Workbook design and controls: A framework

Abstract

This is an in-class Excel workbook design and controls teaching case. The case is built from a real-world workbook application. Knowing workbook design and spreadsheet control tools and techniques to support a business decision is a long-standing professional accounting competency. The workbook should tell the business story. Proper workbook design and spreadsheet controls assure the workbook provides insight built on solid ground and stands-up to a critical review. Accounting graduates and young professionals are typically adept at using powerful Excel tools, such as pivot tables, lookup functions, data sort and more, turning data to information. Yet there is much more to telling a business story in a workbook. We provide a framework for the accounting professional to think through a workbook design that enables repeatable use, a quality review by a manager, structured to minimize errors, and used interactively to make a business decision. This case can be used in undergraduate accounting analytics, accounting information systems, forensic accounting, financial, or managerial accounting classes. An Excel workbook file accompanies this case.