For all the analysis that is being done by the Excel consultants at the major as well as small-scale business firms all around, Microsoft Excel is the primary tool used by almost all of them. It is known for its very easy to use features. Without a doubt, the best feature in Microsoft Excel is its huge array of functions. One function which Microsoft Excel boasts is the ROUNDDOWN function. Let us use this free Excel help article to discuss a bit about this Excel function and get an idea about its features and usage.
For cash flows on investments which are not at all properly ordered and have different decimal digits in the sense of their number, it is easy enough to get them muddled up while summing. So, the MS Excel ROUNDDOWN function can be useful here as it rounds down to the nearest lowest number possible of the number of digits specified by the user.
The user has to send a couple of inputs in order to make the ROUNDDOWN function work and not only that, they have to be in order of the specified Excel function as well. The function takes two quantities as its arguments and they are number and digits, which are entered in the order as ROUNDDOWN (number, digits). A little insight on the parameters is necessary evidently, so here it goes:
Number: The number field takes hold of the number, usually decimal, to be worked on. The number can be of any length i.e. it can have as many digits as it likes after the decimal point. It is absolutely essential for the function to work properly.
Digits: The digit field is used by the Excel consultant or business user here has to specify the number of digits he is wishing for after the decimal point as the output after the input in the number field is processed. Here, it is to be mentioned that the digit field can even remain empty in the sense that there won’t be any decimal number as the output but a proper integer but the digit field can’t remain empty as the parameter has to be passed by the user. So, it is required as well.
The Microsoft Excel ROUNDDOWN function has its own use in Excel because of the fact that it is one of its kinds and no other function truncates down a number for rounding it off in an absolute manner like it does. For example the ROUND function usually rounds numbers on the basis of the digits that are present in it after the decimal point and therefore it rounds it off to the next possible greatest number if it is equal to or greater than 5 after the decimal point or to the previous lesser number if it is less than 5. But in ROUNDDOWN it is implicitly embedded in it that no matter what may be the digits after the decimal points, if any, it will always be truncated down to the last lesser number possible as per the number of digits mentioned by the user.
A set of examples will clear the air here:
ROUNDDOWN (345.1, 0) = 345.
ROUNDDOWN (-456.64331, 3) = -456.643.
ROUNDDOWN (345322.54541, 2) = 345322.54.
ROUNDDOWN (-19, 0) = -19.
ROUNDDOWN (23431.23789, 2) = 23431.23.
So, it is very clear how the Excel ROUNDDOWN function works in reality and how different it is from actual mathematical rounding up of numbers. Now, this feature is very much required for financial calculations as in many cases the sequence of incoming payments have to be ordered to be tabulated in a truncating manner and for that purpose the function comes in handy to keep the digit field well-aligned.
The Excel ROUNDDOWN function is a major player when it comes to data entry in business transactions as well as during all the analytical stuff banking sectors usually is involved in. The function is quite easy to use and its implementation is also not at all difficult to grasp for any user. Added to that is its compatibility with every version of Excel including the 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 versions as well which makes it an important tool for analysis and tabulation of data by Excel consultants and general business users alike.