Graduates’ Use of Spreadsheet Tools in Learning and Applying Financial Mathematics

Abstract

We investigate, using questionnaires, the use of spreadsheet software in the financial sector workplace by recent graduates and the benefits of spreadsheets in the teaching and learning of actuarial and financial mathematics at postgraduate level. This study investigates the nexus between learning and work in order to modify the university curriculum. We aim to equip graduates with skills applicable in the workplace and to improve the learning of actuarial and financial theory.The results indicate that the use of spreadsheets in the workplace is ubiquitous and that graduates find them relatively easy to learn, easy to use and very useful for their work. Spreadsheet skills are considered very valuable. Little or no formal training had been provided during their university studies and graduates mostly learned on the job. The surveys of postgraduate students and of employers support the conclusions reached from the graduates' survey. There is considerable justification for university courses to include training in the use of spreadsheets.

Academics’ perceptions of the use and relevance of software in quantitative and financial disciplines

“…The result from the current academic survey represents current teaching practice, and the result from [2] represents practice at the time the surveyed graduates were at university, five or more years prior. This explanation is supported by the fact that in an even earlier survey of graduates, none reported receiving training in spreadsheet skills at university [8]. The combined results confirm previous findings (e.g.…”

“…Graduates who have been in the workforce for up to five years report a higher current skill level, with 89% assessing themselves as either 'experienced' or 'expert' users of spreadsheets [2]; this is unsurprising given the widespread use of Excel Õ in the workplace among recent graduates [2,8]. Academics view it as necessary for their employment that students have spreadsheet skills upon graduation from university: the average ranking is 4.0 out of 5.0, with 78% rating it either 'very important' or 'essential'.…”

“…Other studies consider graduates' use of mathematics, statistics and software in the workplace [2,[7][8][9][10][11]; students' perceptions of how they will use mathematics in the workplace [12][13][14]; and employers' need for and use of mathematics in the workplace [15][16][17][18]. A large study of actuarial graduates [11] found that actuaries use Excel Õ in the workplace more than any other package and recommended that actuaries consider more specialized software for specific tasks.…”

“…In a survey of Australian actuarial studies graduates working in a variety of financial services roles, Kyng et al [2] found that almost all use Excel Õ -a majority using it for 60% or more of their working week -and that many use a wide variety of other software packages. In a survey of both actuarial and accounting graduates, Kyng and Taylor [8] found that Excel Õ is ubiquitous in the workplace, but that little formal training is provided in its use at university level.…”

Cultivating spreadsheet usage in a finance subject through learning and assessment innovations

“…Nevertheless, many of them have not trained to use spreadsheet technology in general, or (Awasthi et al, 2010;Stoner, 2009) as a tool to address business problems (Bradbard, Alvis and Morris, 2014;Kyng and Taylor, 2008;Treadwell et al, 2013).…”