Authors
Philip L. Bewig
Abstract
Give a cell a name, and your work will go faster and be more error-free.
Make named ranges a habit. Don't skip them just because a spreadsheet is small, simple or because you think you don't have enough time. Once you're familiar with them, you'll find they always save you time in the long run.
Sample
Range name style guide.
Although each spreadsheet author develops his or her personal named-range style, there are some guidelines we all can follow:
- Consistency. The name for the rent expense caption can be written many different ways, including RENT, rent_expense and RentExp. Although the particular style doesn't matter, pick one and use it consistently so there is no question what it represents.
- Brevity. Some formulas are long and complex, and using long names makes the situation worse. While it's OK to use Exp for Expense or PY2 for SecondPriorYear, don't abbreviate too much. For example, A could mean many things, only one of which is Actual.
- Use of smart names. Try to think of names you won't have to change each year. For example, use CyAct (for Current Year Actual) instead of Act2003. But don't make names so similar one can be confused with another.
- Specificity. In a spreadsheet that has both GrossSales and NetSales, neither should be named Sales. And if you do happen to specify Sales in a formula, Excel fortunately will recognize the ambiguity and respond with this error message: #NAME?.
- Pronounceability. Many people understand difficult or complex formulas by saying them aloud or by sounding out the words in their minds. I prefer CapEx to CPX or CapitalExpenditures and TaxRate to IncTaxRat ("ink tacks rat" evokes a strange image). When in doubt apply the "telephone test" — if you can't sensibly read your formula to a colleague over the phone, you should rewrite it.
Publication
2003, Journal of Accountancy, November
