Short course
Excel & Data Analysis (AI-accelerated): Formulas You Can Defend
Get faster answers out of your spreadsheets with AI — SUMIFS, XLOOKUP, PivotTables — and learn to catch the plausible-but-wrong formula before it reaches your boss.
What you'll be able to do
- Structure raw data as a clean Excel Table so formulas and PivotTables stay correct as the data grows.
- Write the five workhorse functions from a plain-English spec: SUMIFS/COUNTIFS, XLOOKUP, IF, IFERROR, ROUND.
- Build a PivotTable that answers a business question in under five minutes.
- Prompt AI for a working formula by describing your columns and the exact result you expect.
- Run a verification pass that catches the five ways an AI formula is confidently wrong.
- Produce one audited spreadsheet deliverable where you caught and corrected an AI formula error.
Who it's for
Finance, operations, and admin professionals who live in spreadsheets — analysts, coordinators, bookkeepers, and managers who build reports in Excel (or Google Sheets) and want AI to speed them up without shipping silent errors.
Lessons
- 1Clean Data or Nothing WorksTurn a raw range into a clean Excel Table so formulas, filters, and PivotTables stay correct as rows are added.25 min
- 2The Five Functions That Do 80% of the WorkWrite the five workhorse functions from a plain-English spec and know the trap each one hides.40 min
- 3PivotTables in Five MinutesBuild a PivotTable that answers a business question and use it as a second-source check on your formulas.35 min
- 4Prompting AI for Excel FormulasGet a working formula from AI by describing your columns, the goal, and the exact expected result.35 min
- 5Trust but Verify: Auditing an AI FormulaRun a verification pass that catches the five ways an AI formula returns a plausible-but-wrong number.30 min
- 6Sharing Numbers SafelyPackage a spreadsheet so its numbers are defensible, reproducible, and safe to hand on.20 min