You'll find some more of the background at
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/rounding.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214118
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/78113

--
David Biddulph

"Scott" wrote in message
...
All the above formulas work, but what is wrong with mine? Try mine for
yourself; there are no extra fractions past two decimal places.

David's answer makes sense, but it is simple math that = zero. Why can't
Excel do that? It seems to be a flaw to me.

Thanks for the input.


"David Biddulph" wrote:

The problem arises because the numbers cannot be represented precisely in
binary. The only decimal numbers that can be represented precisely in
binary are 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, etc., and multiples thereof. That's why you
may need to round the result of the calculation.
--
David Biddulph

"Scott" wrote in message
...
I may be very sleepy, but try this and tell me why I get "OFF", instead
of
"OK":

1. Open a new workbook
2. Enter the following:
Cell A1 =11813.21
B1 =5375.65
C1 =6437.56
D1 =IF(A1-B1-C1=0,"OK","OFF")

3. My result in D1 is "OFF" and it should be "OK"
4. Get a calculator or run it in your smart brain:
11813.21 minus 5375.65 minus 6437.56 = 0 (Big fat Zero!!)

If you play with the first three cells, sometimes it works, sometimes
not.
I cannot see why or why not.

If the TRUE statement is performed in a seperate cell, and the IF is
done
in
another, I get "OK" when I should.

Is this a flaw in Excel 2003?