How to use this guide
The assessment is two hands-on Excel tests: you build working sheets, so what counts is formulas that are right and that still work when they are copied, linked or the inputs change. Reading about Excel is not enough. Keep Excel open next to this page and type every formula you see.
The topics are grouped the way the tests usually split. The split follows the usual module order: Test 1 skills are Modules 1–5 (topics 01–07: formulas, functions, references, IF, the income statement with GST and CCA, the linked balance sheet with ratios and pro forma, lookups, conditional formatting and Goal Seek) and Test 2 skills are Modules 6–9 (topics 08–11: loans and data tables, time value of money, data tools, regression and charts). Check your own course outline for exactly which modules each test covers. Test 2 sheets still lean on everything in Test 1: a loan schedule is just references done right.
Inside a topic: read the idea and the syntax boxes, then open each worked example. The grid shows the sheet the way Excel does (column letters, row numbers, shaded formula cells); the table under it lists each formula, the result Excel shows and why. Cover the result and predict it first. Then play with the lab until its answers stop surprising you, and finish with the traps.
Then practise. The formula drill, the multiple-choice bank and the flashcards are all levelled:
| Level | What it asks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | One step: read a formula, apply one function or one rule | What does =AVERAGE(B2:B6) do with a blank cell? |
| Intermediate | A standard task in a few steps | Fill =$A3*(1-B$2) across a grid and read off one cell |
| Exam level | A full test-style piece that strings several skills together | Link a CCA schedule into an income statement and compute tax with IF |
| Hard | Twists: skills combined, working backwards, and the traps that cost the most | Why does a nested IF return Silver for a $650 customer? |
Habits that matter in a hands-on test
- Formulas, never typed answers. A number you worked out on a calculator looks right but breaks the moment an input changes.
- Point at inputs, don't type them into formulas.
=B4*$B$1, not=B4*1.37. Put every assumption (rates, prices, limits) in its own labelled cell. - Write one formula, then fill it. If you are typing the same formula into every row, your $ signs are probably wrong.
- Check with a second route. A running total should end at the grand total; a balance sheet should balance; interest plus principal should equal the payment.
- Format last, and only the display. Currency, percent and decimals change how a value looks, never the value itself.
How the labs work
- Every lab runs a small Excel engine in your browser: change a formula or an input and every answer is recomputed.
- Reveal next walks through the answers in order with the reasoning; Hint shows how to get the next one; Quiz me blanks them for you to type.
- The drill starts on Auto: it begins at Beginner and moves up a level after three correct answers in a row. Pick a level or one question type at any time.
- The multiple-choice bank and flashcards run from easy to hard, so working down the list builds each idea from the ground up.
Exam format, weight and allowed aids differ between sections and terms. Check your own course outline.
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This is the first section. The full guide has every topic, the labs and the practice questions.
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