Instructor
Donald Tomoff
Instructor
Donald Tomoff, CPA, MBA
Don is the founder of Invenio Advisors LLC, a consulting firm specializing in information management, process improvement, reporting and data analysis, as well as education and training. Don’s experience includes “Big 4” public accounting, senior-level industry finance positions, and consulting. Don’s industry experience includes serving eight years with Jo-Ann Stores as VP, Finance and Treasurer.
Since 2010, Don has focused his efforts with executives and companies on many digital process improvement, data analytics and training initiatives, including developing and implementing mobile information strategies. His efforts are focused on the identification of process improvement opportunities, and leveraging readily available technology tools to drive that change. In addition to consulting, Don speaks at various conferences, including the IMA National Conference in Indianapolis, IN.
For a sample of Don’s instructor style, please see his video on Generative AI and ChatGPT.
A 2019 Business Learning Institute / MACPA survey identified “Big Data and Data Analytics” as the top technology trend impacting the accounting profession in the next three years. Excel is the #1 data analysis tool for business professionals, yet most professionals aren’t aware of and don’t take advantage of Excel’s advanced data analysis capabilities. Companies are rapidly adopting data analytics initiatives to enable better and faster decision making and accountants are poised to take advantage of this trend.
Excel and Power BI are an advanced, yet easy, way to get started with self service business analytics / business intelligence. This hands-on, interactive session will have you comfortable navigating and working with data sets using Excel’s power tools, which will translate directly into PowerBI.
* Understand the basics of data analysis – data structure, Excel Tables and Pivot Tables
* Explain the Microsoft “power tools” – Power Query, Power Pivot and PowerBI
* Explain the process of “ETLR” in data analytics – Extract, Transform, Load and Report
* Understand how Excel and PowerBI, although separate platforms, are integrated and complementary tools
* Explore basic data sets and understand the basics of cleaning and transforming data using Excel (consistent with Power BI)
* Importance of data structure and creating a “proper data set”
* Walk-through of the data analytics “ETLR” construct, and how Excel and PowerBI fit
* Cleaning and transforming data (Power Query)
* Shaping and modeling data (Pivot Tables, Power Pivot, Data Model and DAX)
* Loading data and tips for creating basic dashboards and reports
* PowerBI Desktop and PowerBI.com – what are they and how do they fit
* Use of real-world data sets and examples to take back to your organizations and put to use
A reasonable working knowledge of Excel is highly recommended (including exposure to basic pivot tables). Experience with Excel’s Power Tools (Power Query and Power Pivot) is not required, although the interactive exercises will be using these tools. PowerBI experience is not required.
Accounting and finance professionals, and leaders in the finance organization that are interested in better understanding the data analytics opportunities that exist with Microsoft’s readily available spreadsheet and BI solutions. Leaders of tomorrow will require a strong foundation in data analytics, and that knowledge starts with the everyday tools that we all have.