Excel’s LET Function: Your Key to Efficient Financial Modeling
Carl Seidman, CSP, CPA
Helping finance professionals master data, FP&A and CFO advisory services through learning experiences, masterminds, training + community | Adjunct Professor in Data Analytics | Course Creator | Advisor | Microsoft MVP
Do you despise unnecessary complexity in financial modeling and Excel formulas? Me too. Those days are over and they have been for a long time.
One of the newer and more powerful functions in Excel is the LET function. It's advanced but once you get it, complexity and intermediate formula calculations can disappear.
The function assigns names to calculation results. It stores intermediate steps, values, or defining names inside formulas. These names only apply within the scope of the function itself.
But don't worry, it has nothing to do with name manager which many FP&A people are opposed to using.
To use the function in Excel, you must define pairs of names with associated values. Then you present a calculation that uses them all. This is the syntax:
LET (name1, name_value1, [name2], [name_value2], …, calculation)
How can I help you?
I hope this walkthrough on Excel's LET function was helpful to you. If you’re ready to cut down on complexity and boost your productivity, give the LET function a try today. Mastering these advanced tools is your step toward becoming an Excel for FP&A expert. For more insights, follow me on LinkedIn.
Until next time,
Carl
Hotel Repositions, Conversions & PIPs
6 个月Good to know!
Founder of the Ultimate Financial Modeling Mastery Program.
6 个月I still need to try this function.
Small Biz CFO - I help business owners make more money | ￡8m+ added in profits added ?? | Podcast host - Applications open
6 个月Absolute gold
VP of Finance | FP&A, M&A, Team Leadership | Driving Growth through Strategic Analysis and Actionable Insights
6 个月I'm torn on this one. I like the flexibility and efficiency promised by LET. I also love the idea of a cleaner and more compace financial model without all the interim calculations etc. However, it's oftentimes easier to walk other leaders through the intermediate calculations so they understand the logical steps/flow. I've seen multiple meetings go sideways b/c the underlying logic wasn't clearly visible to others. So like everything else. LET is a useful tool but we must be smart about when to use it.