• Hi All

    Please note that at the Chandoo.org Forums there is Zero Tolerance to Spam

    Post Spam and you Will Be Deleted as a User

    Hui...

  • When starting a new post, to receive a quicker and more targeted answer, Please include a sample file in the initial post.

Qt over Qt formula

C

comp764

Member
I was hoping someone could help me with a formula to calculate quarter over quarter changes.
I have a formula I'm using and was wondering if someone can tell me if this is the correct formula to use.
I have uploaded a sample spreadsheet.

Thank you,
 

Attachments

  • Qt_Over_Qt.xlsx
    13.8 KB · Views: 5
Hi ,

If you want to compare the performance of each quarter with respect to the earlier quarter , then the formula you are using is correct.

Narayan
 
Thank you for your quick response Narayan. So if I want to know the difference between the 1st and 2nd quarter. Would I just subtract the 1st Q 27.3% form the 2nd Q 19.4% which would equal 7.9%.

Thank you,
 
Hi ,

Subtracting the percentages directly may or may not be the correct thing to do ; I am not sure.

The starting point is the sum for the 4th quarter of 2012 , which is 77. The sum for the 1st quarter of 2013 is 98 , while the sum for the 2nd quarter of 2013 is 117.

Thus the change in the 1st quarter of 2013 is 21 , while the change in the 2nd quarter of 2013 is 19.

How would this be calculated as a percentage ?

Is it a change from 27.3 % to 19.4 % , which is 7.9 % , or is it a change from 21 to 19 , which is 9.5 % ?

Narayan
 
Hi, comp764!

You posted a deceptive question. Subtracting percentages will show the absolute difference between quarters, only if quarter figures are representing the same type of values.

Example, whole year sales 200 (40, 50, 60, 40, for each Q), so percentages 20%, 25%, 30%, 20%. Hence 4Q variation over 3Q is -20 or -10%. Your method works.

Another example, quarterly sales 40, 50, 60, 40, quarterly profits 10, 5, 20, 10), so % profit per quarte 25%, 10%, 33%, 25%. Here subtracting percentages (25-33=-8%) doesn't mean anything. Your method fails.

Regards!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top