Q&A

What sort of training do you offer and what skill levels do you cover?
We focus on specific applications of spreadsheets to financial problems and can tailor courses to suit your business. This ensures that the content is relevant to attendees roles and that the theory will actually be put into practice. We can cater to most skill levels although some existing familiarity with Excel is definitely a plus.

How important are Macros & VBA (Visual Basic)?
“Writing macros” is sometimes considered the ultimate proof of expertise but the importance of user programming in most financial modelling tasks is overstated. With a few lines of Visual Basic code you can indeed create customised formulae or create automation macros to speed up repetitive user actions. However Excel already has over 300 built-in functions and a well-structured model (or process) can minimise manual intervention. The ability to edit macro code is certainly useful to the individual, but be suspicious of any model or process that relies on “macros” to function - maintenance of this extra code requires time and above-average skill and perhaps Excel is not being used the way it was intended.

When are spreadsheets not the right tool for the job?
Spreadsheets are very effective when used to either analyse data, model forecasts or other business proposals. This could involve some manipulation of data from sales order or customer management systems to determine KPIs & trends. However sometimes Excel is used as an alternative to Reporting or Management Information Systems, and as a glorified database Excel’s limitations are soon exposed as the computer slows to a crawl. Sometimes the spreadsheet just isn’t the right tool for the job!

What makes a model “good”?
A good model is laid out clearly (separate inputs, calculations and outputs), has easy to follow formulae (which aid error-checking), and fully delivers against stakeholder requirements.
However, to achieve this, a good finance modeller has to spend ample time planning the design, and judging the appropriate balance between simplicity and flexibility as extra requirements are often added later. This could be the difference between just updating a model and fundamentally rebuilding it.