What should I practice after reading this tutorial?

Rebuild the main example on a copy of your file, then change one argument at a time to see how the result changes. That builds muscle memory faster than rereading the steps.

Which Excel version do I need for the formulas in this article?

Most steps work in Excel 2016 and later. If the article mentions FILTER, UNIQUE, or XLOOKUP, you need Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021 — check the linked function pages for compatibility.

Tutorials - 2026-01-21

Excel for Finance: Practical Use Cases

How finance professionals use Excel for budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis.

Excel in Finance

Finance teams rely on Excel for everything from daily reconciliations to complex financial models. See Excel Use Cases for more industries.

Budgeting

\\\ Budget: =SUMIFS(BudgetData, Department, A2, Category, B2) Actual: =SUMIFS(ActualData, Department, A2, Category, B2) Variance: =Actual - Budget Variance %: =Variance / Budget \\\

Investment Analysis

\\\ ' NPV - Net Present Value =-100000 + NPV(10%, 30000, 30000, 30000, 30000, 30000) ' IRR - Internal Rate of Return =IRR({-100000, 30000, 30000, 30000, 30000, 30000}) ' Loan Payment =PMT(6%/12, 360, -300000) \\\ Learn more about NPV → PMT →

Key Finance Functions

Function Use PMT Loan payments NPV Investment value IRR Return rate SUMIFS Budget totals

Excel Use Cases Excel Functions for Business & Finance Financial Functions →

Apply this tutorial in your workbook

Copy one example from this article into a blank sheet. Change the sample ranges to match your column letters. Press F2 and Enter after edits so Excel recalculates. Compare your result to the expected output in the article. Related hubs: Excel functions directory · Formula guides · Function comparisons

Frequently asked questions

What should I practice after reading this tutorial? Rebuild the main example on a copy of your file, then change one argument at a time to see how the result changes. That builds muscle memory faster than rereading the steps.
Which Excel version do I need for the formulas in this article? Most steps work in Excel 2016 and later. If the article mentions FILTER, UNIQUE, or XLOOKUP, you need Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021 — check the linked function pages for compatibility.