Many experienced professionals learned Excel in the mid-2000s and developed their own techniques using the functions available at the time - such as INDEX/MATCH for lookups or nested combinations of LEFT, MID and SEARCH for text handling. While these approaches still work, Excel has since introduced a host of new functions that can solve the same requirements more simply, clearly and dynamically.
In this webinar, Ben Ducker, Principal Consultant at Modelling Expert Ltd, explores how some of the “old school” workarounds can now be replaced by more efficient techniques by leveraging new tools that were previously unavailable in the older versions of Excel.
Ben looks at practical, real-world examples including modern alternatives to classic lookup formulas (such as XLOOKUP), new text and data cleaning functions (including TEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER and TEXTSPLIT), and the impact of dynamic array functions like FILTER, SORT and UNIQUE. He also explores how newer functions such as LET, IFS and LAMBDA can make formulas easier to read, maintain and audit.
The session is aimed at Creator-level Excel users who want to modernise their approach, reduce formula complexity, and take advantage of the most useful features added to Excel in recent years.
First broadcast on 25 March 2026
Webinar resources
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CPD
This webinar could contribute to up to 1 hour of verifiable CPD, so long as you can demonstrate that the content is relevant to your role.
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