A to Z of Excel Functions: The ISO.CEILING Function

Welcome back to our regular A to Z of Excel Functions blog. Today we look at the ISO.CEILING function.

The ISO.CEILING function

This function returns a number that is rounded up to the nearest integer or to the nearest multiple of significance. Regardless of the sign of the number, the number is rounded up. However, if the number or the significance is zero (0), zero is returned.

The ISO.CEILING function employs the following syntax to operate:

The ISO.CEILING function has the following arguments:

• number: this is required and represents the value you wish to round
• significance: this argument is optional. This is the multiple used for rounding.

It should be further noted that:

• if either argument is nonnumeric, ISO.CEILING returns the #VALUE! error value
• this function should not be confused with CEILING, which may round up or down, depending upon the arguments used
• this function is not recognised by Excel’s AutoComplete. Do not be alarmed if it is not offered as a suggested function; it is still a current and valid function in Excel
• if significance is omitted, its default value is one (1)
• the absolute value of the multiple is used, so that the ISO.CEILING function returns the mathematical ceiling irrespective of the signs of number and significance
• some modellers believe CEILING.MATH replaced ISO.CEILING after initial beta testing, but this is not the case. These two functions are similar, but different.

Please see my example below:

We’ll continue our A to Z of Excel Functions soon. Keep checking back – there’s a new blog post every other business day.

A full page of the function articles can be found here