Do you use Microsoft Access?

CFA General
#1

I am a volunteer committee member with one of the local CFA Societies and we are considering hosting a course (maybe 1 day course) on Microsoft Access. I have used Microsoft Access on a daily basis for the past few years working on the Wealth Management and Investment Dealer sides of the bank, however I see very little mention of Microsoft Access on this forum.

Do you use Microsoft Access for your daily work and if so, what for? Do you think there would be demand for a 1 day course for CFA members?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

#2

WHat I know about Microsoft Access wouldn’t fill up a thimble.

#3

I remember a decade ago people were saying Access was the next big thing that every graduate should master. Focus on excel.

#4

Access is for the brown people.

#5

EXCEL

#6

I’m not so sure about Access but if you are in a FP&A role with a larger firm - or are trying to get into such a role - you will find that skills with BI software are essentail and focus on database fluency is growing. Also analytics are starting to play a larger role. Obviously there is a lot of room in the FP&A space so if you are more geared toward the accounting side then maybe this isn’t that big of a deal, but if you are more geard toward finance and decision support, then I think improving these skills is a must going forward.

Okay, so many here are not in or looking to be in a FP&A role. So I think my take is that if you are in a traditional qualitative finance role then excel is probably enough. (ER, FA, IB, PE). But then again if you are aiming for more of a quantitative finance role then you have bigger issues then learning Access…

#7

The admins in my office use Access on a daily basis, but I haven’t used it myself in many years.

#8

What is this.

I’ve fooled around in it maybe once or twice but mainly I use it to pull data maybe once a month or so.

#9

Thanks for the comments - We use it in our department for very large or complicated processes. For example, one process we pull in files daily into Access for all the trading activity for FI trading desks in different regions around the globe using different source systems and then aggregate the data with built in macro’s and then it will spit out a final report in excel format showing our aggregated exposure to FI counterparties.

#10

We let our IT and back office departments play with it.

#11

I was thinking about using it to put together some databases on things like F&F sector returns, crude oil prices, etc etc. It’d be handy for creating a cube/pivot table out of. Will I ever actually do that? Probably not…

#12

Totally confusing and inefficient program. Do not like.

#13

Not Microsoft’s best work.

#14

Yes there will be certainly a demand for Microsoft access course for CFA candidates and members . All the financial modelling is done on MS access or MS excel techniques . So It would be of great help.