Maximize Excel: Pivot Table Basics
Presented by David H. Ringstrom, CPA
 
Event Date: 10/8/26 
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern

In this session, CPA and author of "Microsoft 365 Excel for Dummies" David Ringstrom focuses on practical Excel techniques that help users work more efficiently and accurately. The presentation emphasizes real-world skills such as building reliable formulas, managing and analyzing data, improving worksheet structure, and avoiding common errors that can lead to inaccurate results. Attendees will gain a stronger foundation for using Excel confidently in accounting and financial tasks.
 
David demonstrates every technique at least twice: first on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and then live in Excel for Windows using the subscription-based Microsoft 365 version. Differences between Microsoft 365 and earlier perpetual versions of Excel (2021, 2019, and earlier) are clearly identified during the session and reinforced in the accompanying handouts. Participants also receive an Excel workbook containing many of the examples used in the presentation.
 
Who should attend:
Accounting and finance professionals, analysts, and Excel users who want to strengthen core spreadsheet skills and reduce errors.
 
Topics typically covered:
 
• Creating a table to prep for summarizing data with PivotTables or Power Pivot.
 
• Determining which refresh commands in Excel update a single PivotTable versus all PivotTables in a workbook.
 
• Selecting items to display and recognizing filter indicators.
 
• Exploring the nuances of formatting numbers within PivotTables.
 
• Exploring the PivotTable ribbon tabs and PivotTable Field List.
 
• Filtering data within PivotTables by way of the Slicer feature.
 
• Auditing the data source behind PivotTables in Excel spreadsheets.
 
• Generating PivotTables and PivotCharts from suggested insights.
 
Learning objectives:
 
• Demonstrate how moving fields to the Columns area affects the structure of a PivotTable.
 
• Recall the commands that enable you to expand or collapse an entire row field level within a PivotTable.
 
• Demonstrate how to add and arrange fields in a PivotTable using the PivotTable Field List.