How to display fiscal year values as a column in Excel?

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“Our company’s fiscal year begins on July 1st, which often leads to confusion when analyzing data across calendar years. Is there a straightforward way to automatically calculate and display the correct fiscal year for each transaction date in my Microsoft Excel file? I’m dealing with thousands of entries, and manually determining the fiscal year for each one is somewhat time-consuming and error-prone. :-(“

Comprehensive Answer

Step-by-step instructions:

  1. Open a new Excel 365 spreadsheet. Then, go ahead and copy the following CSV data:
Transaction Date,Amount
7/12/2022,3456.78
3/25/2023,7890.12
11/8/2023,2345.67
5/19/2024,9876.54
1/30/2024,1234.56
9/14/2022,6789.01
4/2/2023,5432.10
12/7/2023,8901.23
6/21/2024,4567.89
2/15/2024,7123.45
  1. In Excel, select cell A1 and paste the CSV data into your spreadsheet.
  2. With the data selected, go to Data > Text to Columns.
  • Choose “Delimited” and click Next.
  • Select “Comma” as the delimiter and click Finish.
  1. Format the columns:
  • Select column A and set the number format to Short Date.
  • Select column B and set the number format to Currency.
  1. In cell C1, type “Fiscal Year” as the header.
  2. In cell C2, enter the following formula:
   =YEAR(A2) + IF(MONTH(A2)>=7,1,0)
  1. Copy this formula down to all rows with data.

Explanation of key concepts:

  • The YEAR() function extracts the year from a date.
  • The MONTH() function extracts the month from a date.
  • The IF() function checks if the month is July (7) or later.
  • If the month is 7 or greater, we add 1 to the year to shift to the next fiscal year.

Reasoning behind each step:

  • We use the YEAR() function as a base to get the calendar year.
  • The IF() statement checks if the month is in the second half of the calendar year (July onwards).
  • If true, we add 1 to the year value, effectively moving it to the next fiscal year.
  • This approach works because any date from July 1st onwards belongs to the next fiscal year.

Applying to your own data:

  1. Replace the sample CSV data with your own transaction dates and amounts.
  2. Follow steps 3-8 to format your data and add the fiscal year calculation.
  3. Ensure the fiscal year formula is copied to all rows containing your data.

Can’t display financial year values

  1. #VALUE! error: Verify that your date column contains valid dates. Format the column as Date if necessary.
  2. Incorrect fiscal years: Confirm that your fiscal year starts on July 1st. If it starts on a different date, adjust the month number in the formula accordingly.
  3. Formula not copying: If double-clicking the fill handle doesn’t work, manually drag it down or use Copy and Paste Special > Formulas.
  4. Dates appearing as numbers: Ensure the date column is formatted as Short Date.
  5. Fiscal year off by one: Check that the formula references are correct for each row (e.g., A2 in row 2, A3 in row 3, etc.).