Must-Have Excel Skills For Auditors

I recently interacted with Ben, an auditor passionate about numbers and has an exceptional eye for detail.

He’s dedicated and accurate in his work. However, when he was tasked with a critical audit project, a task that involved analyzing financial data and preparing reports, he was confident in his abilities, but he lacked essential advanced Excel skills.

As a result, he spent a lot of time sorting and filtering data manually and creating charts and graphs. His lack of Excel skills slowed down his progress, and it affected the overall quality of his work.

Are you an auditor looking to enhance your Excel skills? Imagine analyzing financial data and creating a powerful report easily; mastering Excel skills could make all of this possible.

Here are must-have Excel Skills for auditors

1.Formatting Information In An Audit Report

Colour Filling a Cell:

This colour filling is one of the cells used to highlight the critical information to make it easy for the reader to go to that particular cell without going to unnecessary information.

The shortcut key to this feature is Alt+H+H, and to un-fill, you can use Alt+H+H+N.

Colour Filling a Cell to Define Input, Formula Cells, and Helper Cells:

When working on the audit sheets, use the colour filling to define the various areas and functions.

This is a visual language that speaks volumes about your data. Using specific colours establishes a clear hierarchy and purpose for different cells.

For example, greige-filled cells can represent formulas, and light-yellow cells can imply inputs. Colour filling helps to organize data and create a visual impression that enhances understanding.

Using Borders on Cells:

They are commonly used to highlight cells that are subtotals or totals, but it is important to use them moderately because excessive border usage can divert the attention of the reader.

For indentation, use this shortcut key, Alt + H + 5, and the key combination: Alt + H + 6 for removing or adding indents.

Use Indentation to Mark Hierarchy in your data:

When you are dealing with longer sheets, consider establishing a clear hierarchy to make the breakdown of data easily understandable.

Add the indents to your data to create a visual representation of a “hierarchy.”

This combination adds indents to your data,

Create the desired hierarchy by adding indents using this combination Alt + H + 5 or use Alt + H + 6 to fine-tune the presentation of your data.

Using Appropriate Number Format:

If you want to display your data in the desired format, consider using the appropriate formats.

The shortcut keys for formatting numbers are Ctrl+Shift+~ for number, Ctrl+Shift+@ for time, for date Ctrl+Shift+#, Ctrl+Shift+$ for the dollar amount and Ctrl+Shift+% for percentage, which h enhances polished data presentation.

2. Presenting Information Obtained By Auditors

Use Charts to Display for displaying information:

The use of charts when displaying the information simplifies trend analysis and eases the understanding of data behaviours.

When dealing with time series data sets, bar and line charts provide a clear visualization of intervals. Pie charts are used to break up a figure,

Radar charts are used to showcase the impact level, while line charts or scatter charts are used to plot variation in data.

If you want to make “great” charts, avoid vertical lines, be harmonious in the choice of colours and include a key or legend when plotting more than one variable.

Use Smart Art to Show Relationships and Processes:

This enhances the visual representation of the process flows, relationships, and hierarchies.

Smart Art has “Stencils” that ease your work instead of creating the visuals from scratch.

Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + N, followed by ZI + N, to insert a Smart Art graphic.

Use In-cell Charts or A Spark line:

When you have a lot of variables, consider using the In-cell Charts or A Spark line.

These can help you create simple line charts, bar charts, and profit-loss bar charts within cells to display the information.

This functionality plays a crucial role when presenting audit data as a dashboard.

3. Analyzing The Information Obtained In An Audit Process

Use Pivot Tables

Pivot tables offer an efficient approach, and therefore, they are the go-to option for data analysis.

You can easily use the pivot tables by converting your data into a table. If you want to insert a pivot table, use the Alt + N + V keyboard shortcut.

Using Analysis Tool Pack:

If you want to perform statistical data analysis effectively, the go-to solution is the Analysis Tool Pack.

It offers data analysis tools, for example, descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and statistical tests, among others.

To access this, select Options on the file’s menu, click Add-Ins, and enable the Analysis Tool Pack so that it appears in the Data Tab.

Using What-if Analysis Tool:

With the What-If Analysis tool, you can easily create scenarios and perform what-if analyses.

It has three options: Goal Seek, Scenario Manager, and Data Table. The Scenario Manager allows you to develop comprehensive models and analyze various situations.

Boosting Productivity In An Auditing Activity

Some add-ins in Excel can overwhelm the users, but there are options that can boost productivity in auditing activities.

Analysis Tool Pack:

Analysis Tool Pack is a powerful feature essential for data analysis, specifically from a statistical perspective.

To access its functionality fully, activate it by navigating to the options menu within Excel.

Addin from Ablebits.com:

This tool has over 60 features, and it can help you merge and consolidate sheets.

With the addin tool, you can move and sort data, add watermarks, and create a table of contents, among other features that make it worth investing in.

Auditing Toolbar by ExcelZoom.com

This toolbar facilitates the marking of information on Excel sheets, mainly for audit purposes.

It has a user-friendly interface that allows the accountants and auditors to conduct thorough audits.

There is an Excel Tickmark toolbar that helps you mark information related to audit findings on your Excel sheet.

Finally,

Honing the essential Excel skills is a necessity for auditors who want to thrive in their roles. Navigating through complex data and performing advanced calculations can streamline the audit processes and boost productivity.

So, what are you still waiting for? Take charge of your professional growth and expand your Excel skill set by signing up for our Advanced Excel course.

Click to watch the testimonials from the previous class