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Between the Sheets

Using the Downloadable Spreadsheets

The downloadable spreadsheets and these notes have been written by Duncan Williamson. Please pass any feedback about them through the feedback form.

In the series of modules I have created, you will find definitions, explanations and examples concerning

• Depreciation
• Budgeting
• Cost analysis
• Cost volume profit analysis
• Gearing
• Markups and margins
• Elasticity of demand
• Profit maximisation
• Balance sheet and income statement

Aims of the modules

These modules have been written with two aims in mind

1. Helping you to understand some of the issues in each of them; and
2. Giving you practice at the numerical aspects of those issues.

I hope that once you have worked through each of the modules you will feel more satisfied than before you began looking through them! I have tried to give as much explanation as possible of the key features built into the modules. I have also tried to take you step by step through any calculations you need to do.

Please bear in mind, it has not been possible in these modules to cover every last aspect of the topics they contain. That is, you will need to read more about depreciation, more about cost volume profit analysis and more about profit maximisation ... before you can call yourself an expert!

Module formats

All of the modules follow roughly the same format: there is an introduction and definition section. This section is then followed by one or more sections in which the topic(s) under discussion are developed. The development of the topics generally start with a worked example and then have an example for you to do.

In general, the examples that the user has to work through comes in two forms:

1. Numerical calculation:

This normally means that you are given a question or questions to answer and you have to calculate a result. The spreadsheet has been programmed to know when you have attempted an answer; and it knows whether your answer is right or wrong! If your answer is right, it says something stunning like, "Good" or "Well done". If you get the answer wrong, it says something pithy like, "Sorry" or "Try again". All good motivating stuff!

I have colour coded the cells that need your answers: the ones you should enter answers in are all yellow. There's a simple rule: if it isn't yellow, don't try to fill it or change it.

To fill in the yellow cells you can do one of at least two things:

1. You can get out a calculator and tap away at that until you get the answer then simply type your answer into the relevant cell; or
2. You can enter a function or formula in the yellow cells and program Excel to find the answer for you.

Either way, if the answer's right, that's OK. If the answer's wrong, try again.

Comments in cells

In some cases, you will find that in addition to the explanations in the spreadsheets, I have put COMMENTS in some cells. Comments are really hidden inside cells but they are very easy to find: you will see when a cell has a comment because is has a little red triangle in the top right hand corner of the cell that looks like this: see the triangle in the top right hand corner of cell A3 in the Excel screenshot below?

When you put the cursor over the cell, the comment appears: just read what it says and it should help you. Normally, comments show you the logic or the formula you need; or it gives a further example of what you are trying to learn. Take a look at the following screenshot of what the comment in cell A3 actually said.

So, the cursor has simply been placed over cell A3 and the comment appears ... marvellous!

2. Graphical solution:

In some of the modules I have used graphs and charts to illustrate and work through the examples. In these cases, you are expected to answer in graph form too. To do this, I have either given you the data and some guidance on how to construct a graph; or I have given you the data AND an empty graph. For example, here's a couple of screenshots from the Profit Maximisation module. In the first screenshot, you are given some data, Marginal Cost data in this case; and then a graph has been drawn for you to consider.

In the second screenshot, you will see the data, a column for you to fill in and a blank graph. Here, you need to calculate the relevant values for Marginal Cost and as you enter them, you will be told whether your results are correct or not; and whether your answers are correct or not, your results will be recorded on the graph.

Screenshot three shows you what your work will look like once you have entered four Marginal cost values, only two of which are correct. Nevertheless, you can see what happens as you use these modules:

By the way, you can see that there are two comments in this example: in cells C7 and C8: they are there just in case you need a bit more help.

In other cases, it's up to you to create the graph using the spreadsheet's built in routines, so you won't even be given the blank graph at all, then.

A gentle hint here: when you have to create your own graph from scratch, you should expect your graphs to look like the examples I have given you in the worked examples!

One screen at a time

To be as user friendly as possible, I have tried to keep all of my workings to one screen at a time. Only once or twice in the whole series of modules will you ever have to scroll down or along to read anything. In most cases, once you've finished with a screen, you move right to the next screen in the series. To achieve this objective, I have sometimes had to shrink the screen contents to 90 or even 85% of their normal size: I don't think that's a problem, though, for most people: the biggest problem group will be wrinkly teachers like me whose eyesight isn't what it was!

Printing

One annoying feature of things we find on the Web is that there must be millions and millions of pages that print badly. What I mean is that you get to a site, like what you see and then start to print it out ... the last page might have just a couple of lines on it; other pages might have words that run over the edge of the page; some pages just look terrible with columns all over the place and graphics that don't print.

Well, you won't find that here. I have gone through every screen and made them fit neatly onto one piece of paper: it's all formatted and ready to print ... unless you have a dodgy printer! I have printed these modules out on FOUR different printers and THREE different computers using TWO versions of Microsoft Excel and TWO versions of Microsoft Windows and everything came out well for me.

I hope you find these modules useful and I genuinely would like you to tell me if you don't: tell me what's wrong, what didn't work, what I could do to improve and I'll be for ever in your debt. Of course, you can tell me you like them, too: I'm only human, after all!

Duncan Williamson
November 2000