Question

Mr. Prasanna, a General Manager in a multinational company, has been given two spreadsheets: an original billing file Bill.ods and a reviewed version of the same spreadsheet Rev Bill.ods. Both contain customer billing details prepared by different teams. Write the steps he should follow to compare these worksheets and identify the differences between them.

Hint:

For complex comparisons, use specialized spreadsheet tools like Excel's "Inquire" add-in or third-party comparison tools to save time and ensure accuracy.

Answer 1

Step 1: Open the Spreadsheets.}
Mr. Prasanna should open both the original spreadsheet, Bill.ods, and the reviewed version, Rev Bill.ods, in a compatible spreadsheet application such as LibreOffice Calc or Microsoft Excel.
Step 2: Use Comparison Features.}
Many spreadsheet applications offer built-in comparison tools. Mr. Prasanna can use the "Compare" feature (if available) to directly identify differences between two spreadsheets. In Excel, the "Inquire" add-in can be used for this purpose.
Step 3: Manually Compare Key Sections.}
If no comparison tool is available, Mr. Prasanna can manually compare key sections such as columns with customer IDs, billing amounts, or other critical data. He can sort the data in both sheets to highlight discrepancies.
Step 4: Look for Formula Discrepancies.}
He should also check if there are any formula differences in the cells that might be affecting the billing totals. These discrepancies are often the cause of differences between sheets.
Step 5: Highlight Differences.}
To make the differences more visible, Mr. Prasanna can highlight or color-code the cells in both spreadsheets that contain discrepancies, allowing for easier identification.