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Data

Resources covering data analytics and big data, data handling, data protection and GDPR, and data presentation.

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A woman working at a desk with a large monitor and a tablet displaying colorful bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs labeled “Analytics,” indicating data analysis or business reporting.
Iain Murray, Director of Public Financial Management, CIPFA
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Data Protection and Privacy

Data protection and privacy

All organisations that collect, store or process personal information on living and identifiable people must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018. Additional resources can be found on the GDPR (now the Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK).
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Data Analytics Community

Data Analytics Community

As data analytics plays an increasingly pivotal role in supporting audit, assurance and business decision-making, this ICAEW community will help finance professionals develop the advanced data analytics and visualisation skills needed to succeed in this insight-driven era.
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Insights

Leading data-led decision making in local government

Finance professionals are pivotal in ensuring local authority decisions on service delivery are grounded in robust data analysis. CIPFA’s Iain Murray outlines the role of finance teams in ensuring data-led decision-making and the skills required for success.
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Insights

In the nick of time: EU grants UK data protection adequacy decision

With the 30 June deadline approaching, the EU has agreed an adequacy decision for the UK, allowing the free flow of personal data from the EU to the UK to continue.
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Data analytics

Get advanced data analysis, from number crunching and spreadsheets to decision-support and strategy, including access to useful and practical Excel guidance. Plus, find out how big data is used and can benefit the accountancy profession.


Critical Skills series AI and Python in Excel and beyond
  • Event
  • 14 Jan 2026
My ACA Story: Monica Odysseos
  • Article
  • 19 Dec 2025
Monica shares her story on pursuing the ACA later than most, initially knowing nothing about accounting but driven by her love of learning. Monica emphasises the ACA's evolving focus on sustainability, ethics, and technology prepares professionals for non-linear careers, building adaptable foundations for long-term success.
My ACA Story: Renos Skoufarides
  • Article
  • 19 Dec 2025
Renos credits the ACA with shaping his problem-solving mindset and leadership approach, from Big 4 training through to founding Atokes and One Giraffe. He highlights how the qualification's technical rigor, ethical framework, and discipline enabled his entrepreneurial ventures.
Four questions to ask when implementing cloud software
  • Article
  • 09 Dec 2025
As ICAEW issues a software adoption checklist for accounting firms and finance teams, here are some of the critical questions you need to ask of software vendors.
Foreign and AI threats grow
  • Article
  • 28 Nov 2025
Cyber espionage and foreign threats were a big topic this month, as the UK continues to focus on beefing up its national security and the resilience of critical infrastructure, operations and services.
16 17 18 November 2026 Generative AI in finance smarter operations and sharper decisions virt
  • Event
  • 07 Nov 2025
27 28 29 May 2026 Generative AI in finance smarter operations and sharper decisions virtual c
  • Event
  • 07 Nov 2025
2026 Generative AI in finance smarter operations and sharper decisions
  • Event
  • 07 Nov 2025
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Data protection and privacy

Cyber round-up: March 2024
  • Article
  • 27 Mar 2024
This month we look at what can be learned from state-sponsored cyber attacks, how to avoid falling victim to increasingly sophisticated account takeover scams, and the ICO guidance on levels of fines for data breaches.
Accountability: building trust and ethics in the digital age
  • Article
  • 05 Mar 2024
New technologies are a force for good – they fuel innovation, improve efficiencies, enhance communication, and increase productivity – but they also raise new challenges that can be harmful. We’ve witnessed in recent years how technology has had undesirable consequences, with data breaches and online surveillance resulting in widespread concerns over privacy, security, and the spread of disinformation. This has eroded trust in businesses and institutions, while simultaneously knocking the confidence of businesses to fully embrace technological change.
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Join the Excel Community

Do you use Excel in your organisation? Are you using it to its maximum potential? Develop your skills and minimise spreadsheet risk with our Excel resources. Membership is free to ICAEW members. Non-ICAEW members are also welcome to join. 

Find out more Already a member? login here
A colourful wooden abacus placed on a wooden surface, featuring multiple rows of beads in vibrant colours used for counting or basic arithmetic.

Excel community

The Excel Community provides a 'one-stop shop' for accountants who want to use Excel.
Exclusive Unlocking the IMAGE function
  • Article
  • 19 Jan 2026
In this creator level post, we explore how to use the IMAGE function to insert pictures into worksheet cells using the file page of the picture.
Exclusive End of Monthly Month End Reporting Problems
  • Article
  • 15 Jan 2026
As many of us return to work at the beginning of the new year, many of us reflect on our new year resolutions already broken, stalled weight loss programmes, giving up smoking failures, and, er, automating month end reporting. Well, maybe not the last one. However, monthly reporting is here to stay and the more we can reduce manual intervention the better. With 2026 now fully under way, I thought this would be a good time to consider how to work out – and automate – those month end dates for reporting purposes for once and for all.
Using the Claude add-in for Excel – an initial exploration
  • Article
  • 09 Jan 2026
The rapid emergence of large language models (LLMs) has already reshaped how many of us write, research and reason. The next frontier is more interesting for accountants and analysts - embedding those capabilities directly inside the tools we use every day. In this article, Craig Stirk, founder of Sarcul Consulting and Chief Innovation Officer at Sprift Technologies, explores using Claude’s add-in for Excel.
Your 2026 Excel Community Guide
  • Article
  • 09 Jan 2026
As we step into the new year, we warmly welcome all our members, both existing and new to the growing Excel Community. With new articles, over 500 tips, thought leadership pieces, and a wide selection of webinars, the community offers a wealth of resources for everyone, no matter your skill level. Here’s a guide to help you get started and make the most of your experience in the community this year.
Exclusive Questioning the value of training – part 1
  • Article
  • 08 Jan 2026
Simon Hurst asserts that, while online resources and AI can solve Excel problems, structured training helps users identify the right problems, choose optimal solutions, and design better spreadsheets, preventing future issues.
Data Analytics Community – Looking ahead in 2026
  • Article
  • 06 Jan 2026
It’s that time again when Ian Pay, Head of Data Analytics and Tech, looks back at the highlights from the Data Analytics Community in the last year, and looks ahead to the upcoming year.
AI in Excel: the pros and cons
  • Article
  • 06 Jan 2026
Financial modelling guru Ian Schnoor takes us through the benefits and drawbacks of AI’s march across the face of Excel.
Exclusive Excel Essentials for Auditors: Part 3 Techniques for stock and sales analysis
  • Article
  • 02 Jan 2026
In this series, James Berridge, Director at Saffery LLP, explores core Excel functionality and essential skills that every auditor should master to support their audit roles. The last article in the series focuses on how to apply practical, audit-focused Excel features including pivot tables, lookups, dynamic arrays and more to analyse a realistic stock listing and sales dataset.
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