1. (TCO 9, 2, 3, 7) You have worked for an electronics company for the past three years. You have been assigned the responsibility to create a workbook presenting profits and losses at the company's end of year meeting. It is critical for the workbook to include a documentation sheet along with sheets indicating profits and losses from four locations (i.e., Chicago, Dallas, Sacramento, and Tampa Bay). Given this information discuss your approach to address each question below.
A - The final analysis includes profit and losses, What If analysis, and Scenarios. What types of recommendations could you provide in the documentation sheet based on this information? Also, what approach could you use to summarize all four locations in one sheet?
B - You will need to customize the spreadsheet so organization is critical. What approach would you use to ensure the workbook is setup correctly for your presentation?
C - There are many ways to depict the yearly trends for each location. Please explain at least two types of charts you could use to present yearly profits and losses?
D - You have to rely on a few employees within the organization to complete your workbook. To do this the workbook has to be sent electronically to each employee. How would you protect the integrity of the formulas and structure if the workbook is sent to several employees to enter data? Also, what approach would you use to track the revisions sent by each employee.
(Points: 40)
A - Recommendations in the Documentation Sheet:
Based on the information provided, you could include recommendations in the documentation sheet that provide insights and suggestions for improving the company's profitability. For example, you could recommend cost-cutting measures, expanding operations in specific locations, diversifying product offerings, or exploring new markets. Additionally, you could provide recommendations based on the outcomes of the What If analysis and Scenarios, such as implementing specific strategies or changes depending on different hypothetical scenarios.
Summarizing all four locations in one sheet:
To summarize the profits and losses from all four locations in one sheet, you could use various approaches, such as:
1. Consolidated Financials: Create a separate sheet where you consolidate the financial data from each location. You can use formulas like SUMIFS or Pivot Tables to aggregate the profits and losses for each location. This will provide an overall view of the company's performance across all locations.
2. Comparative Analysis: Create a sheet that includes a side-by-side comparison of profits and losses for each location. Use tables or charts to visually represent the data, making it easier to identify trends, patterns, and variations between the locations.
B - Setup of the Workbook for Presentation:
To ensure the workbook is organized correctly for your presentation, you can follow these steps:
1. Define a Clear Structure: Start by creating separate sheets for each location (i.e., Chicago, Dallas, Sacramento, and Tampa Bay) to input their respective profit and loss data. Also, create additional sheets for the What If analysis, Scenarios, and any other relevant information.
2. Use Consistent Formatting: Apply consistent formatting across the workbook, including fonts, colors, and cell styles. This will make your workbook visually appealing and easier to navigate.
3. Create a Table of Contents: Include a table of contents sheet that provides an overview of the workbook's contents. This will help the audience quickly locate specific information they are interested in during the presentation.
4. Utilize Named Ranges: Use named ranges to organize and reference cells, ranges, or formulas throughout the workbook. This will make your formulas more readable and manageable.
C - Types of Charts for Yearly Profits and Losses:
To depict yearly profits and losses for each location, you could use the following types of charts:
1. Line Chart: A line chart is suitable for showing trends over time. Create a line chart for each location, with the years along the x-axis and the profits/losses on the y-axis. This will allow you to compare the performance of each location over the years and identify any patterns or variations.
2. Bar Chart: A bar chart is effective for comparing different categories or locations. Create a separate bar chart for each year, with the locations on the x-axis and the profits or losses on the y-axis. This will enable you to compare the performance of each location side by side and identify the variations more easily.
D - Protecting Formulas and Structure & Tracking Revisions:
To protect the integrity of formulas and structure when sharing the workbook with multiple employees, you can take the following steps:
1. Protect Worksheet and Workbook: Set passwords to protect the confidential sheets and the overall workbook structure. This will prevent unauthorized modifications to formulas, formatting, and other aspects of the workbook.
2. Use Data Validation: Implement data validation rules to ensure that employees only input valid data and adhere to certain limits or constraints. This will help prevent erroneous entries that can compromise the integrity of the formulas.
3. Track Changes: Utilize the "Track Changes" feature in Excel to keep a record of all changes made by each employee. This feature allows you to see who made specific revisions, when they were made, and what modifications were done. You can review and accept or reject these changes accordingly.
4. File Versioning: Save multiple versions of the workbook by using the "Save As" feature with different file names or dates. This will allow you to track the revisions made by employees over time and revert back to previous versions if needed.