A standard Excel VLOOKUP can refer to values from a specific worksheet. Financial and business planning models are often complex and detailed in their analytics, and therefore require high-level executive summaries or dashboards of multiple worksheets.
The following illustration demonstrates the power of a VLOOKUP with the INDIRECT function to reference a Lookup_value from multiple worksheets.
How to create a ‘radio button’ drop-down list
The drop-down list is a common tool to experienced financial modelling professionals. This alternate approach, a ‘radio button’ drop-down list, does not require Excel VBA macros but instead uses the Data Validation tool.
How to do a VLOOKUP – A Look into the basics
Excel’s VLOOKUP function is undoubtedly one of the most popular Excel functions. It can readily interpret and report values in large data arrays and unlike a PivotTable, which needs to be manually updated to reflect source data changes; VLOOKUP will seamlessly update to reflect such changes.
10 Common Problems with Financial Models
The humble Excel spreadsheet is one the most common software tools used by the business world. Consequently, many financial models are beset by the following problems, which undermine their accuracy and reliability.
How to create dependent drop-down lists
This is a fast approach to add a level of sophistication and reduce input error in your spreadsheet. It is a great technique because it will flex, based on the value chosen in a precedent drop-down list.
Dynamic drop-down list
Here is an effective and simple technique to incorporate a dynamic approach to a drop-down list of inputs. It offers a more effective approach than creating a dynamic name range.