Percent change tells you how much a number changed in relation to an original number. One common use of percent change is when you are analyzing financial statements of business. Using percent change, you can see how much an account changed, either positive or negative, from the current year in relation to a prior year. So, for example, you can find the percent change in revenues of a company from 2008 to 2009.
Instructions
1. Find the beginning number and the ending number. For example, assume a business has income of $700 in 2009 and $1,300 in 2010.
2. Type the beginning number in cell A1 of your Microsoft Excel page. In the example, type "700" in cell A1.
3. Type the ending number in cell A2. In the example, type "1,300" in cell A2.
4. Type "=((A2-A1)/A1)" in cell A3. This calculates the percent change. In the example, your results should be 0.857. You can convert this to a percentage by formatting the number as a percentage using the tool bar.
Tags: beginning number, cell Type, ending number, example type, example type cell