Excel Formula Best Practices

[austin3515]

I'm doing a training in the office where I am telling people about certain best practices. Chief among them is that instead of having a formula like this in E1: A1-B1+C1-D1, where all values are positive; they should have E1 be Sum(A1:D1) where B1 and D1 have negative values. That way the reader looking at the screen or the printed page can tell that B1 and D1 are being subtracted. Has anyone seen an article like this that they can share? I just don;t think I'm the only one who's figured out that this is a best practice.

 

[Special-K99]

They should use SUM(A1:D1) whether B1 or D1 are positive or negative.

 

[austin3515]

I think you misunderstand. For example, if B1 and D1 are both entered as positives, then the sum feature would add them instead of subtracting them. So perhaps what you are saying is that you agree with me, but what I am really after is some formal article where someone has reiterated this fact (so as to lend credibility to my argument in the office!).

 

[Special-K99]

OK, yep see what you mean.