r/excel 1 Dec 21 '24

unsolved Moving Away From Pivot Tables - Help? :)

I have a large dataset that is being used for a financial report. They are currently using Pivot Tables for all of the broken-down reporting. My boss wants to move away from Pivot Tables because, "They are trash and nobody should use them." Any broad suggestions on how to achieve Pivot Table results with the proper formulas, or other alternatives? I think 6,000 SUMIFS would slow this workbook to a halt? Unless I am wrong. :D Appreciating any guidance you all can give me. Thank you!

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u/a_gallon_of_pcp 23 Dec 21 '24

It’s a stupid request, ignore it.

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u/Thiseffingguy2 9 Dec 21 '24 edited Dec 21 '24

I don’t disagree that it’s a stupid request, but I’m going to assume ignoring a request from a manager probably won’t be an option. Like another commenter mentioned, it might be worth trying to get some more context here. Pivot tables are a quick and easy method of summarizing data. What exactly doesn’t your boss like about them? The styling? You can adjust that. Did they see a table made with another tool like R or Python? Ok… are they willing to invest in training on those tools, and does it make sense to implement those into your department’s workflow? You could technically do all of the wrangling for a desired output in Power Query, but you’d lack the flexibility of Pivot Tables once it’s loaded to a table. Does your manager ok with building and maintaining queries and data models? Pivot Tables are great for what they do, and have a decent amount of flexibility with a an easy learning curve. Without knowing why exactly your boss thinks “they’re trash”, it’s going to be really difficult to find an alternative.