Tests a given condition and returns one value for a TRUE result, and another for a FALSE result
What is an Excel IF Statement?
The Excel IF Statement tests a given condition and returns one value for a TRUE result and another value for a FALSE result. For example, if sales total more than $5,000, then return a “Yes” for Bonus – Otherwise, return a “No” for Bonus. We can also use the IF function to evaluate a single function, or we can include several IF functions in one formula. Multiple IF statements in Excel are known as nested IF statements.
As a financial analyst, the IF function is used often to evaluate and analyze data by evaluating specific conditions.
The function can be used to evaluate text, values, and even errors. It is not limited to only checking if one thing is equal to another and returning a single result. We can also use mathematical operators and perform additional calculations, depending on our criteria. We can also nest multiple IF functions together to perform multiple comparisons.
IF Formula
=IF[logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false]
The function uses the following arguments:
- Logical_test [required argument] – This is the condition to be tested and evaluated as either TRUE or FALSE.
- Value_if_true [optional argument] – The value that will be returned if the logical_test evaluates to TRUE.
- Value_if_false [optional argument] – The value that will be returned if the logical_test evaluates to FALSE.
When using the IF function to construct a test, we can use the following logical operators:
- = [equal to]
- > [greater than]
- >= [greater than or equal to]
- < [less than]
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