Creating Excel-based Financial Statements

The Creating Excel-based Financial Statements exercise is designed to reinforce accounting concepts taught in class, as well as provide exposure to dozens of Excel techniques that appear on the Microsoft Excel Certification exam. Students pay $9.95 for the exercise and are guided through a video with numbered steps.

The students are taught 46 different Excel concepts, including 6 features, 8 worksheet functions, 4 techniques, and 28 commands.
  • 6 Features
      • Conditional Formatting feature
      • Data Validation feature
      • Freeze Panes feature
      • Show Formulas feature
      • Sort feature
      • Waterfall Chart feature

    8 Worksheet Functions

      • IF Function
      • ROUND function
      • ROUNDDOWN function
      • ROUNDUP function
      • SUM function
      • SUMIF function
      • VLOOKUP function
      • XLOOKUP Function

    28 Commands

      • Autofit Column Width command
      • Bold command
      • Borders command
      • Center Text command
      • Change print orientation
      • Column Width command
      • Comma Style command
      • Decrease Indent command
      • Deleting worksheets
      • Fill Series command
      • Fill Without Formatting command
      • Font Size command
      • Go To command command
      • Increase Indent command
      • Insert New Worksheet command
      • Insert Sheet Rows command
      • Merge and Center command
      • Moving or Copy Sheet command
      • Normal View command
      • Page Break Preview command
      • Paste Special – Transpose command
      • Remove Duplicates command
      • Remove Fill Color
      • Rename Worksheet command
      • Row Height command
      • Set print area command
      • Underline command
      • Wrap Text command

    4 Techniques

    • Absolute Cell References
    • Adjust Row Height technique
    • Mixed Cell References
    • Relative Cell References
Students enter perform the following Excel reinforcing tasks on their own after being shown how:
  • Freezing worksheet panes
  • Adjusting column widths
  • Applying cell borders
  • Applying cell formatting, including center, bold, underline, wrap text, changing font sizes, and merging cells.
  • Applying comma style number format
  • Employing the SUM function
  • Formatting financial statements
Students enter perform the following accounting tasks on their own to reinforce in-class learning:
  • Recognize deferred revenue via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record interest income and interest receivable via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record salary expense and liability via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record payroll tax expense and liability via an adjusting journal entry
  • Recognize prepaid rent expense via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record interest expense and interest payable via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record property tax expense and payable via an adjusting journal entry
  • Record income tax expense and payable via an adjusting journal entry
  • Prepare an income statement, statement of shareholder’s equity, and balance sheet
  • Record closing journal entries
  • Prepare a post-closing trial balance

Each student is assigned a unique 4-digit number known as their Spreadsheet ID for use during the exercise. This ID number is incorporated into the exercise and helps ensure that each student turns in their own work.

The students submit their work to us and we handle all of the grading. We give you three scores:

  • Completion: This score indicates if the student attempted a given step.
  • Accuracy: This score indicates carried out the step accurately.
  • Combined: The average of the two Completion and Accuracy scores.

Within one week of an assignment’s due date we provide instructors with a spreadsheet showing all student results. Partial credit in our scoring is given if a student at least attempts a step. Instructors determine final credit for each student, and whether late submissions are allowed. Students receive written feedback confirming which steps were completed successfully, as well as providing guidance on steps that they did not attempt or did not complete correctly.

Some instructors give more weight to the Completion score than the Accuracy score, while other instructors use the combined average when determining credit. We’re happy to provide any additional information that can help you as an instructor.

Please direct questions to David Ringstrom (david@studentsexcel.com) or 404.784.0275. Learn more about us at www.studentsexcel.com.