Excel is a tool that has stood the test of time – a pre-requisite technology skill for almost every graduate entering the workforce. But what level of skills do accounting students really need, when they’ll likely be working with specialised accounting software and emerging technology platforms?
When Excel becomes an assumed skillset of the modern student, we start to question how much we need to teach about ‘good old’ spreadsheets, and how to embed the teaching in the curriculum when proficiency levels vary so much.
Excel is a powerful tool, not only in teaching students the foundations of data analysis, but also other key skills expected from our graduates.
Developing students’ logical thought processes
Nikki Schonfeldt, Lecturer of Accounting at the University of Western Australia, contends that the logical thought process required to build an Excel spreadsheet is one of the reasons why Excel is still an essential tool to teach accounting students.
Schonfeldt reflects, “what I like about introducing Excel to students is that it’s not only the use of the platform, the functionalities, and the way it makes a lot of processes more efficient. It’s also the logical thought process required, which develops an essential accounting skill in our students. If students build a spreadsheet from scratch, they must work with a set of data and create formulas – it forces students to think about processes needed to reach an answer; to resolve a problem. Excel gives us a vehicle to support accounting students in their logical thought process development and critical thinking.”
Nikki Schonfeldt
Lecturer of Accounting at the University of Western Australia
What are the essential skills to teach?
With so much potential, here are a few key learnings that students really need.
Key Excel Functions
When teaching functionality, some add value while others are absolutely necessary:
- The process of creating and auditing formulas
- Increasing efficacy with auto-filling and formatting features for presentation
- The ability to use pivot tables to simplify and analyse complex data
- The types of charts that can be created to visually display information
- Utilising data validation functionality – both in-built and customised formulas
- Analysing hypothetical scenarios by inputting variables and comparing outcomes
Presentation Skills
Students need to be taught the importance of presentation. Schonfeldt explains, “We need to set those basic standards for students, in terms of what a good spreadsheet looks like. We should teach students to always think about the user of the information – to make it easier for the end-user to utilise the data or read the report.”
Critical Thinking
It is essential that students understand the potential risks in the integrity of their data, and not blindly accept any answer as correct. Schonfeldt reminds us, “Critical thinking is something that the new generation will probably be challenged with, because everything is so readily available to them in this digital world that they don’t necessarily question the authenticity or accuracy.” In Excel, if there are errors, students need the skills to identify that could be the case, and then interrogate the data accordingly.
Tips for embedding Excel in your content
Schonfeldt has developed the newest suite of Excel activities that will appear throughout Birt’s Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making, 8th Edition. Here she shares her insights as to how students can keep polishing their Excel skills, and how instructors can teach the content while building students’ Excel skills in parallel.
Tip 1:
Utilise the self-evaluation activities in each chapter of the Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making textbook. The activities consolidate learning and reinforce the power of using Excel to support decision-making in business. Students get a model answer that discusses the Excel steps the student would follow in order to perform the activity in Excel.
Tip 2:
Find practical ways that students can apply Excel formulas and functions. Present students with an activity that relates to the technical content you’re covering. Think of activities that would support a business owner in real life. Incorporate Excel into the activity to mimic decision-making in business.
Tip 3:
Teach students the importance of telling a story with data. Students should learn to use suitable visualisations, ranging from very basic to complex graphs and charts. Incorporate activities where students develop graphs to present information to a fictional client or management team.
Tip 4:
Give students the confidence to explore and engage in self-directed learning. Students soon realise that Excel has a plethora of functions to help them achieve specific tasks. While instructors don’t always have time to explore the full functionality of Excel in class, let’s give them the confidence to build their skills in their own time and throughout their careers.
Tip 5:
Utilise video and multimedia to accommodate learning styles. The 2023 release of Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making (Ed. 8) looks to feature multimedia tools and videos that highlight important Excel formulas students will need.
Excel: A non-negotiable
Excel proficiency is a skill that students will need – and will use – throughout their careers. After all, it’s still found in the engine room of most accounting businesses and financial organisations, supporting the functions of other software platforms and technologies. And as such, Excel will no doubt remain a non-negotiable for career ready graduates.
About Nikki Schonfeldt:
Nikki Schönfeldt is a Lecturer of Accounting at the University of Western Australia’s Business School and teaches financial accounting units across undergraduate and postgraduate programs. She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a 2021 recipient of a UWA Award for Excellence in Teaching. Nikki has been involved in the development of new teaching material and other teaching initiatives on various technology platforms. She is a contributor to the eighth edition of Birt’s Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making.
More Information:
We hope this post have provided you with some new insights about accounting and technology. If you would like to know more about Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making, 8th Edition or any of Wiley’s titles, please reach out to your local Wiley Consultant or request a desk copy today.
