Data analysis for accountants: statistics

Overview

As accountants, we are all familiar with Excel. However, in a dynamic and ever-changing world, we need to be smarter about how we use the tools we have at our disposal. Using statistics and probability in Excel can help you to enhance your role as an accounting and finance professional. The techniques covered in this course can help you understand how to use statistics to summarise and properly describe the data with which you're working.

You will cover the basics of probability, so that you can understand how to predict more accurately the likelihood of certain business outcomes. You'll also touch on the various issues you might discover related to sample size and then how to test explanations or hypotheses that you come up with.

This course will enable you to:

• understand the basics of probability functions in Excel
• use statistics to summarise and describe data you’re working with
• learn how to use pivot tables, COUNTIF and HYPGEOM.DIST to count probability
• categorise random variables and use binomial distributions and Poisson variables
• use Excel tools to select samples, calculate confidence and estimate a population size
• test explanations or hypotheses you come up with using Excel.

Helping accountants grow 

Disclaimer: This course and outline is provided by a third-party course provider. All course bookings are subject to the terms and conditions set by the course provider. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms and conditions. ACCA takes no liability for bookings made with third-party suppliers.