Excel For Top MBAs (And Wannabes)

MS Excel cases walked through by a top 10 MBA instructor

Created by: Bruce Vann
Darden MBA

What Will I Learn?

• Organize, analyze, and present thoughts to solve a myriad of common business problems
• Use statistics to add value to processes in your current and/or dream job
• Leverage lookups and pivot tables to merge and manipulate data into valuable information that builds competitive advantage
• Create strategies to get out of personal debt
• Master the finances of real estate deals to build for a better retirement
• Optimize your business through linear programming models
• Build the analytical skills that employers want

Requirements

• Before starting this course you'll need a computer with a monitor, mouse and speakers. The computer will need MS Excel 2007 or later installed. If you don't have access to MS Excel, then you can use Google Sheets for all of the material covered here except for the one case about Ali. In MS Excel, you'll need Solver and the statistical add-ins but don't worry. I'll show you how to install and manipulate that.
• You will need to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. You may also find it useful to understand basic algebra.

Target audience

• Do you remember learning math in grade school and asking your teacher "When in life am I ever gonna use sine, cosine, and tangent? What the heck is the point of all of this?" If you felt that way, you are not alone and you don't need to worry. This course involves the science of the excel formulas and computing but it's a general walk-through for how to use the tools to solve business and life problems. It uses cases to tell the stories of characters with common problems like buying a home or paying down debt to make the use of MS Excel second nature to the learner. There are too many functions and uses for MS Excel (and other spreadsheet softwares) to name; matter of fact you can even create ones of your own. This course is for those who want to learn how businesses, markets, and the "nuts and bolts" of finance work through using MS Excel to improve profitability and make good decisions. It is not for learners who want to master one specific skill set within Excel. Subjects like macros, engineering functions, power query, and monte carlo simulations won't be covered here.