Error-Proofing Excel Spreadsheets (CPE Course)

CPE Credit: 5 hours

Course Type: Downloaded PDF materials with online test

Price (with PDF Textbook): $50

Course Description
It is far too easy to create an Excel spreadsheet that is laced with errors, resulting in inaccurate outputs that can ruin your reputation. The Error-Proofing Excel Spreadsheets course is designed to help you build more accurate, reliable, and user-friendly Excel workbooks. This course will guide you in minimizing data entry mistakes, formula errors, and structural issues. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Excel user, you will learn how to safeguard your spreadsheets against common pitfalls and enhance their long-term usability.

Author: Steven Bragg

Course Number: SP1020

Learning Objectives

  • Recognize the benefits of using data validation in Excel.

  • Recall the best ways to format a spreadsheet, and which methods to avoid.

  • Recognize the situations in which absolute and relative cell references should be used.

  • Specify the tools available for checking logical and formulaic issues in Excel.

  • Recall the tools that can be used to clean data.

  • Recognize the reasons for not storing numbers as text.

  • Recall the Excel features that allow you to monitor selected cells.

  • Recognize the situations in which named ranges should be used.

  • Specify how conditional formatting can be used to improve a spreadsheet.

  • Recall the methods for finding duplicate values in a spreadsheet.

  • Recognize the reasons for using standardized templates in Excel.

  • Recall the risks of using too many sheets in one Excel file.

  • Recognize the situations in which freezing panes in Excel can be useful.

  • Specify how the Evaluate Formula tool can be used.

  • Recall the steps that should be followed before finalizing a spreadsheet.

  • Recognize why excessive formatting should be avoided in a spreadsheet.

  • Recall why raw data should be separated from calculations in Excel.

  • Recognize what can happen if you do not validate external data in Excel.

  • Specify the types of errors that the IFERROR command can manage.

Level: Intermediate

Instructional Method: QAS Self-Study

NASBA Category: Computer Software and Applications

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Excel.

Advance Preparation: None

Latest Review Date: April 2025

Program Registration Requirements: Click on "Purchase Course" near the top of this page to pay for and access the course. You will then be able to download the course as a PDF file, then take an on-line examination, and then download a certificate of completion if you pass the examination.

Program Refund Policy: For more information regarding administrative policies concerning complaints, refunds, and other matters, see our policies page.

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AccountingTools, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

The NASBA sponsor identification number for Accountingtools, Inc. is 115881.

AccountingTools is an IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider. We are compliant with the requirements for continuing education providers (as described in sections 10.6 and 10.9 of the Department of Treasury’s Circular No. 230 and in other IRS guidance, forms, and instructions). Our IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider number is 72821.