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Excel Tips

Excel Tips

By: CPA Australia
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Summary

 Excel Tips is a podcast for accounting, business and finance professionals who are looking to sharpen their spreadsheet skills and learn new hacks and tricks from Neale Blackwood CPA, a Microsoft Excel expert. Excel Tips helps spreadsheet users discover Excel's hidden features and shortcuts and understand how best to apply the newest features and functionality. The podcast is a companion to regular articles in INTHEBLACK, CPA Australia's award-winning business magazine. Every podcast episode includes links to the accompanying Excel Tips digital magazine article. Neale Blackwood CPA has more than 20 years of experience as a Microsoft Excel educator. He is the author of more than 200 INTHEBLACK articles as well as a book, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants. Subscribe today to stay up-to-date with the latest episodes. Excel Tips is presented by CPA Australia, one of the world's largest accounting bodies, with core services that include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia publishes four podcasts: With Interest, INTHEBLACK, INTHEBLACK Out Loud and Excel Tips. To find out more about our podcasts, visit https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/tools-and-resources/podcasts - or search for the shows in your podcast service. To contact the podcast team email us at podcasts@cpaaustralia.com.au.© CPA Australia Economics
Episodes
  • Template tips to boost workflows

    Template tips to boost workflows
    May 1 2026
    Most finance professionals have made this mistake at least once. You open last month's file, update the numbers, hit save, and only then realise you should have saved it as this month's version of the file. This is where templates can help. In this episode, explore how Excel templates solve that problem while also improving consistency across your reporting. Main learnings: How Excel templates prevent accidental file overwrites The difference between workbook, sheet and task-based templates Where to find and manage built-in and personal templates How to create blank templates with pre-set formats and settings Using templates to embed headers, footers and branding Managing template storage, including system and shared folders How to apply templates across teams for consistency and control Tune in now. Host: Neale Blackwood CPA. He has more than 20 years of experience as a Microsoft Excel educator and is the author of more than 200 INTHEBLACK articles as well as a book, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants. For more, check out the accompanying video - https://youtu.be/RJdT6FF-w58 Read more of Neale's Excel articles on INTHEBLACK. Loving this content? Don't forget to subscribe to EXCEL TIPS and share this episode with your colleagues and friends in the business community. Would you like to listen to more Excel Tips and other CPA Australia podcasts like INTHEBLACK and With Interest? Head to CPA Australia's YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe to the channel. You can find a CPA at our custom portal on the CPA Australia website. CPA Australia publishes four podcasts, providing commentary and thought leadership across business, finance and accounting: With Interest INTHEBLACK Excel Tips INTHEBLACK Out Loud Search for them in your podcast platform. You can email the podcast team at podcasts@cpaaustralia.com.au
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    8 mins
  • Increment dates easily in Excel

    Increment dates easily in Excel
    Apr 1 2026
    What if you could simplify Excel date calculations with one powerful custom function? Well, this episode explains how. You'll learn: How to handle different date increments including days, weeks and months in one function Using the SWITCH function to create a lookup table How the LAMBDA function can be deployed Best practice tips for this custom function Listen now to improve your Excel skills. Host: Neale Blackwood CPA. He has more than 20 years of experience as a Microsoft Excel educator and is the author of more than 200 INTHEBLACK articles as well as a book, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants. For more, check out the accompanying video for this episode. Read more of Neale's Excel articles on INTHEBLACK. Loving this content? Don't forget to subscribe to EXCEL TIPS and share this episode with your colleagues and friends in the business community. Would you like to listen to more Excel Tips and other CPA Australia podcasts like INTHEBLACK and With Interest? Head to CPA Australia's YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe to the channel. You can find a CPA at our custom portal on the CPA Australia website. CPA Australia publishes four podcasts, providing commentary and thought leadership across business, finance and accounting: With Interest INTHEBLACK Excel Tips INTHEBLACK Out Loud Search for them in your podcast platform. You can email the podcast team at podcasts@cpaaustralia.com.au
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    7 mins
  • Master your messy data

    Master your messy data
    Mar 2 2026
    Messy, unstructured data. It slows reporting, creates errors, and tests everyone's patience. Right? This episode breaks down how the new Regular Expressions (REGEX) work and how they help you find patterns in unstructured text, from email addresses to dates and hidden white space. You will learn: what REGEX is and why it matters for accountants and analysts how to use REGEXEXTRACT, REGEXTEST and REGEXREPLACE when to combine REGEXTEST with FILTER for smarter analysis how REGEX now works inside XLOOKUP and XMATCH ways to manage white space and non-standard characters why building a reusable pattern library will save time. Programmers have been using REGEX patterns for decades, but they've only just come to Excel. The good news is Excel's new REGEX functions give finance teams a practical way to take back control. Listen now to help improve your Excel skills. Host: Neale Blackwood CPA. He has more than 20 years of experience as a Microsoft Excel educator and is the author of more than 200 INTHEBLACK articles as well as a book, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants. For more, check out the accompanying YouTube video of this episode. Read more of Neale's Excel articles on INTHEBLACK. Loving this content? Don't forget to subscribe to EXCEL TIPS and share this episode with your colleagues and friends in the business community. Would you like to listen to more Excel Tips and other CPA Australia podcasts like INTHEBLACK and With Interest? Head to CPA Australia's YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe to the channel. You can find a CPA at our custom portal on the CPA Australia website. CPA Australia publishes four podcasts, providing commentary and thought leadership across business, finance and accounting: With Interest INTHEBLACK Excel Tips INTHEBLACK Out Loud Search for them in your podcast platform. You can email the podcast team at podcasts@cpaaustralia.com.au
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    6 mins
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