A frequently performed audit task is to summarize data based upon one or more columns and a numeric value to be summarized. Examples include summaries of sales by state, customer number, store number, etc.

The summary command provides not only summaries, but other basic statistics such as counts, minimum amounts, maximum amounts, averages and standard deviations. This information can be useful for assessing the reasonableness of data, identifying unusual situations, etc.

To perform such a test and have the results available in electronic work paper format, the following processing information is explained below:

Description Value Select Specify 'OK' to have this row processed, otherwise it will be skipped Data Source Specify the name of the Excel workbook, including directory or the name of the Access database which has the data to be analyzed Command Name summary Command Description Prepare a summary based on one or more column values Table Must enter either a sheet name followed by $ or else enter an Access table name Where An optional row selection statement may be made to narrow the analysis to just certain rows Column The name of a numeric column must be specified here Column String The names of the columns to be tested for duplicates are entered and separated by commas (if more than one column name is specified). If the column name contains embedded spaces then it must be enclosed in brackets. For example, to check for summarize invoices by vendor number and state the specification would be: [Vendor Number], [State Code] Note that the column names are case insensitive. Parm1 This command does not accept a first parameter parm2 count - this is a count of the number of columns being tested. In this example the count is 2 because there are two column values being summarized- vendor number, and state code. Theme No chart is produced, so this value is not applicable Title No chart is produced, so this value is not applicable   Return to electronic work paper home page