Development

Excel is a vast product. Deciding the type of solution is a skill in its own right, Be it a simple spreadsheet, a complex application, a technical ADDIN - the deployment of best practice standards with an eye on future expansion ensures a robust, durable, intuitive, maintainable and documented result.

Forensic Audit & Remediation

Users change models. Errors are introduced. Over time, errors are compounded and the results compromised. Often the process flow has been compromised too. I can forensically Audit any model to the standard required by Tier 1 consulting firms. Logic errors, formula errors, flow errors - all identified and remediated. In worst cases, the entire middle of the model can be rewritten - refreshing, updating, optimising - while keeping the “look and feel” the same.

Efficiency & Automation

Office 365 has common development languages across (well beneath actually). Two of them are called VBA and M. These are especially efficient when used in Excel. The adoption of a combination of these will result in massive time savings on a daily basis. Replace mundane, repetitive, error prone tasks with a single button click! Make Excel do the work.

Training & Mentorship

I create and deliver bespoke on-site or virtual training on all aspects of Excel applicable to all levels of user skill. I cover topics from entry-level to advanced covering: • General Excel worksheet functions – Best Practice, Formulas, Dynamic Names, Charting, Pivot tables, etc. • Behind the scenes – VBA, Power Query, M, etc. • Development guidelines – Show you how to be better in Excel by Best Practice process implementation, application design, guidelines, documentation and mentorship.

Application

Development

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Automation Case Study

How a 4.5 day manual process was reduced to a single button click and a 30 minute execution time. This is a real life case. It’s an example of how an inefficient process fundamentally delays strategic, bottom-line-affecting, executive decision making. No one had thought to revise the process – believing the manual process was impossible to automate. And anyway, the Execs were used to waiting. Quite by chance, I got to hear about it. Background The report in question was a weekly Time Management report on the Business Development function of the Sales organisation. It specifically targeted activities relating to the organisations Cost of Sales. Cost at this level is unrecoverable through Revenue so directly impacts Margin. Management therefore is extremely important. The target audience were Level 2 Executives and Level 3 Executives. (This was in a company of 100,000 + employees.) The problem A colleague was spending 20 hours a week producing a weekly Time Management report. She believed this was the problem – a waste of her time. The actual problem was that the Executives were having to wait more than 3 days into the current week to see last weeks data. By which time, it’s largely obsolete anyway. Furthermore, the Execs were having to view the data it in Excel. Executives hate Excel. Truly. The existing process She would spend the 20 hours over three days: • Manually extracting data from several sources, • pasting, transposing data • writing complex string formulas and pasting down 100,000+ rows • waiting for each calculation cycle to process the millions of calculations on her creaking laptop • pivoting and charting • uploading a very large workbook to the SharePoint site Every week. The solution I invested about 50 hours overall. • 5 hours Initial audit and investigation • 15 hours Business Analysis – stakeholder engagement, defining requirements, agreeing outcomes • 30 hours in Excel Development - Efficient formulas, (Visual Basic for Applications and Power Query) The result • A single click on a Button • 10 minutes later the Report is available on the Power BI platform for immediate consumption The benefits • The Executive decision-making lag is removed • The data is available in the Cloud and accessible anywhere • The data speaks “executive” • The company recovers more than half the employee’s working week

The problem with Excel

Recent statistics show that 1.2 billion worldwide use some aspect of Microsoft’s O365 suite. Office workers spend an average of 40% of their working day in Excel. More than 60% of all Excel Users have NEVER had any form of Excel training. 99% of all Excel users only use about 4% of what Excel has to offer. The problem with Excel, is that while it’s a truly amazing program - it’s big with many routes to an answer. People learn how to do something and then do it endlessly - never realising that there are far more efficient, less arduous Resources, time & money wasted. Everywhere. Every day.

A solution

A spreadsheet that doesn’t address the business problem is a waste of time and money. I’m a Principal Business Analyst as well as an Excel Developer. Since 2000, I’ve delivered hundreds of business guided Excel solutions to large corporate IT Service organisations. These include (but are not limited to): • Sales Pipeline management & Reporting systems • Executive Dashboards • Pursuit Win Probability Analysis tools • Product Costing / Pricing Tools • UK Government Contract management models, • Pursuit Price to Win Analysis models • Financial Statements - P&L, Cash Flow etc. • Developer Support Utilities and Tools Etc.

The Currency of Trust

People think Excel is just about number crunching. This is functionally true. But the principal currency of Excel is Trust. My years of development have taught me that when a User trusts the Workbook they’re using, they focus correctly on what the Workbook is telling them. Otherwise, they’ll waste time trying to establish trust it by trying to reverse-engineer the process to find out how the answer was calculated. Embedding Best Practice is fundamental to everything I do. Be it a simple domestic budget spreadsheet or a corporate application that drives $ms of revenue each year, use of Best Practice guidelines promotes trust, longevity, ease of support, reuse and business consistency across business and employee changes. What does Best Practice entail? It includes: • Ensuring the best Aspects of Excel are utilised for the purpose • Models must be accurate and auditable. They must be robust and future proof. They must be aware of International Standards. • Automation where applicable, be responsive and resource efficient • As simple as possible intuitive User Interface presenting a standard look and feel across models • The UI must lead the User and consider those with visual impairments • The model must be maintainable by someone other than the Author and be fully documented User adoption of a new tool or model is always difficult. Users don’t have the time or inclination to “learn new things” - they’re too busy! If the developer is known as a reliable and trusted source and any new development conforms to known look and feel standards, it immediately gives the User a sense of comfort in a known environment. For 25+ years, I’ve been delivering business solutions on the Excel platform and because of these standards, I’m a trusted source, a safe pair of hands and “the guy that turns Spreadsheets into money”.

Unsolicited Excel

Commendations

I’m not one to brag but I’m proud to have worked with some of the best people in the IT industry. This is what some of them had to say. Colleague commendation LinkedIn (2016) - "Sincere and passionate with unparalleled vision! Robert knows how to take less than perfect end user requirements and truly deliver a product that exceeds expectations. He is a diligent listener and displays great empathy in understanding the roadblocks to his client's success. Post release, Robert stays connected with his clients to understand how the models are being used "in the field" and proactively provides enhancements based on honest feedback. Robert has been a key partner in my role at CSC and he has my highest recommendation. CH - Currently Global and Americas Strategic Pricing & Insights Leader - Ernst & Young Client commendation (2016) - "Robert swiftly identified the business challenges we faced with our Excel-based Client Quoting System and delivered a comprehensive solution. By automating key processes and improving the system’s usability, he transformed our sales operations. What was once a cumbersome and error-prone manual task—tracking invoice numbers and managing multiple versions across different PCs—became streamlined. His implementation of a shared, easily accessible workbook allowed us to generate quotes from any of our four business units at the click of a button. Robert’s exceptional collaboration, attention to detail, and resourcefulness made all the difference, and he completed the entire overhaul in under a week. Truly outstanding." GH - Group GM LanAccess Group Leaked email to a colleague (2015) - "... We are fortunate to have people like Robert who have the dedication to get this done. MB - Director Global pricing CSC Managerial communication (2014) - "... you are worth every penny we are paying you.' AL - Manager Incubator Pricing CSC LinkedIn commendation (2013) - "Robert had a wide range of skills and experience and viewed pricing holistically in a wide context; he considered aspects from technical/solution to delivery cost/risk, from portfolio/strategy to financial/commercial and market/competition. He also displayed great professional integrity, attention to detail and a total commitment to quality. Robert was relentless in trying to push the capability of the organisation and the industry with respect to pricing; both as regards thinking and in tools to support, which he developed himself. I would work with him again in a heartbeat and wholeheartedly recommend him to others. I should also mention that he is a lot of fun, which anyone who has done deal 'time in the trenches' will appreciate, is also very important! MH - Currently Head of Enterprise Architecture UK&I at Experioan Executive communication (2013) • ‘I enjoy working with you Robert you are a true trooper and whose opinion I trust completely ... I'm glad v/e have you.' SB - EMEA Cloud Sales Director CSC Linked recommendation (2012) - ‘Robert has a broad set of skills developed in the megadeal pricing area, a sphere of business full of complexity and abstraction. He is also the best analyst I have worked with in the area of pricing and costing. He is a true Artisan in Excel modelling where his skills are unsurpassed by anyone I have met. in seconds he can deliver information and results where others usually struggle to understand the question.' GC - Deal Shaper / Cloud Solution Architect CSC CSC Achievement Award (2012) - In recognition for the Excel Data Extraction Tool I created for the CSC Global Compliance and Remediation exercise. Sponsored by Gary Budzinski - Executive Vice President CSC and Jim Cook - Executive Vice President CSC Linkedln recommendation (2012) - "Robert is a highly intelligent thinker who understands business issues at a very deep Level. He possesses a rare combination of skills - modelling expertise & the ability to identify and leverage practical, business oriented insights" SK. - Director. Synaptic Decisions EMAIL to CSC Executive (2012) - 'Robert has completed his work on the UKGov IPS model now. His efforts have been extensive and far exceeded expectations. Robert has now presented the model to my team, who are now in awe of his Excel expertise, and the Client, who were left in no doubt of the level of the work done and the quality of the model that will be submitted, relieving concerns in this area. This will also allow it to sail through formal 3rd Party assurance, if the Client chooses to request this.' MV - Finance Business Partner CSC CSC Ingenuity award (2011) - For your ingenuity and commitment in creating the Excel Executive Information System Graphing tool - taking an idea from a scribble on paper to an integrated Excel and PowerPoint system.” RE - PMO Director. CSC CSC Individual Award (2009) - ‘In recognition of the significant contribution made to the CSC consortium responses The client's feedback is that Robert has shown himself to be highly collaborative - listening, responding, challenging and easy to work with.' HN - Bid Director CSC Fujitsu VIP Silver Award (2007) - 'Robert has demonstrated the ability to meet and absorb Customer requirements. His attitude has been more than professional. His willingness to exceed the demands upon him ensured independent 3rd Party sign off ahead of schedule.* NNS - Public Sector Business Unit Director Fujitsu Services Out of the blocks award (1961) - 'Such a clever boy - walking already!' DMW - Mother

Excel Training &

Mentorship

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Auditing & Remediation

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