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Financial
Analysis Tools
Financial
analysis tools can range from the analysis
software being used to the tools within the software, such
as formulas and functions.
The software of choice to analyze data is usually a spreadsheet program
such as Microsoft Excel. Excel is very popular because it's
on most computers and is therefore able to be shared via e-mail or
retrieved from a disk or folder.
Within a spreadsheet program are many tools that are available for the
analyst to use:
- A database to store data
- Formulas to manipulate data
- Functions that manipulate and report data
- Reporting features for a professional looking
report
The person analyzing the data needs skills or tools himself. These
include:
- Knowledge of the data being manipulated
- Skillful knowledge of Excel or other software
being used
Analyzing data can be painful if the analyst does not know how to use
the software well. The software developers have created many tools that
are available to make the job as easy as possible, but if the analyst
is unaware of these tools or does know how to use them, they are of
little use.
A very important tool the analyst should possess is the knowledge of
the data being manipulated. If the data is only numbers to the analyst,
chances are mistakes are going to be made. If the analyst understands
and knows the products that the numbers have come from, then he will
understand if the manipulated data makes sense or not.