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Data

Resources covering data analytics and big data, data handling, data protection and GDPR, and data presentation.

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SMEs must wise up to cyber security risks
the 21st-century evolution of cyber security
Iain Murray, Director of Public Financial Management, CIPFA
In the nick of time: EU grants UK data protection adequacy decision
Data Protection and Privacy

Data protection and privacy

All organisations that collect, store or process personal information on living and identifiable people must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. Additional resources can be found on the GDPR (now the Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK).
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Data Analytics Community

Data Analytics Community

As data analytics plays an increasingly pivotal role in supporting audit, assurance and business decision-making, this ICAEW community will help finance professionals develop the advanced data analytics and visualisation skills needed to succeed in this insight-driven era.
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Insights

Leading data-led decision making in local government

Finance professionals are pivotal in ensuring local authority decisions on service delivery are grounded in robust data analysis. CIPFA’s Iain Murray outlines the role of finance teams in ensuring data-led decision-making and the skills required for success.
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Insights

In the nick of time: EU grants UK data protection adequacy decision

With the 30 June deadline approaching, the EU has agreed an adequacy decision for the UK, allowing the free flow of personal data from the EU to the UK to continue.
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Data analytics

Get advanced data analysis, from number crunching and spreadsheets to decision-support and strategy, including access to useful and practical Excel guidance. Plus, find out how big data is used and can benefit the accountancy profession.
Improve your digital skills with ICAEW
  • Article
  • 08 Jan 2025
Enhance your technology skills for free via online courses available to ICAEW CFAB and ACA students from ICAEW and partner organisations.
Exclusive Unpicking the three lines
  • Article
  • 02 Jan 2025
What does Three Lines mean to you? I would imagine it’s a concept that most who work within, or are involved with, internal audit understand well.
Leading data-led decision making in local government
  • Article
  • 05 Dec 2024
Finance professionals are pivotal in ensuring local authority decisions on service delivery are grounded in robust data analysis. CIPFA’s Iain Murray outlines the role of finance teams in ensuring data-led decision-making and the skills required for success.
The ABCD+ of technology: data
  • Article
  • 04 Dec 2024
In the fifth of our series on the biggest tech trends, ICAEW’s Head of Tech Ian Pay gives us the lowdown on data.
Exclusive Your Excel Community – Highlights from 2024
  • Article
  • 29 Nov 2024
As we approach a new year, it’s time to reflect on the best content from the Excel Community in 2024 and look ahead as the community grows and develops. Whether you’re new or an existing member, we invite you to explore the insights and learnings the community has delivered for you over this last year.
Exclusive Your Excel Community – Highlights from 2024
  • Article
  • 29 Nov 2024
As we approach a new year, it’s time to reflect on the best content from the Excel Community in 2024 and look ahead as the community grows and develops. Whether you’re new or an existing member, we invite you to explore the insights and learnings the community has delivered for you over this last year.
Excel’s GROUPBY & PIVOTBY functions vs PivotTables
  • Article
  • 29 Nov 2024
One of Excel’s most significant updates this decade is without a doubt the new GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions, these can replicate PivotTables functionality through formulas, so here I will compare and contrast both methods whilst providing possibly the most complete guide on the internet currently of GROUPBY.
AI skills gap is a ticking time bomb
  • Article
  • 13 Nov 2024
Estimates predict that with the adoption of AI technology, 40% of the workforce will need to re-skill in the next three years. So what’s the risk of losing your competitive edge if you fail to upskill your staff?

Data protection and privacy

Cyber round-up: March 2024
  • Article
  • 27 Mar 2024
This month we look at what can be learned from state-sponsored cyber attacks, how to avoid falling victim to increasingly sophisticated account takeover scams, and the ICO guidance on levels of fines for data breaches.
Accountability: building trust and ethics in the digital age
  • Article
  • 05 Mar 2024
New technologies are a force for good – they fuel innovation, improve efficiencies, enhance communication, and increase productivity – but they also raise new challenges that can be harmful. We’ve witnessed in recent years how technology has had undesirable consequences, with data breaches and online surveillance resulting in widespread concerns over privacy, security, and the spread of disinformation. This has eroded trust in businesses and institutions, while simultaneously knocking the confidence of businesses to fully embrace technological change.
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Join the Excel Community

Do you use Excel in your organisation? Are you using it to its maximum potential? Develop your skills and minimise spreadsheet risk with our Excel resources. Membership is free to ICAEW members. Non-ICAEW members are also welcome to join. 

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Excel polaroid

Excel community

The Excel Community provides a 'one-stop shop' for accountants who want to use Excel.
Data Analytics Community – 2024 in review
  • Article
  • 10 Jan 2025
As the ICAEW’s Data Analytics Community continues to go from strength to strength, Ian Pay, Head of Data Analytics and Tech, shares some of his favourite content and activities from the year, and gives some clues as to what’s coming in 2025…
Excel Community round up - December 2024
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2025
Here are all the new Excel blogs and webinars from the Excel Community in December 2024.
Exclusive Using AI as a finance professional
  • Article
  • 19 Dec 2024
In today’s fast-paced work environment, the emergence of generative AI is going to transform the way businesses operate from automating routine processes to enhancing decision-making capabilities. But how does that impact you and what do you need to know?
Exclusive Harness the potential of Power BI to cleanse and transform data Q&A
  • Article
  • 16 Dec 2024
Following on from the ‘Harness the potential of Power BI to solve data challenges’ webinar, Rishi Sapra, Chartered Accountant turned Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), returns to address more of the key questions that came out of the webinar on using Power BI in conjunction with Power Query to cleanse and transform data in this follow up article.
Exclusive Top 12 Excel Combinations: 1. INDEX MATCH
  • Article
  • 13 Dec 2024
For 2024, I thought I would count down a very subjective “Top 12” of Excel function combinations. And this month’s offering makes it very clear that this is a highly subjective list. If you don’t like this month’s suggestion, that’s fine; life would be boring if we were all in agreement.
Exclusive From numbers to pictures – using INDEX() with MAKEARRAY()
  • Article
  • 13 Dec 2024
Having in the previous post used several of the new LAMBDA() helper functions, most notably MAKEARRAY(), to calculate the total number of gifts given across the 12 days of Christmas, this time we are going to replace our numbers with pictures that represent each of the gifts.
Exclusive Your 2025 Excel Community Guide
  • Article
  • 11 Dec 2024
As we step into a new year, we’re delighted to welcome all our members to the growing Excel Community. With over 1,000 articles, over 490 tips, 4 thought leadership guides and an extensive archive of webinar recordings, we realise that it can sometimes be tricky to find what you’re looking for. So, here is a guide that you can use as a starting point to make the best use of your community.
Exclusive Your Questions Answered #12 – Getting started with Office Scripts
  • Article
  • 11 Dec 2024
Following on from ‘A beginner's guide to automating in Excel using Office Scripts’ webinar, Mark Proctor, Microsoft MVP and Director at Excel Off The Grid, returns to address more of the questions that came out of the webinar on how to get started with Office scripts to automate tasks and processes in Excel.

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Finance in a digital world