Case Study

Mary works for a car sales company and produces documents for all departments of the company. The last time she produced a report for her manager, Erol, he was furious that the information in the spreadsheet was incorrect. Among the errors he spotted were that the incorrect interest rate had been used, that VAT was charged at different rates in different places on the sheet, and that the overall total did not match the sum of the subtotals.

1. How could Mary structure a spreadsheet to make sure that rates were applied consistently?
2. What tools are available in your spreadsheet software to check for errors?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.