Excel for Auditors training programme for MS Excel 2007 saves time, increases productivity

Leading business intelligence (BI) vendor, Alchemex, in conjunction with Atcor, developed and launched the specialised advanced Excel training course for audit clerks and internal auditors, called Excel for Auditors in 2007.

Now, the course has been upgraded to Microsoft Excel 2007 and will be launched in Durban and Johannesburg, with training courses on 17 July.

Throughout the years, audit clerks have used Microsoft Excel extensively to audit company information, but the question is whether they have been using it effectively. The Excel for Auditors course aims to empower delegates to save valuable time by using Excel, already a powerful business tool, more effectively when consolidating and analysing audit information.

The one-day course was developed specifically for audit clerks and internal auditors, through collaboration by experts in the audit arena and leaders in Excel-based BI. The learning is experiential with all exercises and examples using auditing data that relates to practical situations.

Tobie Oosthuizen, National Training Manager at BDO Spencer Steward, was impressed with the potential time-savings afforded by the Excel for Auditors course: "All the delegates walked away with an enhanced understanding of Excel. If this translates in a 10-minute-a-day savings, it equates to almost 40 hours a year increased productivity."

Sharmila Parekh, an audit clerk at RI Kennedy & Associates, was amazed at the way the course content could improve effectiveness: “I work with Excel on a daily basis, but I had no idea that Excel was such a powerful tool. This course is essential to any clerk, irrespective of their levels.”

“Microsoft Excel 2007 has introduced some powerful new features, one of the most popular for auditors being conditional formatting, whereby variances can be highlighted by applying automatic formatting based on set parameters,” says Bronwyn Dorrofield, Training Manager at Alchemex, explaining the need for the updated course content. “Large amounts of data can be analysed in this way to quickly find trends and variances. The new Excel for Auditors for MX Excel 2007 expands on, among other new Excel 2007 functionality, these new schemes, including colour gradients, heat maps, data bars and performance indicator icons.”

Delegates who register for classroom training before 31 July 2009 will receive a free glossy reference book '100 Excel on Steroids Tips and Tricks for Advanced Business Reporting in Microsoft Excel 2007', produced by Alchemex in association with Microsoft, upon course completion. In addition to the workshops themselves, weekly Excel on Steroids Tips and Tricks (http://www.alchemex.com/EOSTipsAndTricks.aspx) are e-mailed to delegates for continued learning, while delegates can join the Excel on Steroids forum at http://www.alchemex.ning.com to obtain free access to Excel-related queries and solutions.

Excel for Auditors courses are available classroom-based, countrywide, as well as online at http://www.alchemexacademy.com, giving users the flexibility to enhance their skills at a time and place suitable to them. Eight certifiable CPD hours can be obtained by undertaking this course. To find out more go to http://www.alchemex.com or e-mail eos@alchemex.com. Alchemex is a SAICA Strategic Alliance Partner and SAICA members can find course details and dates at https://www.saica.co.za/Members/ProductsServices/SeminarsandEvents/tabid/672/language/en-ZA/Default.aspx.