Financial Modelling in Excel

Programme description & objectives

When looking at any financial opportunity, the ability to perform accurate and realistic analysis is imperative. In today’s ever-changing business environment, the capability to just manipulate spreadsheets is not enough. You have to be able to incorporate all the “what if” scenarios and stress test any proposal to its limits. A working financial model can facilitate and improve the reliability and quality of your decision-making. Essentially, modeling techniques are used in many different areas, such as investment appraisal, capital planning, budgeting, valuation, financial analysis, and forecasting. Banks and businesses worldwide rely on the information produced by financial models – for many it is the key to success. The course begins by concentrating on the advanced use of Excel. These skills will be applied to the construction of financial, valuation and investment models. Delegates will then learn how to incorporate forecasting, optimization, risk assessment, and sensitivity scenarios into these models. The course is taught using a step-by-step approach so delegates will be able to construct financial models for a wide range of practical scenarios. Emphasis is placed on delegates gaining practical, hands-on experience of the design and construction of financial models in Excel. Comprehensive product notes and modeling software are provided for future reference. At the end of the program, it is expected that delegates would: - Understand the different types of financial models and their application - Construct models that are robust and scalable - Incorporate elements such as risk, sensitivity, optimization, and forecasting into models - Produce management reports, summaries and meaningful charts

Venues, Dates & Cost

Venues	Dublin	London	Dubai	Edmonton (CAN)	Lagos/Abuja
Dates	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Cost	$3,900 per participant (USD)				(=N=)

For Whom

Financial Controllers and Managers
Financial and Business Analysts
Risk Managers, Accountants, & Corporate Treasury Managers

Overview of Modelling Techniques

Introduction to modelling
- Outline of financial modeling
- Examples of Excel financial models
- Useful Excel features and techniques
- Exercise: Analyzing examples of modeling techniques

Spreadsheet Best Practice

Model design and structure
- Key steps in model design
- Financial analysis basics – financial statements
- Cash flow and ratios
- Case outline – introduction
- Exercise: Defining a model plan for a financial analysis model – Model design
- Exercise: Techniques for modeling financial statements

Auditing and Testing

Model checking
- Examples of spreadsheet errors
- Essential testing and auditing techniques
- Example: testing financial analysis model with cash flows and ratios
- Exercise: debugging and checking a financial model

Practical – Project Model 1

Hands-on exercise
- Practical project model exercise

Forecasting and Risk

Forecasting and time series
- Review of forecasting methods
- Understanding financial ‘drivers’ for analysis, valuation and project models
- Exercise: deriving forecast free cash flow and ratios
- Linear methods
- Smoothing and seasonality
- Exercise: producing a forecast with time series analysis

Macros and Security

VBA and security
- Visual Basic in Excel
- Writing and auditing macros
- Spreadsheet security
- Exercise: Writing and auditing macros

Risk Techniques

Valuation and risk
- Valuation model and cost of capital fundamentals
- Exercise: calculating the cost of capital
- Risk and multiple answers
- Scenario techniques
- Advanced financial functions
- Exercise: Producing a valuation and testing the results

Practical – Project Model 2

Hands-on exercise
- Review of initial answers and identification of potential risks
- Adding risk techniques to the project model in module 4

Optimization and Reporting

Optimization and targeting
- Overview of optimization and targeting
- Goal Seek and Solver methods
- Example: targeting using the composite valuation model

Practical – Project Model 3

Hands-on exercise
- Extend the project model to answer management questions and target specific results
- Completing and auditing the project model

Module 11 – Management Reporting

Management reporting techniques
- Requirement to consolidate and summarize data
- Exercise: consolidating data from different sources
- Excel report manager
- Exercise: pivot tables
- Techniques for summarizing data
- Exercise: producing a management analysis

Practical – Management Reporting and Forecasting

Final project
- Analysis of company financial data
- Exercise: Extend the valuation model to produce a meaningful management summary report with charts
- Course summary and close