> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://fsc.stevens.edu/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # FE514 Advanced Excel for Finance and Accounting - URL: https://fsc.stevens.edu/fe514/ - Published: 2019-10-15T18:23:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T21:54:07.000Z - Author: Kajol - Tags: Courses, #Import 2024-05-30 10:26, #Import 2025-11-08 22:14 Course Catalog Description # Introduction The goal of this course is to teach our students Excel usage at a high level, including the built-in data tools and formulas, as well as an introduction to programming with VBA – the Visual Basic for Applications language – within Excel. Excel is used everywhere in finance, and VBA allows practitioners to go beyond standard spreadsheet calculation and modeling. The course focuses on advanced topics such as interacting with databases as well as addons and creating macros to perform complex tasks. | Campus | Fall | Spring | Summer | | ---------- | ---- | ------ | ------ | | On Campus | | | | | Web Campus | | | | Instructors | Professor | Email | Office | | ------------- | ------------------- | ------------ | | Shanshan Yang | syang56@stevens.edu | Altofer 415F | More Information # Course Description The goal of this course is to teach our students Excel usage at a high level, including the built-in data tools and formulas, as well as an introduction to programming with VBA -the Visual Basic for Applications language-within Excel. Excel is used everywhere in finance, and VBA allows practitioners to go beyond standard spreadsheet calculation and modeling. The course focuses on advanced topics such as interacting with databases as well as addons and creating macros to perform complex tasks # Course Outcomes At the end of this course, students will be able to: 1\. Implement financial programs and models within the Excel macro environment 2\. Create customized functions and procedures to facilitate computation. 3\. Write well-structured programs and understand data structures and objects. 4\. Learn to integrate VBA programming within Excel. Course Resources # Textbook Beninga, Simon and Tal Mofkadi Principles of Finance with Excel, 5th edition, Oxford University Press, 2022. Walkenbach John, Excel 2016 Bible, Wiley, 2015 Alexander, Michael and Dick Kusleika, Microsoft Excel 365 Bible, 1st edition, Wiley, 2022\. Timothy R. Mayes, Financial Analysis with Microsoft Excel, 9th edition, Cengage Publishing, 2020\. Walkenbach John, Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA, Wiley, April 2013\. Grading # Grading Policies The final grade in the class will be determined in the following manner: - Class Participation 5% Evaluated 50% on completeness and 50% on correctness - Problem Sets 60% - Attendance 5% **Late Policy** - **Class Exercises & Problem Sets**: Late submissions incur a 10% penalty per day for up to five days. Submissions more than five days late will not be accepted. Late penalties may be waived only with formal, verifiable documentation. - **Problem Sets**: You may use up to three total late days across all problem sets, with at most two late days per problem set. If you use late days, indicate this clearly in the comment section of your submission. - **Deadline Extension**: Requests for deadline extensions must be submitted at least three days before the deadline and must include a reasonable justification. Extensions are granted at the instructor’s discretion and are intended for unexpected circumstances. Requests made after this window, or without adequate justification, will not be considered. - **Special Circumstances**: In cases of serious or exceptional circumstances, contact the instructor as soon as possible. Verifiable documentation may be required. Lecture Outline | Week | Topic | Class Exercises / Readings | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Week 19/1 | Syllabus & Excel Basics | FIFO/LIFO/Average Cost Analysis for Inventory | | Week 2 & 39/8 & 9/15 | Basics: Structure and Layout of Excel, Organizing Worksheets and Their Labels, Filtering and Sorting Data, Freezing Views, Common Functions Including Array, String, and Logical Functions, Data Tables and Pivot Tables, Subtotals, and Various Other Excel Functions. Absolute and Relative References. Data Validation and Lookup Functions, Flash Fill | Principles of Finance with Excel:Chapters 21 and 23 | | Week 49/22 | Conditional Formatting + Error Handling, Flash Fill | Sales SummaryPrinciples of Finance with Excel:Chapter 21 | | Week 59/29 | Creating Charts: Formatting Legends, Error Bars, Axes, Labels and Values, Secondary Axes, Multiple Types of Graphs in the Same Chart | Create a Scatter Plot of Risk vs. Return.Create a Line Graph with Two Vertical Axes: Price and Trading Volume Over Time. | | Week 610/6 | WRDS Access, Absolute and Relative References, Named Cells, Indirect Addressing, Range Functions, Database Functions (Including SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, etc.) | Use 10 Stock Tickers to Download Data from WRDS (Ticker, Company Name, Stock Price, and Cumulative Price Adjustment Factors). Compute Each Stock's Average and Standard Deviation of Returns, Then Form an Equally Weighted Portfolio and Calculate Its Average and Standard Deviation of Returns. | | Week 710/20 | Statistics, Matrix, Array Functions, Regressions | Use the Equally Weighted Portfolio Returns and WRDS Data to Fit a CAPM Regression in a Plot. | | Week 810/27 | Pivot Tables Based on One or Multiple Worksheets. Import External Data and Create Data Model (Relationships Between Tables), Power Pivot Add-in | Pivot Tables with Data Model | | Week 911/3 | What-If Analysis (Goal Seek, Solver), Iterative Calculation with Circular References | Airline Investment | | Week 1011/10 | Random Numbers, Monte Carlo Simulation | Airline Flight Profits & Monte Carlo Value-at-Risk | | Week 1111/17 | Advanced Power Pivot | | | Week 1211/24 | VBA: Macro Recording, Developer Environment, Procedures vs. Functions, Declaring Variables, Conditional Statements, Loops, Input/Output | | | Week 1312/1 | VBA: Arrays, Recursion, Accessing Files. Troubleshooting and Auditing Spreadsheets | | | Week 1412/8 | TBD | | | 12/15 | No Class | |