Why is my sum total a couple pennies off from what it should be?

[Guest]

I have changed the formatting over and over and still if you add up manually
what I have the formula adding it is 3 pennies off. I'm using Excel and it's
just a simple =sum formula to add a column of dollar amounts together.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

See

http://www.mcgimpsey.com/excel/pennyoff.html

 

[Guest]

To add to what is said on JE's web page, I've found that generally when
dealing with accounting type of worksheets that it is easiest for all
concerned to use the Precision as Displayed option. At least with it, if
someone takes your column of numbers and runs them through a calculator they
will come up with the same bottom line number for a total.

I have to deal with this type of problem in a different manner: Excel was
showing one total for invoicing that would be a few pennies off from what our
accounting system showed for same costs/labor/labor rates. Since come
auditing time it was the accounting system that 'ruled' we often had to go in
and add or subtract a fudged penny or two hither and yon. Something no
accountant or auditor really likes to see, even if a reasonable explanation
is given. The Precision as Displayed has pretty much done away with that
(not completely since the accounting system uses 3 decimals of precision and
then rounds to two), but it's less significant than before.