About us
We are a group of Power BI and Modern Excel enthusiasts. This group is dedicated to running monthly meetings to share techniques and inspire incredible data analytics and dashboards using Power BI and the Modern Excel tools (Power Pivot and Power Query).
View recordings of past meet-ups on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIRJFbuwYskLKHIWt9OBVpeMs-NZ_jvS_
Interested in Presenting?
Do you have a topic you’d like to share with the group? We are always looking for people to speak at upcoming meet-ups, and love to hear about the projects you are working on! If you are interested, fill out our online form: https://xlguru.ca/speakatvanpug
Upcoming events
3
Building Practical AI Agents and Workflows | George Mount
·OnlineOnlineSESSION TRACK:
Excel and Power BISESSION OUTLINE:
Our resident Power BI expert, Joseph Yeates, will start things off by showing us what's new in Power BI. Then Microsoft MVP George Mount will take the stage for our feature presentation.AI is evolving quickly, but many users are still trying to sort out what is actually practical and reliable. In this session, George Mount will walk through hands-on examples using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Power Automate to show how AI agents and automation can support structured workflows.
We will build an expense report agent that classifies receipt data into Excel, automate a monthly variance deck that generates executive-ready commentary and updates PowerPoint, and then validate AI-generated insights with Office Scripts to improve auditability and trust. If you want to see how agents can fit into real reporting and analysis processes, this session will give you concrete builds you can try yourself.
SPEAKER PROFILE:
George Mount is a corporate trainer who helps finance, accounting, and operations teams work smarter with data in Excel. He is a LinkedIn Learning instructor with more than 400,000 learners worldwide and regularly presents at events such as the Global Excel Summit. He is the author of Advancing into Analytics (O’Reilly, 2021) and Modern Data Analytics in Excel (O’Reilly, 2024). George is recognized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for his contributions to the Excel and analytics community and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.Connect with and follow George online at:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gjmount/
- Website and Blog: https://stringfestanalytics.com/
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 8:45am Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 9:00am-9:05am Welcome and Meeting Overview
- 9:05am-9:20am What's New in Power BI
- 9:20am-10:20am Feature Presentation
- 10:20am-10:25am Meeting Wrap-up
REGISTRATION:
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 8:45am on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 9:00am, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
84 attendees
Vibe Coding an Office-js Add-in | Jan Karel Pieterse
·OnlineOnlineSESSION TRACK:
ExcelSESSION OUTLINE:
There’s a lot of talk about so-called vibe coding. As Microsoft MVP Jan Karel Pieterse understands it, this is letting an AI do the programming based off descriptions you give it. He’ll demonstrate how he went about “programming” his new Rule Manager for Excel add-in. What goes well, what does not, and can you get away with not knowing what you’re doing? Let's find out!SPEAKER PROFILE:
Jan Karel Pieterse founded JKP Application Development Services in November 2003 to help businesses strive, mostly by providing them with business solutions built using Microsoft Excel. He volunteers to help individual users from over the world and have done so for many years, helping them with their day-to-day tasks using Microsoft Excel.
These efforts have been rewarded by Microsoft by granting him the MVP Award each year since 2002.Connect with Jan Karel online:
- Website - https://jkp-ads.com
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jankarelpieterse/
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 9:45am Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 10:00am-10:05am Welcome and meeting overview
- 10:05am-11:05am Feature Presentation
- 11:05am-10:10am Meeting Wrap-up
REGISTRATION:
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 9:45am on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 10:00am, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
60 attendees
Much Ado About Nothing: Handling Blank Values in Excel | Mark Proctor
·OnlineOnlineSESSION TRACK:
ExcelSESSION OUTLINE:
What is nothing? Does it exist? These are deep philosophical questions. Thankfully, in the context of Excel, there is an answer, which we will explore with Microsoft MVP Mark Proctor. Once we understand how Excel handles blank values, we can not only work with nothingness, but bend it to our will!SPEAKER PROFILE:
Mark Proctor is the founder of Excel Off The Grid, a leading learning platform for professionals who want to work smarter with Excel. He is known for making features and concepts easy to understand and apply, enabling others to build practical, automated, real-world solutions that save time.Mark is also a Microsoft MVP, co-host of The Unpivot Podcast, and a contributor to the ICAEW Excel Community.
Connect with and follow Mark online at:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markstephenproctor
- Website and Blog: https://exceloffthegrid.com
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExcelOffTheGrid
TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change, all times listed are in Pacific Time):
- 8:45am Teams Meeting opens to attendees to begin joining
- 9:00am-9:05am Welcome and Meeting Overview
- 9:05am-10:05am Feature Presentation
- 10:05am-10:10am Meeting Wrap-up
REGISTRATION:
This meet-up will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and will be recorded to share with others who were not able to attend live. You must RSVP for the event in order to access the Teams Meeting link.JOINING THE EVENT:
Attendees can join the Teams Meeting starting at 8:45am on the day of the event. The link will be visible only if you RSVP beforehand.Once the event gets underway at 9:00am, we ask that attendees make sure they are on MUTE, so background noise and distractions are minimized.
During the presentation, attendees can type questions and comments into the chat area, which will be monitored by the event hosts. There will be time for Q&A at the end, where attendees can un-mute their mic and even share their video to ask questions.
**NOTE: As mentioned above, this event will be recorded and shared online, so attendee information may be visible in the recording.
8 attendees
Past events
166
