Excel remains the undisputed powerhouse for analysis, reporting, and decision-making across industries. But are you truly unlocking its full potential? This Advanced Excel Training Course is designed to take you beyond basic spreadsheets into the realm of smart automation, dynamic formulas, and intelligent reporting. Whether you’re working in finance, M&E, administration, research, or data analysis, this hands-on program will equip you with the skills to build powerful solutions using advanced functions, dynamic arrays, Power Query, and VBA.
Discover how to clean and transform messy data with a few clicks, build dynamic reports that update themselves, and automate repetitive tasks with simple code—all while mastering the most powerful formulas Excel has to offer.
It’s not just Excel. It’s Excel, elevated.
Please note that this course can be adapted to a specific theme like Finance, M&E, or HR dashboards for government officers, project managers, NGO staff among other specializations.
Participants who successfully complete the course will receive Certificate of Participation.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Master Advanced Excel Functions
Apply complex formulas and nested functions to solve real-world analytical problems efficiently.
- Utilize Logical, Lookup, and Reference Functions
Implement advanced logical (IF, IFS, AND, OR), lookup (XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH), and reference functions to streamline decision-making and data retrieval.
- Analyze and Clean Data Effectively
Use text, date/time, and statistical functions to clean, analyze, and summarize large datasets with precision.
- Leverage Dynamic Array Formulas
Work with new Excel functions like FILTER, UNIQUE, and SORT to create dynamic and responsive models.
- Automate Data Transformation with Power Query
Import, clean, merge, and reshape data from multiple sources using Power Query to automate routine data processing tasks.
- Enhance Productivity with VBA Macros
Write and apply basic VBA scripts to automate repetitive tasks, enhance workflows, and trigger custom functions.
- Design Smart, Interactive Excel Solutions
Integrate formulas, Power Query, and VBA to build smart, scalable, and interactive tools and reports.
- Apply Skills to Real-World Projects
Develop and present a capstone project demonstrating the use of advanced Excel tools in solving a practical business or organizational problem.
DURATION
This course will take 5 days
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Professionals in data analysis, M&E, finance, operations, research, administration, and technical roles seeking to advance Excel capabilities with real-world applications.
COURSE OUTLINE
Module 1: Logical, Conditional & Decision Functions
- Review of formula fundamentals and best practices
- Cell referencing techniques (absolute, relative, mixed)
- Logical functions:
- IF, IFS, AND, OR, NOT
- IFERROR, IFNA
- Nesting functions for layered decision-making
- Practical use cases: Eligibility tests, categorization, status flags
- Intro to formula auditing tools
Module 2: Lookup, Reference & Dynamic Array Functions
- In-depth on:
- VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, XLOOKUP
- INDEX, MATCH, and combinations
- CHOOSE, OFFSET, INDIRECT for dynamic referencing
- Introduction to dynamic array functions:
- FILTER, UNIQUE, SORT, SEQUENCE, RANDARRAY
- Scenario modeling and dynamic reporting
- Cross-sheet, cross-workbook referencing
Module 3: Text, Date/Time & Statistical Functions
- Text functions:
- LEFT, RIGHT, MID, LEN, FIND, SEARCH, TEXT, TEXTJOIN, TRIM
- Extracting, cleaning, and transforming text data
- Date/Time calculations:
- TODAY, NOW, DATEDIF, NETWORKDAYS, WORKDAY, EOMONTH
- Statistical and math functions:
- SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, AVERAGEIFS, STDEV, MEDIAN, MODE
- Use case: Timeliness of reports, trend analysis, KPI computations
Module 4: Power Query & Formula Integration
- Introduction to Power Query and its role in Excel automation
- Importing and connecting to external data sources (CSV, Excel, Web)
- Data cleaning, reshaping, and transformation with Power Query
- Merging, appending, and pivoting/unpivoting in Power Query
- Integrating Power Query outputs into Excel formulas
- Case study: Automating report refresh using Power Query and Excel formulas
DAY 5: VBA Integration, Automation & Final Projects
Basics of VBA for formula automation:
Creating and assigning simple macros
Automating repetitive tasks: cleaning, formatting, exporting
Writing VBA to trigger formula recalculation and updates
Using VBA with named ranges, loops, and conditions
Final individual/group project: Solve a real-life problem using advanced formulas + Power Query or VBA
Presentation, peer review, and instructor feedback
GENERAL NOTES
- The instructor led trainings are delivered using a blended learning approach and comprises of presentations, guided sessions of practical exercise, web-based tutorials and group work. Our facilitators are seasoned industry experts with years of experience, working as professional and trainers in these fields.
- The participants should be reasonably proficient in English as all facilitation and course materials will be offered in English.
- Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with a certificate.
- The training will be held at Kincaid Training Centre. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments and lunch.
- All participants will additionally cater for their, travel expenses, visa application, insurance, and other personal expenses.
- Accommodation and airport pickup are arranged upon request. For reservations contact the Training coordinator at Email: training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org or Tel: +254 724592901
- This training can also be customized to suit the needs of your institution upon request. You can have it delivered in our Kincaid Training Centre or at a convenient location.
For further inquiries, please contact us on Tel: +254 724592901 or send mail to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org
Payments are due upon registration. Payment should be sent to our Bank account before commencement of training and proof of payment sent to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org