. As the development and integration of such technologies progresses, it will become even easier for finance professionals to process complex data and make strategic decisions.

We are happy to support you in implementing the most important tools for your Businesses.

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