BAF3M, Financial Accounting Principles, Grade 11, University/College Preparation

Unit 2: Balance Sheet and Transactions

Lesson 3: Spreadsheets and Accounting

Overview

Accountants use spreadsheets in their day-to-day business operations for a number of

different reasons such as calculations and financial statements. In this activity, you will
be provided an overview of one of the most common spreadsheet programs, Microsoft
Excel. If you do not have Excel, you may use any other spreadsheet software such as
Google Documents - Calculation which is free. All spreadsheets work on the same
principles. In this unit, you will learn some of the basic functions of Excel. It is beyond
the scope of this course to teach you everything you could possibly need to know in
Excel. You must get accustomed to accessing the Help feature of whatever software
you are using. When you are stuck or think, “There must be an easier way!” the Help
button will provide step-by-step instructions.

Learning Goals Success Criteria

-use a spreadsheet, and its •can format a Balance Sheet using spreadsheet software
'functions' tool to prepare correctly using 'borders' to make a line above all totals. In
accurate and well-formatted addition, the double underline ‘border.'
financial statements. •can use the 'function' feature to perform all calculations.

Expectations

Overall Expectations:

FAV.03 demonstrate and understanding of the basic procedures and principles of the
accounting cycle for a service business;
AFV.03 apply accounting practices in a computerized environment;
EIV.02 assess the impact of technology on the accounting function in business.

Specific Expectations:

FA3.03 prepare a trial balance and the financial statements for a service business;
AF3.03 use accounting or application software to prepare financial statements;
EI2.01 compare a manual accounting system with a computerized accounting system.
Content
The Use of Spreadsheets in Accounting
Many companies use accounting software in order to accomplish daily routines and
activities. Most of these software programs are based on spreadsheet programs such
as Microsoft Excel. To find out how to use spreadsheet programs and their relevance to
the field of accounting, watch the following presentations. The Long description is a text
document of the information in the presentations.

Border Basics in Microsoft Excel

Long version of Border Basics in Microsoft Excel

How to use functions in Microsoft Excel

Long version of How to use functions in Microsoft Excel

If the links do not work, the files follow this lesson.

Did you know?

When entering numbers in a spreadsheet, never type spaces or commas.
If you want the number 12 500 or 12,500, simply enter 12500. As well, do
not type dollar signs i.e. $.

Entering numbers without spaces or commas lets the spreadsheet know

the number is a number, and not a label. Spreadsheet functions are used
to format the number to display correctly.

Unless otherwise indicated, all images in this activity are from the public domain or are © clipart.com or
Microsoft clipart and are used with permission.
This is a disclaimer. External Resources will open in a new window. Not responsible for external content.
Slides Content – for the above links

Border Basics in Microsoft Excel

Slide 1

How to create borders and add lines to your financial statements in

Microsoft Excel
An important aspect of accounting and spreadsheets is the use of cell borders when creating a
Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, Income Statement, or even and equation analysis sheet. To create
borders around your statements, lines at the bottom of a column of figures and double lines to
indicate a “balanced” statement, follow these steps.

Slide 2

To add a border around a group of cells, highlight the cells and click “Outside Borders” in the
Font group on the home tab.

Slide 3

Adjust the cells around the financial statement so your border frames the information without
crowding it. The individual cells do not show when the statement is printed.

Slide 4

To underline a cell to indicate the end of a column of figures:

1. Select the cell that you want to underline.

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Bottom Border.

Slide 5

To double underline a cell to indicate the end of a column of figures:

1. Select the cell that you want to underline.

2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Bottom Double Border.

Slide 6

Take some time to mess around in Excel. If you get stuck, ask your teacher to point you in the
right direction.

The Help in Excel is fabulous. You can click on the question mark in top right corner or just hit
the F1 key on your keyboard. Enter one or two words into the search box and voila! Step by
step instructions for everything you ever wanted to know about Excel.
Slide 1
How to use “functions” and numerical formats in Microsoft Excel

Slide 2
Numerical functions
• Numerical functions are very important when using spreadsheets as they permit the quick
calculation of few or many cells.
• In accounting, the most frequent functions include addition and subtraction.
• “Functions” can also be used to copy information from one cell to another. This is useful.

Slide 3
Basics of cells and functions

Cells are labels by their column and the row.

If you want the program to DO something for you in the cell, you begin by typing an = sign.
What you type into a cell appear in the function bar at the top of the spreadsheet.

If I want Excel to copy the value from cell C3 to cell E3, I type into the E3 cell ‘=C3’ and hit
ENTER.
Whatever is in C3 will appear in E3. If you change the value in C3, E3 will change automatically.
This also works for text. You will find this simple function very helpful when copying account
names from one place to another.

Slide 4
To add a column of numbers

To add a column of numbers you can simply tell excel that value you want in the cell is the sum
of a series of other cells.

To add the cells from H12 to H15, in cell H16 type in ‘=SUM(H12:H15)’

There are many ways to achieve the same result in Excel. Check out the tutorials in the Help
menu to find even easier ways to add a column.

Slide 5
Subtraction
For the calculation of the Owner’s Equity, if the figure is not given, you can use the function tool
to find it. First remember the accounting equation:
A = L + OE
To find OE you use:
OE = A - L
Type in the name of the two cells you need to satisfy the equation: For instance, if the total
assets are in H17 and the total liabilities are In cell, K14 and you want the owner’s equity to
appear in K16 then in cell K16 type ‘=H17-K14’ and hit ENTER. The owner’s equity will appear
next to Owner’s Equity label on the Balance Sheet.

Slide 7
Sheets in Excel
As you progress in the course you will be working in Excel on series of accounting procedures
requiring multiple spreadsheets.

You will find these spreadsheets in the same document. Every Excel document can have
numerous pages or “sheets”. In this course these sheets are always named and ready to go.

It is up to you to remember to ‘turn the page’ to the next worksheet by clicking on the tabs at
the bottom of your worksheet.

TIP You can use the ‘function’ feature to copy the content of a cell
(words or numbers) to another cell in a different sheet.
1. click in the empty cell you want filled
2. type ‘=‘
3. click on the tab for the sheet you want to copy from
4. click on the cell you want copied and hit enter
5. go back to the original sheet and the info will be there.

Assignments

FORUM
Assignment 1: Use of Technology in Accounting

Discussion
State one advantage and one disadvantage of using technology for bookkeeping and/or
accounting. Give specific and relevant examples to support your opinion. Respond to
your classmates' comments. It is acceptable to disagree completely with another
person's opinion, but remember to keep your comments professional.
 Assignment 2: Using Excel to Format a Balance Sheet

Complete the following assignment and submit your work to your

teacher.

Format this Balance Sheet for the Acme Window Washing Company for December 31,
2021 using Microsoft Excel. (if the link does not work, the balance sheet in excel file
format follows this lesson.)

Use the 'borders' function to underline columns correctly, as well as functions to

calculate the Total Assets, Total Liabilities, Owner's Equity, and Total Liabilities and
Owner's Equity figures.

If the link above does not work, here is the Balance sheet:

Rubric: Assignment Using Excel to Format a Balance Sheet

Rubric
Using a Spreadsheet to prepare a Balance Sheet
Categories Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
(50 - 59%) (60 - 69%) (70 - 79%) (80 - 100%)
Grade
Knowledge/Understanding: Prepares the Balance Prepares the Prepares the Prepares the /10
prepare a financial statement Sheet with limited Balance Sheet Balance Sheet Balance Sheet
for a service business. formatting. (borders, with some with with perfect
FA3.03. alignment, “$” formatting considerable formatting
Format a Balance Sheet. symbols, (borders, formatting (borders,
underlining). alignment, “$” (borders, alignment, “$”
symbols, alignment, “$” symbols,
underlining). symbols, underlining).
underlining).
Application: Uses few functions Uses some Uses most Uses all /10
use accounting or application correctly in the functions functions functions
software to prepare financial Balance Sheet. correctly in the correctly in the correctly in the
statements. Balance Sheet Balance Sheet Balance Sheet
AF3.03.
Using ‘functions' complete
the Balance Sheet.
/20
Note: A student whose achievement is below Level 1 (50%) has not met the expectations for this assignment or
activity.