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Advanced Excel Interview Questions in Chennai

36 practice questions with answers for Advanced Excel interviews in Chennai.

Advanced Excel jobs in Chennai

Chennai is a long-standing IT-services and SaaS hub along OMR, with strong demand for testing, data and support-engineering roles. Many companies here hire freshers in large batches and train them on the job.

Below are 36 questions that match the mix of service, product and domain employers hiring mis executives in Chennai.

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01

Write VBA to save each worksheet as a separate PDF.

Macros and VBA AutomationMedium
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Use ExportAsFixedFormat inside a loop: Sub SheetsToPDF() Dim ws As Worksheet, p As String p = ThisWorkbook.Path & "\" For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets ws.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, _ Filename:=p & ws.Name & ".pdf", _ Quality:=xlQualityStandard, IgnorePrintAreas:=False Next ws End Sub Set print areas and page setup first so each PDF fits the page properly.
02

You need serial numbers in a list that stay continuous after rows are filtered or deleted. How do you do it?

Lookup and Dynamic Array FunctionsEasy
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Plain typed numbers or =ROW()-1 break when rows are hidden by a filter. Use SUBTOTAL, which ignores filtered-out rows: =SUBTOTAL(103, $B$2:B2) Function 103 is COUNTA that skips hidden rows, and the expanding range counts non-blank cells up to the current row. Now the numbering restarts from 1 for whatever is visible, which is useful in printed or shared filtered views.
03

How do you use approximate match to apply discount or tax slabs?

Lookup and Dynamic Array FunctionsMedium
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Create a slab table with the lower limit of each band in ascending order and the rate next to it. Approximate match returns the row for the largest limit not greater than the value: =VLOOKUP(B2,Slabs!$A$2:$B$6,2,TRUE) =XLOOKUP(B2,Slabs[From],Slabs[Rate],,-1) If B2 is 7.5 lakh and the bands start at 0, 3, 7 and 10 lakh, the 7 lakh row is returned. Unsorted data gives wrong results silently.
04

Your pivot chart changes whenever someone filters the pivot, but your manager wants a fixed chart for a presentation. What do you do?

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesMedium
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A pivot chart always follows its pivot, so it cannot be frozen while the pivot is filtered. Options: copy the chart and paste it as a picture into the slide; or copy the pivot values to a normal range and build a regular chart from them; or create a second pivot from the same cache, set its filters once and protect the sheet. For a live report, keep the interactive version on a separate sheet.
05

You need product category in the Sales table to create a calculated column. How do you do it in the Data Model?

Power Pivot, Data Model and DAXMedium
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Create a relationship from Sales[ProductID] to Products[ProductID], then add a calculated column in Sales: Category = RELATED(Products[Category]) RELATED follows the many-to-one relationship and works only in a row context. Often you do not need the column at all, because the pivot can use Products[Category] directly through the relationship, which saves memory.
06

Describe a report you built with pivot tables that helped a decision.

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesEasy
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Situation: our store team felt discounts were not driving sales. Task: check it with data. Action: I built a pivot from six months of bills with discount band in rows, month in columns, and sales and margin as values, plus a slicer for store. Result: the pivot showed discounts above 20 percent added little volume but cut margin sharply, and the manager capped discounts at 15 percent the following month.
07

How do you automatically highlight the highest and lowest points in a line chart?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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Add two helper columns next to the data that show a value only at the max or min and #N/A elsewhere, because charts skip #N/A: Max: =IF(B2=MAX($B$2:$B$13),B2,NA()) Min: =IF(B2=MIN($B$2:$B$13),B2,NA()) Add both as series, set them to markers only with distinct colours and data labels. When the data changes, the highlighted points move automatically.
08

How is the Excel Data Model related to Power BI?

Power Pivot, Data Model and DAXMedium
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Both use the same VertiPaq engine and the DAX language, and both use Power Query for data preparation. A Power Pivot model can be imported into Power BI Desktop through File > Import, carrying queries, relationships and measures. This makes Advanced Excel with Power Pivot a natural stepping stone, since most of the model and DAX skills transfer directly to Power BI.
09

An IF formula says 100 is not equal to 100. Why might that happen?

Logical, Text and Date FunctionsMedium
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Usually one value is text and the other is a number, so =A2=B2 returns FALSE even though both show 100. Other causes are hidden spaces, or floating-point results like 99.9999999 that display as 100 because of formatting. Check with ISTEXT, LEN and by widening decimals. Fix with VALUE or TRIM on the text side, or compare with ROUND(A2,2)=ROUND(B2,2) for calculated numbers.
10

How do you handle two senior managers asking for conflicting versions of the same dashboard?

Charts and DashboardsHard
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Situation: sales wanted revenue by booking date while finance wanted it by invoice date. Task: avoid two dashboards with different numbers. Action: I met both, wrote down each definition and its use, and proposed one dashboard with a clearly labelled toggle and a note explaining the difference. Result: both agreed, the numbers stopped being argued over in meetings, and the definition was added to our data glossary.
11

Lookups across 5 lakh rows make your workbook extremely slow. How do you speed it up?

Lookup and Dynamic Array FunctionsHard
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Avoid repeating the same search: run one MATCH in a helper column and use several INDEX formulas on that position. Sort the lookup table and use XLOOKUP binary search (search_mode 2), which is much faster than a linear scan. Replace full-column references with Tables, set calculation to manual while editing, and for regular jobs move the join into Power Query or the Data Model with relationships.
12

How do you show actual versus target in a compact bullet-style chart?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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Create a clustered column chart with Target and Actual series. Format the Target series with no fill and a thick outline or a light colour, set Series Overlap to 100 percent so both bars sit on top of each other, and make the Actual bar narrower by putting it on the secondary axis with a larger gap width. Match both axis scales. Readers immediately see whether Actual falls short of or crosses the target.
13

A few very large values make every other bar in your chart look tiny. How do you present the data clearly?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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Options depend on the message. Sort bars and show the top items with the rest grouped as Others; split into two charts, one for the giants and one for the rest; add data labels so small values are still readable; or use a logarithmic axis for technical audiences, clearly labelled. Avoid cutting the axis on bar charts, because bar length then stops representing value and misleads readers.
14

How do you see the rows behind a pivot value?

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesEasy
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Double-click any value cell and Excel creates a new sheet listing every source row that makes up that number. This drill-down is very useful for checking totals or answering a manager's why question. If the file is shared and you do not want people extracting raw data, untick Enable show details in PivotTable Options > Data, though this is not a strong security control.
15

Why is INDEX preferred over OFFSET for building dynamic ranges?

Lookup and Dynamic Array FunctionsHard
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OFFSET is volatile, so it recalculates whenever anything changes, which slows big models. INDEX returns a reference too but is not volatile: OFFSET: =SUM(OFFSET($B$2,0,0,COUNTA($B:$B)-1,1)) INDEX: =SUM($B$2:INDEX($B:$B,COUNTA($B:$B))) Both sum a growing column, but the INDEX version only recalculates when column B changes. Converting the data to a Table is simpler still.
16

What is the difference between a calculated column and a measure in DAX?

Power Pivot, Data Model and DAXMedium
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A calculated column is computed row by row when data is refreshed and stored in the table, like Sales[Margin] = Sales[Amount] - Sales[Cost]. It uses memory and can be used in rows, columns and slicers. A measure is computed on the fly for each cell of a pivot based on its filters, like Total Margin = SUM(Sales[Margin]). Use measures for aggregations and calculated columns only for attributes you slice by.
17

Write a custom number format that shows positives in green, negatives in red brackets and zero as a dash.

Excel Fundamentals and FormattingMedium
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Custom formats have up to four sections separated by semicolons: positive; negative; zero; text. Press Ctrl+1 > Number > Custom and enter: [Green]#,##0;[Red](#,##0);"-";@ For Indian lakh-crore grouping you can use: [>=10000000]##\,##\,##\,##0;[>=100000]##\,##\,##0;##,##0 The value stays unchanged; only the display changes.
18

How do you group dates and numbers in a pivot, and why does grouping sometimes fail?

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesMedium
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Right-click a date in Rows and choose Group to group by days, months, quarters or years; for numbers, group by a range such as 0 to 100000 in steps of 10000 to create sales bands. Grouping fails with the message Cannot group that selection when the column contains blanks, text values or dates stored as text. Clean the source column, refresh, and grouping works.
19

Explain the match_mode and search_mode arguments of XLOOKUP.

Lookup and Dynamic Array FunctionsMedium
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match_mode: 0 exact (default), -1 exact or next smaller, 1 exact or next larger, 2 wildcard. search_mode: 1 first to last (default), -1 last to first, 2 binary search ascending, -2 binary search descending. =XLOOKUP("*Infra*",Cust[Name],Cust[ID],,2) wildcard match =XLOOKUP(A2,Log[Item],Log[Price],,0,-1) last occurrence Binary modes are fast but give wrong answers if the data is not sorted.
20

Your manager says your chart is misleading. What could be wrong?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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The most common cause is a column or bar chart whose vertical axis does not start at zero, which exaggerates small differences. Other issues are inconsistent scales between side-by-side charts, a secondary axis that is not labelled, 3D effects distorting sizes, missing months making a trend look smooth, or totals mixed with categories. Fix the axis, label units and state the time period in the title.
21

How do you combine all files in a folder using Power Query?

Power Query and Data CleaningMedium
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Place files with the same structure in one folder. Go to Data > Get Data > From File > From Folder, select the folder and click Combine & Transform. Choose the sheet or table from the sample file; Power Query creates a helper function and appends all files, adding a Source.Name column with the file name. Apply cleaning steps once, Close & Load, and later just drop new files in and Refresh.
22

How do you build a KPI card showing achievement against target with an up or down indicator?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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Calculate achievement in a cell, for example =Actual/Target-1, and apply a custom number format that adds arrows and colours: [Color10]▲ 0.0%;[Red]▼ 0.0%;0.0% Place the actual value in a large font above it, link a text box to the cells for flexible placement, and keep labels short like Revenue vs Target. Conditional formatting icon sets are an alternative but are less precise.
23

What is Power Query and why use it instead of manual cleaning?

Power Query and Data CleaningEasy
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Power Query (Data > Get & Transform) is Excel's tool to import, clean and reshape data from files, folders, databases and the web. Every action is recorded as a step, so next month you just click Refresh and the same cleaning runs again on new data. This removes repeated copy-paste work, reduces errors and keeps the original source untouched, which manual cleaning cannot offer.
24

Return the Indian financial year (April to March) for a date, like FY 2026-27.

Logical, Text and Date FunctionsMedium
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If the month is April or later, the FY starts in the same year; otherwise it started the previous year: =LET(y,IF(MONTH(A2)>=4,YEAR(A2),YEAR(A2)-1), "FY "&y&"-"&RIGHT(y+1,2)) For 15-May-2026 this gives FY 2026-27, and for 10-Feb-2026 it gives FY 2025-26. The fiscal quarter is =ROUNDUP((MOD(MONTH(A2)-4,12)+1)/3,0).
25

What are UserForms in VBA and when would you use one?

Macros and VBA AutomationMedium
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A UserForm is a custom dialog box with text boxes, dropdowns, option buttons and command buttons, created in the VBA editor through Insert > UserForm. It is useful for controlled data entry, such as an employee or expense entry form that validates inputs before writing a row to a Table, or for letting users choose options before a report macro runs. It reduces errors from typing directly into sheets.
26

Write VBA to loop through all worksheets and apply the same formatting.

Macros and VBA AutomationMedium
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Use For Each over the Worksheets collection and skip any sheet you do not want to touch: Sub FormatAllSheets() Dim ws As Worksheet For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets If ws.Name <> "Summary" Then ws.Rows(1).Font.Bold = True ws.UsedRange.Columns.AutoFit End If Next ws End Sub
27

Tell me about a time you got a last-minute analysis request. How did you handle it?

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesMedium
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Situation: at 5 PM, my manager needed customer-wise outstanding for a client call at 9 AM. Task: deliver an accurate summary quickly. Action: I confirmed the exact question and cut-off date, pulled the ledger, built a pivot by customer and ageing bucket, cross-checked the total with the trial balance and flagged three unusual balances. Result: the report was ready by 7 PM, and my notes helped the manager answer follow-up questions in the call.
28

What are histogram and Pareto charts used for?

Charts and DashboardsMedium
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A histogram groups numeric values into bins and shows how often each bin occurs, for example how many orders fall between 0 to 1,000 rupees or 1,000 to 5,000 rupees. A Pareto chart sorts categories by frequency and adds a cumulative percentage line, showing the vital few, such as the 20 percent of complaint types causing 80 percent of complaints. Both are available under Insert > Statistic Charts.
29

How do you handle errors in VBA?

Macros and VBA AutomationMedium
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Use On Error GoTo to jump to a handler, report the problem and clean up: Sub ImportData() On Error GoTo Fail Application.ScreenUpdating = False ' ... main code ... Done: Application.ScreenUpdating = True Exit Sub Fail: MsgBox "Error " & Err.Number & ": " & Err.Description Resume Done End Sub Avoid blanket On Error Resume Next, which hides real failures.
30

Your manager wants each product's share of sales within its region, not of the grand total. How do you show it?

Pivot Tables and Data SummariesMedium
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Put Region and then Product in Rows, and add Sales to Values twice. For the second copy, open Value Field Settings > Show Values As > % of Parent Row Total. Each product then shows its share of its own region, and each region totals 100 percent. Using % of Grand Total instead would show share of the whole company, which answers a different question.
31

Calculate an employee's age or tenure in years and months from the joining date.

Logical, Text and Date FunctionsMedium
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DATEDIF is an older hidden function that still works but does not appear in autocomplete: =DATEDIF(B2,TODAY(),"Y")&" years "&DATEDIF(B2,TODAY(),"YM")&" months" Units: Y full years, M full months, D days, YM months after full years, MD days after full months. For a decimal tenure use =YEARFRAC(B2,TODAY()). The start date must be earlier than the end date or DATEDIF returns #NUM!.
32

Why do you want a role that uses Excel heavily, such as MIS or reporting?

Macros and VBA AutomationEasy
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I enjoy turning raw numbers into reports that people actually use to decide things. During my studies and projects I built pivot dashboards and lookup-based trackers, and I liked seeing a three-hour manual task become a ten-minute refresh. An MIS role lets me build those skills daily, understand how the business runs, and grow towards analytics tools like Power BI and SQL, which build directly on Excel.
33

Dates from a vendor file in dd/mm/yyyy format show as errors or swap day and month. How do you fix it?

Power Query and Data CleaningMedium
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The system locale is probably English (United States), which reads dates as mm/dd/yyyy, so 13/04/2026 becomes an error and 05/04/2026 becomes 4 May. In Power Query, right-click the column > Change Type > Using Locale, choose Date and English (India). This tells Power Query how to read the text regardless of the computer's settings, so the file refreshes correctly on any machine.
34

What are Power Pivot and the Excel Data Model?

Power Pivot, Data Model and DAXEasy
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The Data Model is an in-memory database inside the workbook, powered by the VertiPaq engine, which compresses data by column and can handle millions of rows, far beyond the sheet limit. Power Pivot is the window used to manage it: import tables, create relationships, and write DAX measures and calculated columns. Pivot tables built on the Data Model can combine several related tables without VLOOKUP.
35

Explain the useful options inside Paste Special.

Excel Fundamentals and FormattingEasy
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Paste Special (Ctrl+Alt+V) lets you paste only part of what was copied. Values removes formulas, Formats copies only styling, Transpose flips rows into columns, and Skip Blanks avoids overwriting with empty cells. The Operation options can multiply or divide a whole range by a copied number, for example converting rupees to lakhs by copying 100000 and choosing Divide.
36

What is the difference between Flash Fill and Text to Columns?

Excel Fundamentals and FormattingEasy
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Text to Columns splits a column by a fixed delimiter or fixed width in one go, which suits clean data like comma-separated codes. Flash Fill (Ctrl+E) learns a pattern from one or two examples you type, such as extracting first names or formatting phone numbers. Both produce static values, so if the source changes you must redo them, unlike formulas or Power Query steps.

Companies with offices in Chennai (8)

IT services

TCS

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Mumbai, Chennai, Pune +2

View questions
IT services

Infosys

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Bengaluru, Mysuru, Pune +2

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IT services

Wipro

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune +2

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IT services

Cognizant

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune +2

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IT services

Capgemini

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune +2

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Banking & finance

HDFC Bank

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru

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Banking & finance

ICICI Bank

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 4 rounds

Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai +1

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Product

Amazon

Advanced Excel interview questions

  • 30 questions
  • 5 rounds

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai +2

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Frequently asked questions

Which companies hire Advanced Excel professionals in Chennai?

Companies with large offices in Chennai include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Capgemini, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Amazon. Use their company pages below to practise employer-specific sets.

Are Advanced Excel interviews in Chennai different from other cities?

The questions depend more on the company than the city. Chennai's mix of employers decides the style: Many companies here hire freshers in large batches and train them on the job

How do I find Advanced Excel jobs in Chennai?

Shortlist companies with Chennai offices, keep your CV focused on Advanced Excel projects, apply on company career pages and job portals with the Chennai filter, and practise the questions on this page before each interview.

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