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Courses on Disk

Computer based training courses are not new, but Courses on Disk is the first organisation I am aware of that has developed Microsoft Office courses aimed specifically at the particular needs of accountants. Courses currently on offer are Practical Excel, the more advanced Adding Value with Excel, Practical Word, Practical Internet and Essential Windows for Accountants. Office 97 and 2000 are covered. Each CD-ROM costs £99 if bought individually, or you can buy a package of all five for just £311 - less a 50% discount if you are a sole practitioner!

That last point should alert larger firms to the real benefit of this type of training. For a one-off fee you get completely flexible training which can be repeated as many times as you like.

I test drove Practical Excel 2000 for Accountants, an eight hour course based around using basic financial functions within Excel to build an extended trial balance and a cashflow forecast. The course runs straight from the CD, no installation is required so it is easily shared around the office. The local drive is just used to store your progress so that you can pick up next time where you left off. This is useful since you are not going to complete it in one sitting (the advanced Excel course takes 16 hours!).

The format comprises on-screen slides and live Excel demonstrations using Lotus ScreenCam accompanied by an audio commentary. All the screenshots are on the CD so you don't need the application on your PC until you come to do the homework. First impressions were of a rather flat, uninspiring audio presentation but I did eventually get used to this as the content took my interest. I'm not an Excel power user by any means, but I can use the basic features. Because of its accountancy emphasis, the course selects from Excel's vast range of features the most useful tools and functions for our every day use, so even in the early lessons I discovered things I'd never seen before! My only criticism would be the presenter - it would be nice to see - and hear - a little more variety in the presentation in future courses. Alternating male and female voices to present long courses does help the listener - listen to just about any talk-based radio station to hear what I mean.

If you don't want to work through the whole course you can review the contents and objectives of each chapter and dip in and out where you want. Each chapter ends with an exercise which builds up an analytical review/extended trial balance and the authors have cleverly included model versions as it should be at the end of each chapter so you can check your work. You can also join midway through the course, open the answer from, say, chapter 7, and then do the chapter 8 exercise.

So are Courses on Disk CD-ROMs worth buying? Definitely. They represent outstanding value for money - the full package represents some 54 hours of training without the lost time and inconvenience of travelling to externally run courses. In fact, when you consider the number of times you might reuse each CD the purchse price seems downright trivial! They would be particularly useful for training new staff or managing the transition to Office 2000.

Courses on Disk also produce CD-ROMs on Sage Hartley and Sage Apex accounts preparation software. Forthcoming titles under consideration include Powerpoint and Access.

If you haven't received an order form in a recent ABG mailing you can contact Courses on Disk on 01825 840686 or by post at The White House, Eastbourne Road, Halland, E Sussex, BN8 6PS.

Nigel Harris

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