Excel: Far More Than Just a Calculation Program. We Create Smart Dashboards, Visual KPIs, and Clear Reports with It

“Excel is far more than just a calculation program. We create smart dashboards, visual KPIs, and clear reports with it,” says Piet Nierop, controller and ‘Excel Guru’ at IFS Finance. He passionately explains that Excel is more than a spreadsheet program for performing arithmetic calculations. “People are amazed when I show them how Excel can be applied to financial reporting, KPIs, and performance dashboards. It’s impossible to explain all the formulas and applications here, and I’m still discovering new ones myself. The point is that with tools like Excel and Visionplanner, we streamline financial administrations, which only works if we use them correctly, because a fool with a tool is still a fool.”

Getting Started with Excel

Nierop has conducted a brief Excel workshop for his colleagues at IFS Finance, starting from the basics—entering numbers into cells and applying various formulas. A key lesson is the use of shortcuts, which can save time spent navigating through numerous menu options. Excel also allows personalization by adding frequently used menu options to a custom toolbar for easy access.

Enriching Data in Excel

While many people use Excel for basic addition and multiplication, the software becomes more interesting with complex formulas. Excel’s potential is unlocked by enriching data from financial administration with other sources, enabling detailed and comprehensive reports and dashboards.

Presenting with Excel

Nierop emphasizes the importance of accessible presentation of calculations. This includes formatting numbers with thousand separators and using Excel’s advanced features. For Milieu Centraal, an application was created to display KPIs as a speedometer gauge on a dashboard, providing a visual representation of the company’s performance.

Want to Know More?

IFS Finance offers assistance in unlocking valuable management information from data and sources, using familiar tools like Excel, which has more capabilities than one might initially think. Contact us for guidance on integrating Excel into financial administration.