VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP: How Do They Work, What is the Difference, Which Should I Use (Video) (Course Id 2622)

• Who is this course for?
  This course is designed for those needing Continuing Professional Education (CPE), such as CPAs, IRS Enrolled Agents, or accountants familiar with Excel, specifically Excel 365 or Excel 2021 users since XLOOKUP is included.

• What is this course about or what problem does this course solve?
  It teaches everything you need to know about VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP—how they work, their syntax, the differences, when to use each, and how XLOOKUP offers advantages over VLOOKUP. It also includes guidance on wildcards, absolute references, range names, and error handling with IFNA/IFERROR.

• How can the knowledge from this course be used?
  You can incorporate VLOOKUP and/or XLOOKUP into your Excel worksheets to search through data and retrieve related values efficiently, speeding up analysis and reducing manual errors. The Excel files provided allow for hands-on practice.

• Why is this course important to a CPA, Accountant, or IRS Enrolled Agent?
  These lookup functions are hugely time‑saving for processing financial data, reconciling, and report generation. As essential Excel tools, understanding both VLOOKUP and its modern replacement XLOOKUP helps ensure continued competency and efficiency.

• When is this course relevant or timely?
  Released and revised as of August 13, 2025, it’s especially applicable to Excel 365 subscribers or Excel 2021 users. For those using older versions (Excel 2019 or earlier), while XLOOKUP may not be accessible, the course remains useful for theoretical learning.

• How is a course like this consumed or used?
  It is delivered as a NASBA QAS Self‑Study video course, complete with review questions and a final exam. You watch the video, optionally follow along using the accompanying Excel files, answer the questions, and pass the final exam (70% passing score) within one year of purchase to earn the 1.0 CPE credit.

This course tells you everything that you need to know about VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP. They are huge timesavers as both functions allow you search through data and have Excel return a corresponding value from another range either in the same worksheet or a different one.
These two lookup functions are extremely popular and are must-know functions. Excel files accompany the video so that you can either just watch or you can follow along.

We cover the syntax of both functions and how to use them. The video discusses how to incorporate wild cards, absolute cell references, range names and IFNA and IFERROR when using these two functions. We also discuss the similarities and differences between the two functions and the advantages of XLOOKUP over VLOOKUP.  XLOOKUP was designed as a replacement for VLOOKUP so it is important to become familiar with it.

Video - NASBA QAS - NASBA Registry - 2622

Course Learning Objectives

• Recognize the VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP functions and their syntax
• Recognize the similarities and differences between VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP
• Recognize how to create and use absolute cell references and range names in VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP

Chapter 1 - VLOOKUP & XLOOKUP: How Do They Work, What is the Difference, Which Should I Use

Chapter 1 Review Questions

Glossary