Financial Modeling Simon Benninga Excel Files Download

[Channing Arther]

Doyou guys know of a reputed financial modelling course or certification exam ? I am a CFA level 2 candidate , who wants to end up in a top 10 school for business , so i can eventually end up working in private equity.

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To achieve company-wide acceptance for strategic planning process is difficult enough. This task gets even harder if you force everybody involved to get familiar with another new software tool. The well-known Excel might ease the pain a little bit.

I once attended a presentation event from a specialized service provider for banks. They presented us a case study on how they set up a software solution for the complete financial planning process for a particular bank. It was tailored to their specific needs, allowed collaboration and process monitoring, had data interfaces and anything you could dream of.

At that time, I too worked with a financial planning tool for an entire bank that was solely based on Excel and Access. Over the years, we had developed our own system to handle the 30+ linked files. We were able to deliver reliable, replicable and explainable results and were well accepted with our tool.

In another company, I worked in the strategic planning department. We were given the task to develop a company-wide strategic planning process from scratch. I guess I do not have to explain how challenging this was. In year 1, we started with Excel and PowerPoint only. The handling of the many files alone was a pain in the neck. However, we were developing the whole process and system in real time; there was no trial run. Excel gave us the flexibility to make adjustments as needed.

I have no doubt that these tools are well thought through and are based on best-in-class strategic thinking. However, they inevitably are designed to fit as many businesses as possible. They cannot offer anything but standard approaches.

None of these tools was developed for your individual business in your individual market. But that is what strategy is about: Look at what makes you unique, find a unique angle in the overall business and build your unique strategy on that.

I have seen poor financial models, good models and excellent financial models based on Excel. What distinguishes the excellent ones from the good is the strict application of financial modelling best practices.

Excel spreadsheets are not the perfect solution as a support tool for strategic planning. They are, however, not as bad as it seems. Excel can be a good starting point, especially when you are developing and testing your process.

All these alternatives have their pros and cons. There is not ultimate right or wrong solution. It is part of the design phase of your strategic planning process to determine which one works best for you.

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