Thereafter, formulas used throughout the workbooks should reference those assumptions. The better approach may be to list worksheet assumptions only once, in a well-labeled and well-organized list of assumptions. Novice Excel users tend to scatter their assumptions throughout their workbooks, which can make the worksheet more difficult to review and later modify. Many Excel worksheets involve assumptions, such as interest rates, inflation factors, revenue and expense amounts, etc. It's also more difficult to attach error-checking formulas to assumptions that are embedded in other formulas.ĥ. In addition, changing embedded assumptions is more difficult (and hence less efficient) when you must track down the location of each assumption and then edit the formulas to make the desired changes. Embedded assumptions don't print to paper, so the reader can't see the assumptions used.
Users should avoid embedding their assumptions in formulas for several reasons. Workbooks with numerous reports may benefit from including an assortment of print macro buttons for faster printing of various reports, or combinations of the reports, contained in the workbook, as suggested in the screenshot on the previous page.Ĥ. Larger workbooks may benefit from a table of contents page with links to the numerous worksheets, as suggested in the screenshot below.ģ. Every workbook you create should contain a documentation page that details the title, creators, reviewers, the date created, the client(s) involved (if any), and a description of what the template is designed to accomplish (if it's not obvious).Ģ. (These suggestions apply more to workbooks that are frequently or heavily used simple "scratch calculations" and " one- time only" workbooks would likely not benefit much from implementing the suggestions/measures set forth below.)ġ. Presented below are some of the suggestions from the committee's work, updated for today's technologies and including a few new suggestions of my own. In this spirit, in 1987, I served on an AICPA committee that created a booklet titled Policies and Procedures for Standardizing Spreadsheet Design. By following a common set of spreadsheet design rules, companies can produce more consistent workbooks that may be easier to review, edit, and use by others in their organizations. Is there a list of standard Excel design rules we should be following as we create new Excel worksheets?Ī.
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