CREATING CHARTS IN EXCEL

CREATING THE PRESENTATION CHARTS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL

CREATING CHARTS IN EXCEL

CREATING CHARTS IN EXCEL

Creating charts in excel is fairly easy. Excel can help you choose the best chart to represent your data. With some practice, you can
learn to modify charts and display your data in an eye-catching way. To use this tutorial, you will need data to work with.
Recommend entering your organization’s audited financial statement data into the document. Otherwise, sample data available in
Table 1: Example Data and Table 2: Table Formulas can be found at the end of this booklet.

CREATING A COLUMN CHART

Both the Bar and the Column charts display data using rectangular bars where the length of the bar is proportional to the data value.
Both are used to compare two or more values. However, their difference lies in their orientation. A Bar chart is oriented horizontally
whereas the Column chart is oriented vertically.

Let’s make a simple Column Chart.

CHARTING REVENUES:
CHART THE TOTAL REVENUE FOR 2012-2017 IN A COLUMN CHART.

1. Select the data to be displayed in

the table.

2. In the navigation pane, select

INSERT > Recommended Charts from the Charts menu.

Recommended charts makes it simple to select a chart that

bests represents the data selected.
Make sure that you select a chart that seems like it will make
the most sense. This is just one way in excel to make a chart.

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 3. Now you have a chart of Total Revenues
for the years 2012-2017.

Excel has many options for formatting to

make your information more
understandable or better displayed.

Let’s spruce this chart up by making it 3D

and adding data labels.

4. Select the chart you just created.

Navigate to Design > Type > Change Chart Type.

Under the “Change Chart Type” window, select the 3-D Clustered
Column option and click “OK”.

You will now have a 3D Chart. To

customize it even more, Excel gives
options for formatting. Select the
format you like.

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CREATING A STACKED COLUMN CHART

A stacked column chart, also known as a stacked column graph, is a graph that is used to break down and compare parts of a whole.
Each column in the chart represents a whole, and segments in the column represent different parts or categories of that whole.

CHARTING REVENUE SOURCES AS PART OF TOTAL ANNUAL REVENUE:

CHART THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF REVENUE FROM 2012-2017 AS A STACKED COLUMN CHART.

1. Select the data you want

to chart.

2. Select the “Stacked Column” chart type from the INSERT >
Charts > Recommended Charts.

3. You know have a stacked column chart that shows the

different categories of revenue for each year.

4. Format the chart however you think the data is best

represented.

You can edit the chart tiles, colors, borders, axis

positions, etc. by right clicking on the chart and using the
“Format Chart” options.

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CREATING A COMBINATION CHART

A combination chart is a chart that combines two or more chart types in a single chart. The combination chart displays the data sing
a number of bars and/or lines, each of which represent a particular category.

CHARTING MONTHLY OPERATIONAL COST AND FUND BALANCES

CREATE A CHART THE THAT SHOWS THE ANNUAL DISTRICT OPERATIONAL COST AS A COLUMN CHART AND THE
NUMBER OF MONTHS OF SUPPORTING FUND BALANCE AS A LINE CHART FOR 2012-2017.
1. Select the data you want to chart.

2. From INSERT > Recommended Charts,

select All Charts > Combo.

Chose the chart type you want to display for

each data series. In this example, choose
Clustered Column for “Monthly Cost…” and
Line for “# of months Fund Balance…”.

Select Secondary Axis for the line chart type.

Click OK.

Now you can see the $’s on the Left Axis and
the #’s on the right.

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EDITING CHARTS

Excel is a great tool. There are many options available to format your charts so that they look exactly how you want them to.
Remember these mottos: 1.) if it seems like something you should be able to do, you probably can, and 2.) If you can’t figure it
out…GOOGLE IT. Google usually spits out the answer of how to change something.

For the sake of these examples, I’m going to show you the most basic ways to edit the look of your charts.

EDITING TITLES, AXIS AND LEGENDS.

EDIT THE COMBO CHART YOU JUST CREATED TO ADD A CHART TITLE, ADJUST THE LEGEND AND MAKE THE TEXT
LARGER
1. Select the combo chart you created in the example above. From the Ribbon, navigate to CHART TOOLS > DESIGN.

2. Select the dropdown menu arrow next to show the Quick Layout options
available. This will display all of the ways that you can quickly adjust the chart
elements such as the legend, title, and axis.

For this example, let’s choose the layout which displays the information in a
tabular legend.

Now the data is displayed as a graph, but the key points are also summarized
in a table below the graph. Best of both worlds.

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 3. Now let’s format the chart and axis titles. Select the “Chart Title” text box. Click inside the text box again to edit the text
and type in a title name.

4. Once completed, right-click the selected text box and select Format Chart
Title.

5. A formatting menu will pop-up on the right hand side of the screen. You can now see the many options available to recolor,
resize, realign or add borders and shape to your chart title.

6. Repeat the process to add a name to the left axis title. Change the formatting of the text using either the Format Chart tool
or by making edits from the tools located in the ribbon, similar to any Microsoft Word document. It works from either tool.

You can see below, that I have made a number of edits to the original chart to make it more eye-catching for my use in a
report.

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GETTING MORE EXAMPLE INFORMATION

For the 2018 BWSR Academy session (Foreign Language of Financial Statements), a template workbook using real data examples has
been created in excel, which you can use to plan your own financial statement analysis and graphical displays.

The template also has a Dashboard template included. A dashboard is a visual representation of relevant information that is
updated frequently. It can be a very useful tool to quickly and consistently analyze your data and present it to your district board
supervisors for decision making.

The template is intended to be a guide in

developing ways to use your own information,
and all necessary formulas and tables are labeled
and available for you to look at.

Additionally, there are many, many tutorials

online on how to use Excel effectively. You
can look up any number of issues through
Microsoft Help, Google, or peruse an endless
list of YouTube tutorials.

If you get stuck, remember…

“IF IT SEEMS LIKE YOU SHOULD

BE ABLE TO DO IT, YOU
PROBABLY CAN.”

“GOOGLE IT.”

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TABLES AND EXAMPLE DATA

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Table 1: Example Data

BALANCE SHEET 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Assets
Cash and Investments $236,291 $365,448 $277,421 $218,443 $630,546 $694,405
Due from Other Governments $40,658 $14,521 $18,812 $254,891 $87,695 $42,898
Accounts Receivable $2,299 $1,980 $8,399
Accrued Interest $274
Inventory $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $3,000 $913
Total Assets $281,223 $383,969 $300,233 $479,633 $723,221 $746,615

Liabilities
Accounts Payable $763 $920 $1,215 $1,692 $2,690 $10,546
Salaries Payable $5,214 $5,279 $7,453 $9,571 $14,672 $17,100
Deposit on Sales $2,688 $1,695 $1,035 $3,120 $19,487 $25,948
Due to Other Governments $3,377
Unearned Revenue $215,196 $304,998 $192,408 $258,110 $449,206 $417,796
Total Liabilities $223,861 $312,892 $202,111 $272,493 $486,055 $474,767

Fund Balance
Nonspendable - Inventory $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $3,000 $913
Assigned - Compensated Absences $8,262 $12,821 $10,857 $16,105 $18,559 $19,879
Unassigned $45,100 $54,256 $83,265 $187,035 $215,607 $251,056
Total Fund Balance $57,362 $71,077 $98,122 $207,140 $237,166 $271,848

Total Liabilities and Fund Balance $281,223 $383,969 $300,233 $479,633 $723,221 $746,615

Unrestricted Fund Balance $45,100 $54,256 $83,265 $187,035 $215,607 $251,056

Annual Cost of District Operations $338,394 $356,708 $329,434 $391,713 $520,464 $620,392
Monthly Cost of District Operations $28,200 $29,726 $27,453 $32,643 $43,372 $51,699

# of Months Fund Balance will Support District Operations 1.6 1.8 3.0 5.7 5.0 4.9
 PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Revenues
Intergovernmental
County $189,902 $191,628 $194,236 $208,482 $195,159 $249,877
Federal $4,445 $9,640 $19,364 $25,960
State Grant $255,355 $188,447 $225,831 $723,104 $1,026,294 $1,010,187
Total Intergovernmental $449,702 $389,715 $439,431 $957,546 $1,221,453 $1,260,064

Charges for Services $31,392 $28,833 $28,324 $36,243 $45,956 $47,841

Misc. - Interest Earnings $877 $235 $258 $292 $307 $141

Misc. - Other $8,708 $4,969 $5,603 $5,116 $10,187 $6,490
Total Miscellaneous $9,585 $5,204 $5,861 $5,408 $10,494 $6,631

Total Revenues $490,679 $423,752 $473,616 $999,197 $1,277,903 $1,314,536

Expenditures
District Operations
Personnel Services $290,676 $315,683 $280,757 $319,564 $434,141 $516,286
Other Services and Charges $46,468 $41,025 $46,765 $72,149 $81,024 $70,996
Supplies $224
Capital Outlay-depr. $1,250 $0 $1,688 $0 $5,299 $33,110
Total District Operations $338,394 $356,708 $329,434 $391,713 $520,464 $620,392

Project Expenditures
District $22,409 $20,718 $22,419 $2,849 $27,539
County $1,407 $3,010 $16,597
Federal $2,126
State $138,679 $32,611 $91,185 $495,456 $724,564 $615,326
Total Project Expenditures $161,088 $53,329 $117,137 $498,466 $727,413 $659,462

Total Expenditures $499,482 $410,037 $446,571 $890,179 $1,247,877 $1,279,854

Excess of Revenues Over (Under) Expenditures -$8,803 $13,715 $27,045 $109,018 $30,026 $34,682

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Table 2: Table Formulas

List of Formulas = Calculated Fields

Total Assets =SUM(Cash and Investments + Due from Other Govts + Accts Receivable + Accrued
Int. + Inventory)
Total Liabilities =SUM(Accts Pay. + Salaries Pay. + Dep on Sales + Due to Other Govt + Unearned
Revenues)
Nonspendable – Inventory = (Assets:Inventory)

Unassigned = SUM(Total Assets – Total Liabilities – Nonspend. Inventory – Assigned Com.

Absences.)
Total Fund Balance = SUM(Nonspendable Inventory – Assigned Comp. Absences. – Unassigned)

Total Liabilities and Fund Balance = SUM(Total Liabilities + Total Fund Balance)

Total Intergovernmental = SUM(County + Federal + State Grant)

Total Miscellaneous = SUM(Misc Interest Earnings + Misc. Others)

Total Revenues = SUM(Total Intergovernmental + Charges for Services + Total Miscellaneous)

Total District Operations = SUM(Personnel Services + Other Services and Charges + Supplies + Capital
Outlay-depr.)
Total Project Expenditures = SUM(District + County + Federal + State)

Total Expenditures = SUM(Total District Operations + Total Project Expenditures)

Excess of Revenues Over (Under) = SUM(Total Revenues – Total Expenditures)

Expenditures
Unrestricted Fund Balance = SUM(Fund Balance:Unassigned)

Annual Cost of District Operations = SUM(Total District Operations)

Monthly Cost of District Operations = SUM(Annual Cost of District Operations / 12)

# of Months of Fund Balance = SUM(Unrestricted Fund Balance / Monthly Cost of District Operations)