Financial Analysis: Analyzing the Bottom Line with Excel

Learn how to analyze the bottom line (or profitability) of your company, by analyzing your gross margin and operating expenses with Excel.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What you need to know
• Using the exercise files

1. Analyzing Gross Margin

• The basics of gross margin analysis
• Finding the data points
• Preparing the data
• Categorizing expenditures
• Allocating costs by category
• Calculating standard costs
• Using standard costs to calculate gross margin
• Adding standard costs to your revenue database
• Calculating gross margin
• Performing a price/mix analysis
• Analyzing overall gross margin performance
• The gross margin percentage levers

2. Analyzing Operating Expenses

• The basics of operating expenses analysis
• Finding the data points
• Analyzing overall operating expenses performance
• Analyzing sales and marketing
• Analyzing nonsales staff expenditures
• Analyzing productivity
• Analyzing general expenses

Conclusion

• Next steps