I think I big mistake people make here is that they think they are far better at everything on a computer than a non-programmer. They don't realize how much you can do in Excel and how much they suck at it. If you can't use it without a mouse and/or if you don't know pivot tables, you are just as much of a beginner as a C++ programmer who doesn't know what a pointer is.

It's only after trying to convert an excel sheet to [insert your favorite language] that they realize it would take them 6 month with a team of 5 to replicate what a single accountant did in a week.