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.

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.

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 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.