Are you looking for an easy way to integrate data analytics into your accounting curriculum? Programs like Tableau and Microsoft Power BI combined with free educator resources provided by the Big Four Accounting Firms can aid in this task. The Big Four Accounting Firms have developed data sets, projects that utilize Tableau and Power BI and a variety of class assignments and cases. Educators can start with exercises that have students analyze data visualization results. This allows students to develop critical thinking skills when analyzing trends from the provided data. After students master the interpretation of the data visualization sets, they gain a more wholistic approach to utilizing the data sets. The resources provided by Microsoft Power BI, Tableau and the Big Four Accounting Firms allow first-time users with simple step by step resources.
Business intelligence encompasses the strategies and technologies used for data analysis of business information and Microsoft Power BI is a tool which allows non-technical users the ability to assemble, analyze and share data. Many individuals who currently use Excel have discovered Power BI to be a natural fit. The interfaces of Excel and Power BI are very similar and simple visuals are easy to create and import. Power BI is a natural migration for analyzing data sets when they become too large for Excel’s capabilities. In addition, many extra analysis tools are available in Power BI compared to Excel. Power BI allows users to create relationships between data sources and create various visualizations.
Review the following links to learn how Power BI can fit your data analytic needs:
Power BI Introduction Video: https://youtu.be/_OOyJfszJXY
Power BI Frequently Asked Questions:
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-frequently-asked-questions/
Getting Started with Power BI:
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-service-get-started/
PowerBI VideoTutorial Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1N57mwBHtN0JFoKSR0n-tBkUJHeMP2cP
The best part is that you can get started for free today with the Power BI single user version, which includes 1GB of storage. Create your free account at: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/
You don’t have to be an expert to try Tableau. To help you get started, Tableau provides free ready-made curriculum materials, including lecture notes, student handouts, and assignments. Visit the Tableau Instructor Resource Page at https://community.tableau.com/community/teachers/overview
Benefits of Utilizing Tableau:
- Free Instructor and Student Tableau Software
- Free Start Up and Training Materials
- Free Curriculum Materials
- Free Learning Resources
- Free Tutorial and On Demand Training Videos
- Basic and Advanced Functionality for any Field of Study
- Network Community for Tableau Academic Users
- Allows for Cloud Based Document Sharing for Students and Instructors
- Basic and Advanced Functionality for any Field of Study
Get started today with Tableau by completing the simple license request process at https://www.tableau.com/academic
Big Four Accounting Firm Resource Links
Deloitte – https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/solutions/educator-resources.html#
EY – 
KPMG – https://www.kpmguniversityconnection.com/search
PWC – https://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/university-relations/data-and-analytics-case-studies.html
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