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EXERCISE 3:

Data Access Drills

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YOUR COACH

Shane Grimm, ACDA

20 years of experience with ACL

Certified ACL Trainer

Experienced coach of 1000’s of ACL users@shanegrimm

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Getting Back in Shape

ACL BootCamp is a monthly webinar series designed to help ACL users of all levels learn new skills

Basic drills and also focusing on “problem areas”

#aclbootcamp

*Poll Question # 1

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GUEST SPEAKER

Adrian Poon, CMA, CISA, ACDA

4 years audit experience with a Big 4 firm

Over 5 years experience using ACL

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and ACL Certified Data Analyst (ACDA)

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Introduction

ACL and Data Access

ACL is all about data access

We have been helping our customers access data for 25 years

*Poll Question # 2

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Powerhouse of Data Retrieval

ACL Desktop provides access to data, such as:– Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access– dBase– Flat files– Report files (print-image)– Delimited files– XML– Various sources through ODBC

ACL AuditExchange extends this power to connect with:– DB2– SQL Server– Oracle

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Hauling in Excel Files

Three steps:

1. Open file in Excel and review

2. Define file in ACL Desktop

3. Review and validate

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Let’s see a Demo

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Hauling in Excel Files

REVIEW

Excel file must be in a format that resembles an ACL Table» Remove blank lines» Remove subtotals or total lines

Column titles

Defining a range

Review and validate import

ACLScript to automate multiple imports

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Sprinting with ODBC

Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC)

A standardized method of transferring data to and from different database management systems

Many products use this technology to communicate with a database

WARNING: ODBC is capable of reading and writing. However, ACL is only capable of reading and will not write to your database

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Sprinting with ODBC

You require a driver that is specific for your database

Every computer has its own set of ODBC drivers.

To see what drivers are installed on your computer Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC)

Microsoft Windows provides a few default drivers:» dBase Files» Excel Files» MS Access Database

Additional drivers can be added

Most databases require a User ID and Password

You must have a network connection to the database

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Let’s see a Demo

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Sprinting with ODBC

REVIEW

ODBC is a flexible method to access different types of data

Requires the correct driver specific to the database type» Most database manufacturers provide their own driver (not all are free)» Lots of good resources on the web. See Ken North’s site for a

comprehensive list of ODBC drivers: http://www.sqlsummit.com/ODBCVend.HTM

ODBC is read/write but ACL is read only

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Sprinting with ODBC

REVIEW

ODBC uses a SQL WHERE clause to filter dataUnfortunately the syntax changes slightly depending on the database. Contact your database administrator for assistance writing a SQL statement

A database can have tables and views

ODBC data sources can be refreshed

ODBC imports can be scripted

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Q & A

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Additional Resources

ACL Support Center Find answers to your most commonly asked questions

Knowledge base: Hundreds of tips and best practices to help you successfully access data, combine commands, create scripts

User Forum: Share tips and exchange experiences with ACL users around the globe

ACL Training ACL 105, Foundations of ACL: Instructor-led course with detailed section on

accessing different data sources

ACL 303, Functions and Scripts: Instructor-led course with detailed section on scripting your data imports

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Additional Resources

ACL Consulting Team of subject matter experts and technical consultants with access to

thousands of analytic tests

Implementation methodology supports both onsite and remote solution development

Expertise across a variety of industries

Next ACL BootcampThursday, January 12, 2012

Exercise 4: Computed FieldsCross Training

Register at acl.com/bootcamp