Excel Modeling Tips and Tricks (2021)
1h 57mIntermediate2021-05-25
Authors
Michael McDonald
Researcher and Professor of Finance at Fairfield University
Course details
Excel is the most widely used data analysis software on the market, but many people in business are not using it to its full potential. Excel can be a great tool for building financial and operational models, allowing users to understand what may happen in the future and how the business can position itself. In this course, learn how to build effective and useful financial models in Excel to forecast sales and costs, profits, operational KPIs, business assets and liabilities, and much more. Instructor Michael McDonald covers rules and best practices for financial modeling and then shows how to set up single-sheet and multi-sheet financial models and add inputs and assumptions, external data, projections, and more. Plus, learn how to determine the accuracy and strength of your models and keep them up to date as the data evolves. By the end of this course, you will have the tools and tricks you need to become a master of Excel modeling for businesses ranging from restaurants and manufacturing firms to banks and software companies.
Skills covered
Tips, Tricks, & TechniquesBusiness AnalyticsMicrosoft ExcelData ScienceMicrosoft
Concepts
Introduction
- Getting started with Excel modeling
Financial Modeling - Reviewing the Basics
- Objectives in financial modeling
- Rules and best practices
- Assessing a financial model
Single-Sheet Financial Models
- Doing a basic loan amortization model
- Thinking through the model structure
- The three parts of Excel models
- Adding toggles and inputs to a model
- Using if then analysis in models
- Making assumptions in financial models
- Steps in building the single-sheet model
Multi-Sheet Financial Models
- Setting up a multi-sheet financial model
- Linking sheets in financial models
- Steps in building the multi-sheet model
- Notating and comments in models
- Historical data in financial models
- External data in financial models
- Projections in financial models
Assessing Model Accuracy
- Determining model accuracy
- Stress testing models
- Using financial models
- Linking Excel results to PowerPoint
- Maintaining your models
Conclusion
- Continuing to build Excel models