Before I started working in tax, being able to use Excel hadn’t even crossed my mind.
All I thought would be important was learning tax rules and being able to advise accordingly.
But, as you probably know, there’s much more to being a tax professional.
You may not see it as essential but being able to use Excel well will save you SO MUCH time and hassle in the long term. And there will probably be times where you have no choice but to use it!
I got thrown in the deep end within weeks of my first tax job, with what was a large and difficult Excel task, with another one to follow shortly after. I had no prior knowledge or experience in Excel at this point (apart from the basics of adding and subtracting!), which made this all the more tricky.
At the time I didn’t realise what a great opportunity this was. I just wanted to get stuck into learning tax.
But looking back, it really was an excellent experience for me in building my Excel skills. I was enrolled on a thorough online Excel course and then immediately after able to apply what I’d learn in a practical, real scenario.
Since, I’ve built many spreadsheets since which I’ve been proud of. Yes – it is possible to be proud of a spreadsheet!
The only thing with courses for Excel is they are, generally speaking, very generic. Only some of what you learn will be useful on the job, and if my experience is anything to go by, you’ll probably never use large amounts of it again.
That’s not a good use of time and personally I think unnecessary for many people to do.
To save you time, energy and effort, I bring you this episode to give you what I think are the key Excel essentials.
From my own experiences, these will enable you to do most things that you’ll ever need to do in Excel as a tax practitioner and will enable you to do these quickly to save time, which is such a precious resource in today’s world.
There’s so much more I could have put into this episode but to keep it brief and relevant, I’ve only included what I think are the must-knows. So, there’s a good chance there will be future episodes supplementing this.
Take a listen to find out more – I think you’ll find it useful.
You’ll Learn:
- Essential Excel shortcuts and timesavers to enable you to become quicker at using Excel
- Highly used, must-know and beneficial formulas, which will enable you to do 90% (or at least most) of the tasks you’ll ever need or want to do in Excel
- Tips to help you review formulas to correct mistakes and errors
- Some pointers for good practice when creating an Excel sheets so they are more useable, easily understandable, and less likely to be broken by others
- What you can do if you’re stuck
Resources
- Free Excel tip sheet to learn the tips from the episode – click here
- Excel Courses on Skillshare
Suggested courses:
Excel Using Keyboard – Advance Excel Shortcuts, Tips & Tricks
Excel Formulas You Need to Know in 30 Minutes!
You can sign up for a free two-month subscription via any of these Skillshare links. Also, by signing up through these affiliate links, you will support the podcast at no cost to you, as Skillshare will make a commission payment
- The only Excel course I’ve ever done (it may have changed a bit!), for those of you who want to learn more or have a more structured approach: https://skillsology.com/wc/product/microsoft-excel/
Call to Action
Start learning the tips from the episode which you don’t currently know from the tip sheet – click here