Today was another learning day with Microsoft Excel. I finished the online video course that I worked on yesterday and later moved on to a more advanced course.
I started my morning by working with macros. Macros are a string of commands consisting of several steps that allow a user to repeat an action several times without having to manually perform each step. In other words, macros automate a repetitive task in Microsoft Excel by simply pressing a button. Users can create their own macros by the macro recorder. The recorder records and saves the user’s actions, so the macro can be run at a later time.
After finishing the course on the basics of Microsoft Excel, I moved on to a course about formulas and functions in Excel. As explained in yesterday’s blog post, formulas and functions take data and calculate them. I first began with basic formulas that calculated minimum and maximum values, medians, and modes. I then practiced creating some more complicated formulas with help from instructions in the video.
Some of what I learned today built upon what I had learned yesterday. In particular, some of these tools included table functions and lookup features. Today’s lessons covered advanced table functions, which helped me do more with tables, and went more in-depth with lookup features, which helps a user quickly find information. I now have more confidence using both of these features.
Later today, I got to data validation. Data validation adds rules to the range of information a cell can contain. When used correctly, this tool can be helpful because it prevents a user from adding incorrect data. For example, let’s say I’m a teacher creating a spreadsheet to record students’ grades. I might add a data validation to a column in that spreadsheet that contains students’ cumulative grades. I never give my students extra credit opportunities, so the highest possible grade a student could earn in my class is 100. Therefore, I would set a data validation rule to that column preventing myself from adding any grade that is not between 0 and 100. If I attempted to input a number greater than 100, an error message would show up, telling me that the inputted information does not fit the data validation rule, and I would be instructed to change it. This is how data validation can reduce errors, preventing obviously incorrect data from entering a spreadsheet.
Today was more interesting than yesterday. I got to explore other uses for Excel besides its basic functions, learning more about the powerful formulas that help me make sense of data, converting them into meaningful information. The more I learn, the more I see how powerful Microsoft Excel is and what the program can accomplish. As I’m progressing, I’m also seeing that the lessons get more and more interesting.
I will finish this video course on Monday, where I’ll go more in-depth with the What-If Analysis.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Thursday, January 7, 2016
1-7-2016: Microsoft Excel 2007
Today, I spent my entire day just learning about Microsoft Excel. Mrs. Spurgeon selected an online course for me to get started. I went through the course at my own pace, covering the essentials and most important parts of the program.
A screenshot of a video that I watched today on the difference between relative and absolute referencing in Microsoft Excel:
Everything that I learned today could fit three categories: visual functions, data display features, and data tools. Note that these are not formal categories; I am simply classifying the different tools and features that I learned as such for the purposes of simplification in this blog post.
For visual functions, I primarily learned about how I could customize tables in my spreadsheet. There are several other formatting features in Microsoft Excel, such as templates, styles, and conditional formatting. These are neat tools that save time when one wishes to make a spreadsheet look aesthetically and visually pleasing. I would categorize a formatting tool as a “visual function” because these tools have nothing to do with how data is presented in a workbook; they instead give the spreadsheet a nice look and feel.
For data display features, I learned about grouping data together and consolidating data of the same type. This allows me to easily see categories of data, which can help me quickly find data that I’m looking for. Table and chart tools are methods of displaying data in a way that can be easily visualized and understood more quickly. One can also manage lists and add filters to a group of data, commanding the spreadsheet to only return data that meets criteria that the user specifies. These are “data display” features because they visually help me find and rearrange data. These features do not analyze or change the data; rather, they change how data is presented or found, making it easier to find or understand them.
There are several types of data tools. Most of these are either functions or formulas. Formulas take data, either using them for computing or converting them into a different form. More often than not, formulas perform calculations that require multiple steps. Formulas are constructed using functions. Functions generally perform one calculation, and can be combined with other functions to perform a larger, more complex calculation. Some common functions include addition, average, minimum, and maximum (there are also useless functions like =ROMAN, which converts numbers written in Arabic numerals into Roman numbers, because everyone uses Roman numbers in a spreadsheet). Functions can be used for several different purposes, such as finance, dates, or even trigonometry. There are also other data tools besides functions and formulas, such as the what-if analysis, which can model situations and find an answer for the user, or even proofing tools that can even help check one’s work.
Even though I got to do all of this from home, today was probably my most difficult day so far. It wasn’t easy sitting all day in front of my laptop, trying to learn a complicated program with very little background knowledge about the program. I had to take a lot of mental breaks every now and then. The tools that I learned to use today were not easy to write about, either.
Although today was rather difficult, learning the basics of Microsoft Excel is important. Even though I didn’t like every minute of it, I have to admit that some things that I learned today can be applied to even the life of a normal person. For example, a person planning a budget for a party (or anything that would incur expenses) could use Microsoft Excel to group data together, add numbers and find totals, and make sure that the expenses remain within the budget that the party planner sets. But I know that all of this will eventually help me when I begin building the model with Mrs. Spurgeon, which will hopefully be next week.
A screenshot of a video that I watched today on the difference between relative and absolute referencing in Microsoft Excel:
Everything that I learned today could fit three categories: visual functions, data display features, and data tools. Note that these are not formal categories; I am simply classifying the different tools and features that I learned as such for the purposes of simplification in this blog post.
For visual functions, I primarily learned about how I could customize tables in my spreadsheet. There are several other formatting features in Microsoft Excel, such as templates, styles, and conditional formatting. These are neat tools that save time when one wishes to make a spreadsheet look aesthetically and visually pleasing. I would categorize a formatting tool as a “visual function” because these tools have nothing to do with how data is presented in a workbook; they instead give the spreadsheet a nice look and feel.
For data display features, I learned about grouping data together and consolidating data of the same type. This allows me to easily see categories of data, which can help me quickly find data that I’m looking for. Table and chart tools are methods of displaying data in a way that can be easily visualized and understood more quickly. One can also manage lists and add filters to a group of data, commanding the spreadsheet to only return data that meets criteria that the user specifies. These are “data display” features because they visually help me find and rearrange data. These features do not analyze or change the data; rather, they change how data is presented or found, making it easier to find or understand them.
There are several types of data tools. Most of these are either functions or formulas. Formulas take data, either using them for computing or converting them into a different form. More often than not, formulas perform calculations that require multiple steps. Formulas are constructed using functions. Functions generally perform one calculation, and can be combined with other functions to perform a larger, more complex calculation. Some common functions include addition, average, minimum, and maximum (there are also useless functions like =ROMAN, which converts numbers written in Arabic numerals into Roman numbers, because everyone uses Roman numbers in a spreadsheet). Functions can be used for several different purposes, such as finance, dates, or even trigonometry. There are also other data tools besides functions and formulas, such as the what-if analysis, which can model situations and find an answer for the user, or even proofing tools that can even help check one’s work.
Even though I got to do all of this from home, today was probably my most difficult day so far. It wasn’t easy sitting all day in front of my laptop, trying to learn a complicated program with very little background knowledge about the program. I had to take a lot of mental breaks every now and then. The tools that I learned to use today were not easy to write about, either.
Although today was rather difficult, learning the basics of Microsoft Excel is important. Even though I didn’t like every minute of it, I have to admit that some things that I learned today can be applied to even the life of a normal person. For example, a person planning a budget for a party (or anything that would incur expenses) could use Microsoft Excel to group data together, add numbers and find totals, and make sure that the expenses remain within the budget that the party planner sets. But I know that all of this will eventually help me when I begin building the model with Mrs. Spurgeon, which will hopefully be next week.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
1-6-2016: Amy Yustick, Dana Holding Corporation
Today, I visited Amy Yustick, a controller for Dana Holding Corporation. Dana is a Fortune 500 company that primarily produces axles for automotive vehicles worldwide, for both original-equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. I met Mrs. Yustick at the Dana World Headquarters, located in Maumee, Ohio, where her office is located. Mrs. Yustick is also a Maumee Valley parent, vice president of Maumee Valley’s Board of Trustees, chair of the Business Opportunities Task Force, and a member of several other task forces and committees at Maumee Valley.
Dana World Headquarters:
My visit today was for the purpose of researching for my financial model; in other words, I need to figure out what I will include in my model and any other potential issues or parts of the model that I will need to keep in mind. This falls into what I have referred to as the second part of my intensive: finding relevant information that pertains to an expansion. I discussed the two other parts of my intensive on my Introduction and Overview page.
Here is a picture of something that Dana makes:
My visit to the Dana World Headquarters began with Mrs. Yustick taking me on a tour of the main building. She pointed out what Dana does and the history of the company. Even though I learned more about Dana today than I had ever known about the company previously, I’m already considering Dana as a career option because of their free soft drinks for employees (yes, they have a soda fountain that is free and unlimited). Mrs. Yustick also took some time to explain how finance has to do with her job, which expanded upon what I learned yesterday.
But the main reason why I visited Mrs. Yustick today was to interview her so that I could get her perspective of what a business opportunity for the school would involve. She talked about the need to completely think through a business opportunity and its implications. For example, she said that one always needs to consider “what if” questions when thinking about a business expansion. Such potential problems for a Maumee Valley satellite campus could be “What if fewer students enroll at the location than we expect?” or “What if the economy changes while we’re in the middle of the expansion?” or “What if the company who owns the property that we’re renting goes out of business?” While some of them are unlikely, these types of scenarios cannot be ignored when one is in the decision making process of investing a lot of time and money in a huge project.
One thing Mrs. Spurgeon suggested that I ask everyone the question of which three financial metrics are the most important to them when considering a business opportunity. Mrs. Yustick said that her three most important financial metrics are profit, return on invested capital, and the time to cash flow neutral. It will be interesting to see what other individuals think.
I particularly liked the response that she gave me for a question regarding the market and demand if Maumee Valley were to perhaps expand with a satellite campus. She thinks that to evaluate the market for a satellite expansion, we would need to strategically survey individuals with young children. It would be unwise to ask questions like “Would you send your kids to Maumee Valley?” We instead need to ask questions such as “What are your top three important factors in looking for a school?” and give them several answers with boxes to check. If our survey returns results such as “an experiential, hands-on education,” “quality of teachers,” “school culture,” or even “college acceptance,” then it probably wouldn’t hurt to look into the idea of an expansion. But if the answers we received were “size of learning institution,” “price,” “Division I OHSAA athletics,” or even “religious faith,” we would definitely know that it wouldn’t be a good idea to expand with a satellite campus in that area.
Mrs. Yustick’s responses to my questions will keep me thinking over the next couple of days about the model I will create and how to approach these problems that the school needs to keep in mind about evaluating business opportunities.
I will also be interviewing other business professionals who are connected to Maumee Valley, as well as other MV administrators, to get other perspectives on what should go in my model. You can expect some posts on these types of interviews within the next week or so…
Dana World Headquarters:
My visit today was for the purpose of researching for my financial model; in other words, I need to figure out what I will include in my model and any other potential issues or parts of the model that I will need to keep in mind. This falls into what I have referred to as the second part of my intensive: finding relevant information that pertains to an expansion. I discussed the two other parts of my intensive on my Introduction and Overview page.
Here is a picture of something that Dana makes:
My visit to the Dana World Headquarters began with Mrs. Yustick taking me on a tour of the main building. She pointed out what Dana does and the history of the company. Even though I learned more about Dana today than I had ever known about the company previously, I’m already considering Dana as a career option because of their free soft drinks for employees (yes, they have a soda fountain that is free and unlimited). Mrs. Yustick also took some time to explain how finance has to do with her job, which expanded upon what I learned yesterday.
But the main reason why I visited Mrs. Yustick today was to interview her so that I could get her perspective of what a business opportunity for the school would involve. She talked about the need to completely think through a business opportunity and its implications. For example, she said that one always needs to consider “what if” questions when thinking about a business expansion. Such potential problems for a Maumee Valley satellite campus could be “What if fewer students enroll at the location than we expect?” or “What if the economy changes while we’re in the middle of the expansion?” or “What if the company who owns the property that we’re renting goes out of business?” While some of them are unlikely, these types of scenarios cannot be ignored when one is in the decision making process of investing a lot of time and money in a huge project.
One thing Mrs. Spurgeon suggested that I ask everyone the question of which three financial metrics are the most important to them when considering a business opportunity. Mrs. Yustick said that her three most important financial metrics are profit, return on invested capital, and the time to cash flow neutral. It will be interesting to see what other individuals think.
I particularly liked the response that she gave me for a question regarding the market and demand if Maumee Valley were to perhaps expand with a satellite campus. She thinks that to evaluate the market for a satellite expansion, we would need to strategically survey individuals with young children. It would be unwise to ask questions like “Would you send your kids to Maumee Valley?” We instead need to ask questions such as “What are your top three important factors in looking for a school?” and give them several answers with boxes to check. If our survey returns results such as “an experiential, hands-on education,” “quality of teachers,” “school culture,” or even “college acceptance,” then it probably wouldn’t hurt to look into the idea of an expansion. But if the answers we received were “size of learning institution,” “price,” “Division I OHSAA athletics,” or even “religious faith,” we would definitely know that it wouldn’t be a good idea to expand with a satellite campus in that area.
Mrs. Yustick’s responses to my questions will keep me thinking over the next couple of days about the model I will create and how to approach these problems that the school needs to keep in mind about evaluating business opportunities.
I will also be interviewing other business professionals who are connected to Maumee Valley, as well as other MV administrators, to get other perspectives on what should go in my model. You can expect some posts on these types of interviews within the next week or so…
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
1-5-2016: Finance 101
Today, I primarily focused on learning about financial ratios. Financial ratios are an important part in business. One can learn a lot about a business’s financial condition by simply looking at its financial ratios. Having an understanding of them is important in evaluating a business opportunity because financial ratios turn financial data into information that can be used to determine whether or not it would be beneficial to pursue such business opportunity. Understanding these will be important for when I’m researching information for my own financial model that will be my final project.
Here are the ratios that I learned today:
Mrs. Spurgeon likes the lo-tech method of gathering information on sticky notes and posting them to her wall, so I’m going along with it.
If you couldn’t see them clearly, here they are:
Debt to equity
Current ratio
Return on equity
Net profit margin
Debt ratio
Return on sales
Asset turnover
Quick ratio
And these are only a few. There are over a hundred ratios that are used in the financial world, but I am more focused on making sure that I know these ratios in particular for now, as these are the most applicable ratios to a nonprofit organization evaluating a business opportunity.
They all seem simple, and it looks like they all have a quick and easy formula, but they’re actually more difficult than they seem. Each ratio has its own nuances and terminology associated with it. For example, for the return on equity ratio, the formula is net income divided by equity, but in order to understand how exactly the ratio works, I had to learn what equity was and what net income was, and there was even more behind those two terms.
The most difficult of these financial ratios were the current ratio, the debt to equity ratio, and the return on equity ratio. I began my day studying these financial ratios with Mrs. Spurgeon. Again, each formula isn’t hard to understand, but what’s behind the ratio is more important and can be tricky at first. We discussed what each ratio measured (which often led to more “What’s that?” questions) and the reasons for using each ratio. Everything makes sense when applying it to an example. For instance, let’s say we want to evaluate Company A’s current financial health. We could use the current ratio, which is determined by dividing current assets by current liabilities. A current asset is a source of financial value that will soon become cash, and a current liability is some sort of obligation that I will soon pay with cash. This is a good ratio to evaluate current financial health because it only involves the amount of soon-to-become cash and the amount of cash that is soon-to-be-paid-with. In other words, because one only looks at short-term transactions, it shows how an organization or business is doing at the current time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a higher current ratio is necessarily better than a lower current ratio in the long term, but it’s basically a way of evaluating if an organization or business is able to currently operate without running into trouble in the short-term.
I researched the other ratios listed above by using resources that I found online. After learning the first three ratios, the rest of them weren’t too difficult. I supplemented all of the material I learned today by watching several videos that, once again, explained each ratio, gave a reason for using it, and put it into use with an example.
Although it didn’t seem like I learned a lot today, Mrs. Spurgeon reminded me that all of what I learned today was new, and what you see in the picture was not everything I learned. I also went through applications of each of the ratios and made up my own examples (and checking with Mrs. Spurgeon) to make sure that I understood the trickier concepts. All of the ratios were abstract concepts, and when I was learning them, I could only understand them when I could give them some context.
Additionally, it is important to note that I have simplified some of the concepts that I wrote about in this blog post. However, these simplifications do not change the essence of any concept being discussed, and these simplified explanations will most likely be enough for me to create my financial model.
By the end of the day, I felt a lot better with these ratios, and I am now curious to see how these ratios will affect my research for model and the actual building of the model.
Here are the ratios that I learned today:
Mrs. Spurgeon likes the lo-tech method of gathering information on sticky notes and posting them to her wall, so I’m going along with it.
If you couldn’t see them clearly, here they are:
Debt to equity
Current ratio
Return on equity
Net profit margin
Debt ratio
Return on sales
Asset turnover
Quick ratio
And these are only a few. There are over a hundred ratios that are used in the financial world, but I am more focused on making sure that I know these ratios in particular for now, as these are the most applicable ratios to a nonprofit organization evaluating a business opportunity.
They all seem simple, and it looks like they all have a quick and easy formula, but they’re actually more difficult than they seem. Each ratio has its own nuances and terminology associated with it. For example, for the return on equity ratio, the formula is net income divided by equity, but in order to understand how exactly the ratio works, I had to learn what equity was and what net income was, and there was even more behind those two terms.
The most difficult of these financial ratios were the current ratio, the debt to equity ratio, and the return on equity ratio. I began my day studying these financial ratios with Mrs. Spurgeon. Again, each formula isn’t hard to understand, but what’s behind the ratio is more important and can be tricky at first. We discussed what each ratio measured (which often led to more “What’s that?” questions) and the reasons for using each ratio. Everything makes sense when applying it to an example. For instance, let’s say we want to evaluate Company A’s current financial health. We could use the current ratio, which is determined by dividing current assets by current liabilities. A current asset is a source of financial value that will soon become cash, and a current liability is some sort of obligation that I will soon pay with cash. This is a good ratio to evaluate current financial health because it only involves the amount of soon-to-become cash and the amount of cash that is soon-to-be-paid-with. In other words, because one only looks at short-term transactions, it shows how an organization or business is doing at the current time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a higher current ratio is necessarily better than a lower current ratio in the long term, but it’s basically a way of evaluating if an organization or business is able to currently operate without running into trouble in the short-term.
I researched the other ratios listed above by using resources that I found online. After learning the first three ratios, the rest of them weren’t too difficult. I supplemented all of the material I learned today by watching several videos that, once again, explained each ratio, gave a reason for using it, and put it into use with an example.
Although it didn’t seem like I learned a lot today, Mrs. Spurgeon reminded me that all of what I learned today was new, and what you see in the picture was not everything I learned. I also went through applications of each of the ratios and made up my own examples (and checking with Mrs. Spurgeon) to make sure that I understood the trickier concepts. All of the ratios were abstract concepts, and when I was learning them, I could only understand them when I could give them some context.
Additionally, it is important to note that I have simplified some of the concepts that I wrote about in this blog post. However, these simplifications do not change the essence of any concept being discussed, and these simplified explanations will most likely be enough for me to create my financial model.
By the end of the day, I felt a lot better with these ratios, and I am now curious to see how these ratios will affect my research for model and the actual building of the model.
Monday, January 4, 2016
1-4-2016: The Beginning
I did two main things on my first day today: learn about Microsoft Excel and brainstorm ideas for the model.
To review, the point of my intensive is to create a financial model that the Business Opportunities Task Force can use to evaluate business opportunities, but in order to do this, there are several things I first need to do, which include learning about the basics of using Microsoft Excel from a financial standpoint and brainstorming ideas for my financial model.
I spent perhaps a couple of hours using online resources that Mrs. Spurgeon had picked for me to get up to speed with Microsoft Excel. Prior to today, I had only ever used Microsoft Excel for its visual purposes in creating a basic table. Even though I didn’t get very far through the video courses, I’ve already learned of several analysis features in Excel. For example, the filter command is one of Excel’s features that can sift through a selection of data and only return data that matches the criteria one specifies.
I expect to learn much more about using Microsoft Excel and how it will allow me to create my financial model, my final project.
Brainstorming and discussion were a huge part of what we did today. Mrs. Spurgeon had several logistical questions regarding potential income sources and expenditures in terms of an expansion. We discussed these together and recorded our thoughts, knowing that I’ll need to do some in-depth research later about actual dollar amounts so that I can eventually put them in my model. Here is a picture of part of our brainstorming, which lists some sources of potential startup costs for a theoretical satellite expansion of the Early Learning Center.
One thing that I’m realizing more and more is that nonprofit organizations (like Maumee Valley) are not that different than businesses. Both have to evaluate the financial feasibility of a project before they dive into it. They both have budgets that need to be managed. They both need to look at their income sources and determine the best use for their money. Nothing is free, even for a 130+ year old school that does a lot for its students and the community.
I wasn’t really able to write that much for today because there are several things that I’m still learning. Mrs. Spurgeon has also been spending some time with basic vocabulary that she uses in the business office and how it translates to me creating a financial model. It’s not easy, coming from someone who has no interest in business or finance, or at least someone who currently thinks this. But I’m willing to learn, and I’m doing this intensive because I love Maumee Valley and want to take a closer look as to how it runs.
I've learned a lot today, and I'm looking forward to the mysteries of tomorrow!
To review, the point of my intensive is to create a financial model that the Business Opportunities Task Force can use to evaluate business opportunities, but in order to do this, there are several things I first need to do, which include learning about the basics of using Microsoft Excel from a financial standpoint and brainstorming ideas for my financial model.
I spent perhaps a couple of hours using online resources that Mrs. Spurgeon had picked for me to get up to speed with Microsoft Excel. Prior to today, I had only ever used Microsoft Excel for its visual purposes in creating a basic table. Even though I didn’t get very far through the video courses, I’ve already learned of several analysis features in Excel. For example, the filter command is one of Excel’s features that can sift through a selection of data and only return data that matches the criteria one specifies.
I expect to learn much more about using Microsoft Excel and how it will allow me to create my financial model, my final project.
Brainstorming and discussion were a huge part of what we did today. Mrs. Spurgeon had several logistical questions regarding potential income sources and expenditures in terms of an expansion. We discussed these together and recorded our thoughts, knowing that I’ll need to do some in-depth research later about actual dollar amounts so that I can eventually put them in my model. Here is a picture of part of our brainstorming, which lists some sources of potential startup costs for a theoretical satellite expansion of the Early Learning Center.
One thing that I’m realizing more and more is that nonprofit organizations (like Maumee Valley) are not that different than businesses. Both have to evaluate the financial feasibility of a project before they dive into it. They both have budgets that need to be managed. They both need to look at their income sources and determine the best use for their money. Nothing is free, even for a 130+ year old school that does a lot for its students and the community.
I wasn’t really able to write that much for today because there are several things that I’m still learning. Mrs. Spurgeon has also been spending some time with basic vocabulary that she uses in the business office and how it translates to me creating a financial model. It’s not easy, coming from someone who has no interest in business or finance, or at least someone who currently thinks this. But I’m willing to learn, and I’m doing this intensive because I love Maumee Valley and want to take a closer look as to how it runs.
I've learned a lot today, and I'm looking forward to the mysteries of tomorrow!
Sunday, January 3, 2016
1-3-2016: Tomorrow's the First Day!
Tomorrow is the first day of the Winter Intensive, the term during which my independent study will be taking place.
I have no idea what to expect. I met with Mrs. Spurgeon last Thursday (12-31-2015) to finalize details, but it didn't really give me an in-depth look at what tomorrow would be like. You can find more information in general terms regarding the plan for my intensive here: Introduction and Overview
Well, that's all I have to say! Looking forward to tomorrow!
I have no idea what to expect. I met with Mrs. Spurgeon last Thursday (12-31-2015) to finalize details, but it didn't really give me an in-depth look at what tomorrow would be like. You can find more information in general terms regarding the plan for my intensive here: Introduction and Overview
Well, that's all I have to say! Looking forward to tomorrow!
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