You receive different results from the ACCRINT function in Excel 97 and in Excel 2000

In Microsoft Excel 2000, the ACCRINT function returns a different result than in Microsoft Excel 97.

In Excel 97, ACCRINT returns the accrued interest from the first_interest date to the settlement date.

In Excel 2000, however, this behavior changed so that ACCRINT returns the total accrued interest for all periods. This is the same result as setting the first_interest date to a date that is equal to or less than the first period in Excel 97.

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. After the hotfix is installed, the English version of this fix will have the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table:

To work around this problem, see the following sample code example. The sample code example processes the value of the Excel 97 calculation by subtracting the accrued interest up to the last payment from the total accrued interest of the security.

Before you implement the sample code, make sure that the Analysis Toolpak is installed. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Add-Ins.
2. Click to select the Analysis ToolPak check box.
   
   Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs.
   If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Partner or Microsoft Advisory Services. For more information, visit these Microsoft Web sites:
   
   Microsoft Certified Partners - https://partner.microsoft.com/global/30000104
   
   Microsoft Advisory Services - http://support.microsoft.com/gp/advisoryservice
   
   For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS
   
   Sample code:
   
   

   =ACCRINT("11/6/1995", "11/6/1999", "08/31/1999", 0.06125, 646784.23, 1, 4) - ACCRINT("11/6/1995","11/6/1999", "11/6/1998", 0.06125, 646784.23, 1, 4)
   					

   Note The second ACCRINT formula represents the accrued interest from the beginning payment (issue date) until the last payment, which is 11/6/1998 because this security has a frequency of 1. If the frequency is 2, the settlement date is the previous 6-month interval date (5/6/1999), and if the frequency is 4, it is the previous 3-month interval (8/6/1999). If your settlement date for the second ACCRINT is later than your settlement date for the first ACCRINT, you see zero or a negative number.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article.