Excel Efficiency: What-If Analysis

This informative on-demand course presented by Excel expert David Ringstrom, CPA, is designed to teach you how to implement Excel’s powerful What-If Analysis tools. David explains how and when to make use of Excel’s Scenario Manager, how to use the Data Table feature to compare calculation results based on two or three inputs, how to use Excel’s Goal Seek feature to perform basic what-if analyses, and more. 

David demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in Excel 2016. He draws your attention to any differences in Excel 2013, 2010, or 2007 during the presentation as well as in his detailed handouts. David also provides an Excel workbook that includes most of the examples he uses during the webcast.  

Topics Covered:

• Enhancing the Summary Report generated by the Scenario Manager with range names.
• Using the Summary Report aspect of Scenario Manager to compare different scenarios side by side.
• Implementing a simple Excel macro that will empower you to apply multiple scenarios at once when you have more than 32 inputs.
• Exploring the Forecast Sheet feature in Excel 2016, which can extrapolate trends based on existing data in your spreadsheets.
• Enabling Excel’s Solver Add-in for more complex what-if analyses.
• Pausing Goal Seek when necessary to check the status of calculations that involve large numbers.
• Contrasting Excel’s Data Table feature with traditional approaches used in spreadsheets.
• Avoiding the need to write repetitive formulas with Excel’s Data Table feature.
• Utilizing the PMT worksheet function to calculate loan payment amounts.