You may know The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as a cornerstone of modern business thinking.

But what happens when those same principles from this book are applied to one of the most widely used tools in finance: Excel?

In this episode, we explore how the seven habits framework can be applied by accountants and finance professionals to design and build Excel models.

The focus is practical and grounded in real work, with key learnings including:

• How asking better questions leads to stronger Excel models

• Why planning and prioritisation matter before building anything

• Designing reports first and working back to the data

• Building proactive features that reduce errors and improve usability

• Using automation and AI thoughtfully to support the process

The episode also looks at where Excel fits alongside tools such as Power BI, and why judgement and planning still matter even as AI becomes more capable.

Listen now.

Host: Neale Blackwood CPA. He has more than 20 years of experience as a Microsoft Excel educator and is the author of more than 200 INTHEBLACK articles as well as a book, Advanced Excel Reporting for Management Accountants.

For more, check out the accompanying YouTube video of this episode.

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Would you like to listen to more Excel Tips and other CPA Australia podcasts like INTHEBLACK and With Interest? Head to CPA Australia's YouTube channel.

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Read more of Neale's Excel articles on INTHEBLACK.

You can find a CPA at our custom portal on the CPA Australia website.

CPA Australia publishes four podcasts, providing commentary and thought leadership across business, finance, and accounting:

With Interest

INTHEBLACK

Excel Tips

INTHEBLACK Out Loud

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You can email the podcast team at [email protected]