I want to count the number of cells in a range that are greater than a
particular number, which I have programmed excel to calculate and display in
a fixed cell.

Unfortunately, when I use that cell's reference in a countif (or countifs)
condition statement, the countif function ignores the cell value. If I
substitute the cell reference by the fixed numerical value in the countif
condition, the countif function calculates the desired value correctly.

Any suggestions about how to use a cell reference rather than a fixed
numerical value in the countif condition syntax?