Cost/Management Accountants, regardless of their proficiency with the technical aspects of the job, have to be able to convey those results to others. To be a true business partner, we must not only be able to present results of analysis in a meaningful fashion, but present useful alternatives for the organization.

Cost Accountants are usually considered ‘the keepers of the data’ and as such usually end up being pretty good with MS Excel. Being able to sort, subtotal, create pivot tables are the norm. I, like many of you, think in spreadsheets. I always considered myself to be pretty much an expert, but when I arrived at my present company, the guy in the next office blows me away.

If you need to improve your Excel skills, you might try taking the online course offered by our business partner ExcelUniversity

The also have some excellent training materials available thru our bookstore

From around the web, here are some videos and articles that may help:

Big Data by Performance Management Edge
Driving by Looking in the Rearview Mirror by Cost Matters
How to Use Excel for Data Analysis and Reports Webinar by APIAHF
Responsible Conduct in Data Management – Data Analysis
Sacrifice Precision for Relevance and Accuracy by Cost Matters
Spreadsheets Running Amuck by Cost Matters
What is Data Analysis byJoel H. Levine
What Statistical Analysis Should I Use? by Institute for Digital Research and Education at UCLA

Other books on the subject from our bookstore:

Business and Financial Models By Clive Marsh
Microsoft® Excel® 2010: Data Analysis and Business Modeling By Wayne L. Winston Ph.D.
Economic Decision Making Using Cost Data (Economics Collection) By Daniel M. Marburger

The Professional Development page on our site is going through a fundamental transformation to improve its content, but it is here: http://costmanagement.kinsta.cloud/professional-development/

This entry was posted in Education and Certifications. Bookmark the permalink.