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7. Project: Auditing Someone Else's Model

Lesson 7 of 7
Task 1 of 6
  1. Rewrite the cost of goods in E2:E7 so the share comes from J1 (and fix the row where a number was typed in).

Lesson theory

You've been handed a profit model for a home-appliance store. The author has left, and the numbers "don't add up." Your job is to audit the model and bring it up to a professional standard:

  • cost of goods and the marketplace fee are calculated with numbers inside the formulas (=D2*0.6, =D2*0.08), even though the parameters sit in the block J1:J3;
  • in one row the cost is typed in as a number;
  • the "Total" row doesn't cover the whole range, and the profit total is simply typed in by hand;
  • there is no tax and no check cell.

Use the techniques from this track: Ctrl+`, Trace Precedents, references to parameters, and a check total. At the end, test the model by changing a parameter: the marketplace fee rises to 10%.

Test yourself

1. Where do you start when auditing someone else's model?
2. The profit total is typed in as 3,000. Why is that dangerous?
3. Why change a parameter (the fee) after making fixes?

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