[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 141022] New: Calc Financial Functions Should Not Require Negative Values

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=141022

            Bug ID: 141022
           Summary: Calc Financial Functions Should Not Require Negative
                    Values
           Product: LibreOffice
           Version: 7.0.4.2 release
          Hardware: All
                OS: All
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: minor
          Priority: medium
         Component: Calc
          Assignee: libreoffice-bugs at lists.freedesktop.org
          Reporter: fr314159 at gmail.com

The Calc financial functions that I use require certain parameters to be
entered as negative numbers.  This tends to be very confusing because financial
values such as payments, interest, periods, etc. are normally considered to be
positive values and such confusion can lead to significant error.

An example is now given.

The exact data for a loan is as follows:

Annual Rate -- 0.0329
Period Rate -- 0.0329/12 = 0.0027417
No. of Periods -- 72
Present Value -- 58238.17
Payment -- 892.43

In order to obtain these values using Calc functions, certain parameters have
to be entered as the negative:

=NPER(0.0027417,-892.43,58238.17) -- payment must be negative

=PMT(0.0027417,72,-58238.17) -- present value must be negative

=PV(0.0027417,72,-892.43) -- payment must be negative

=RATE(72,-892.43,58238.17) -- payment must be negative

Unless the indicated parameters are entered as the negative value significant
error will occur.

The underlying formulas to these Calc functions can be easily adjusted to use
positive values only.  Doing so would lead to less confusion and less potential
error.

I have not examined the many other financial functions but they may also have
the same problem.

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