Learn how to compare Excel sheets for efficient bank reconciliation with step-by-step tips on data prep, pivot tables, discrepancy analysis ...

Microsoft Excel comes with a lot of built-in functionality that doesn't restrict you to comparing data in two columns using only one method.

Open the Excel spreadsheet containing the columns you want to compare. Select the data in both columns, excluding the heading. In the Styles section in the Home tab, click on Conditional Formatting.

If you want to compare data in a side-by-side fashion, then we suggest using the Scenario Manager feature in Excel. You can also use it to swap multiple sets of data within a single worksheet.

How to compare Microsoft Excel columns with the EXACT function EXACT is a text-based function in Microsoft Excel. It's a stickler for details compared to the IF function.

You load each worksheet into a table in Access and do a join query between/against the two. This will provide the intersection of the two lists.