Beyond VLOOKUP (Currently Unavailable)

Author: David H. Ringstrom

Many users rely on VLOOKUP for basic look-up functionality in spreadsheets, but are often unaware of ways to improve the integrity of this venerable function. In this session Excel expert David H. Ringstrom, CPA introduces the VLOOKUP function, and then quickly goes beyond the basics. Discover what can go awry with VLOOKUP, how to future-proof the function, and explore alternatives such as MATCH/INDEX, SUMIF, and SUMIFS.

Publication Date: August 2014

Designed For
Practitioners who rely on look-up functions within their spreadsheets.

Topics Covered

• Improve the integrity of spreadsheets with Excel's VLOOKUP function.
• Understand what causes look-up errors, and see how to overcome such situations.
• Don't be caught off-guard by the new IFNA function available to Excel 2013 users.
• Uncover the limitations of VLOOKUP, along with alternatives.
• Discover how to use wildcards and multiple criteria within look-up formulas
• Perform dual lookups, where you look across columns and down rows to cross reference the data you need
• See why the MATCH and INDEX combination is often superior to VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP
• Master the versatile SUMIF function.
• Use the SUMIFS to sum value based on multiple criteria.

Learning Objectives

• Determine situations where VLOOKUP may return an error or omit desired data
• Improve the integrity of VLOOKUP by way of the MATCH function and/or Excel's Table feature
• Utilize the SUMIFS function in Excel 2007 and later for multiple-criteria look-ups.

Level
Intermediate

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Specialized Knowledge and Applications (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
A basic understanding of Excel.

Advance Preparation
None