xLookup Coming to Excel Near You!

Microsoft announced that they are adding a big brother to vLookup named xLookup.

The best things about xLookup: 1) it fixes some of the limitations of vLookup, 2) it is easy to understand and use, and 3) it replaces hLookup also.

Also, vLookup and hLookup are not going anyway, so if any of your colleagues struggle to learn new things, they can continue to use them as is.

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#1 Reason for NOT Doing Data Analytics

Do you know the #1 reason auditors don’t do data analytics (DA) much?

It is so simple, so obvious, I hesitated to blog about it. Let me know if you agree.

Compare Multiple Fields with Excel vlookup (Easy)

When you need to determine whether several fields in 2 Excel documents (or tabs) match, all you need to do is combine the fields in each document into one value and then compare the 2 values using vlookup.

You could do this many ways, but if you’re new to Excel formulas, I think this way is easier to configure and understand. I’m assuming you’re familar with the basics of Excel and vlookup already.

If you are not familiar with vlookup, you might want to review this first, as my post does not teach you vlookup, just another way to use it.

Risk: Look Both Ways

On my walk to work, I cross a lot of 1-way streets. I always look both ways. Sometimes, when a friend or colleague is walking with me, I get teased me about this. I always reply with this question: Have you ever driven down a 1-way street the wrong way? For some reason, I never get a reply and another subject surfaces.

When I crossed one of those streets the other day, I realized that some people look at audit/security/risk the same way. They only look one way because of the people or rules or controls or norms that govern the activity. They fail to think outside of the cubicle and look the other way–the path seldom traveled.