Financial Modelling Training Course

Participants can construct readable, copyable and controlled Excel formulas for financial models.

• Excel Tables, named ranges and structured references used for controlled inputs
• Relative, absolute and mixed references selected for copyable formula patterns
• INDEX-MATCH and XLOOKUP retrieve assumptions from controlled lookup tables
• SUMIFS, COUNTIFS and conditional logic aggregate operating data reliably
• Formula consistency checked with Go To Special and trace tools
• Keyboard shortcuts, number formats and custom formats improve model readability
• Circularity settings managed without concealing debt or interest calculation errors

Participants can translate commercial and operational assumptions into transparent revenue forecasts.

• Revenue drivers translated into volume, price, mix and timing schedules
• Unit economics calculated from customer cohorts, utilisation and conversion assumptions
• Seasonality and ramp-up curves model monthly revenue recognition patterns
• Operational KPIs linked to revenue schedules through transparent driver formulas
• Assumption cases documented using base, upside and downside parameter sets
• Historical actuals analysed to calibrate forecast growth and retention inputs
• Management estimates challenged through internal consistency and market evidence tests

Participants can build supporting schedules for costs, working capital, capital expenditure and tax.

• Cost of sales forecast using volume drivers, unit rates and inflation
• Fixed, variable and semi-variable costs separated using cost-behaviour analysis
• Headcount schedules calculate hires, attrition, salaries, bonuses and payroll taxes
• Working capital projected from DSO, DPO, inventory days and revenue
• Capital expenditure schedules distinguish maintenance, expansion and asset disposal assumptions
• Depreciation calculated using asset registers, useful lives and depreciation methods
• Tax schedules incorporate taxable profit, losses carried forward and tax rates

Participants can link supporting schedules into reconciled income statement, balance sheet and cash flow forecasts.

• Income statement assembled from revenue, cost, depreciation, interest and tax
• Balance sheet linked through retained earnings, working capital and fixed assets
• Cash flow statement reconciled using IAS 7 operating, investing and financing categories
• Three-statement integration tested through balance checks and cash reconciliation
• Opening balances, historical periods and forecast periods aligned across statements
• Non-cash items adjusted to reconcile profit, cash flow and equity movements
• Accounting sign conventions applied consistently to prevent inverted statement outputs

Participants can prepare short-term liquidity forecasts and model debt funding requirements.

• 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
• Receipts timing modelled from invoice dates, credit terms and collection curves
• Debt schedules calculate drawdowns, amortisation, interest, fees and covenant ratios
• Interest circularity resolved using average balances, switches or iterative calculation
• Minimum cash requirements tested against liquidity facilities and funding triggers
• Dividend, lease and tax payments incorporated into weekly and monthly cash profiles
• IFRS 16 lease liabilities and right-of-use assets reflected in projections

Participants can estimate enterprise and equity value using DCF and market-based methods.

• Enterprise value estimated using discounted cash flow and terminal value methods
• Free cash flow derived from NOPAT, capital expenditure and working capital
• Weighted average cost of capital calculated from market, debt and tax inputs
• Terminal value cross-checked using perpetuity growth and exit multiple approaches
• Trading comparables selected using business model, growth, margin and geography criteria
• Enterprise-to-equity bridge adjusts for debt, cash, minorities and other claims
• Valuation outputs interpreted alongside assumptions, risks and forecast quality

Participants can quantify how changing assumptions affects cash, value, returns and funding needs.

• Scenario manager design separates operational cases from financing and valuation assumptions
• One-way and two-way data tables quantify key value-driver sensitivities
• Downside cases stress volume, pricing, collections, costs and refinancing assumptions
• Break-even analysis identifies sales levels required to cover fixed cash costs
• Goal Seek solves target returns, covenant headroom and funding requirements
• Monte Carlo simulation concepts distinguish probabilistic ranges from deterministic scenarios
• Decision ranges communicated using tornado charts, bridge charts and scenario summaries

Participants can review financial models for logical, technical and data-control weaknesses.

• Error checks flag balance-sheet breaks, impossible margins and missing inputs
• Formula audit reviews hardcodes, inconsistent ranges and overwritten calculation cells
• Model review checklist tests logic, integrity, presentation and documentation
• Independent review traces critical outputs back to source assumptions and formulas
• Data provenance recorded through source notes, extraction dates and ownership fields
• Change logs capture amendments, approvals, model versions and review comments
• Protection settings control input access while preserving reviewer transparency

Participants can present model conclusions clearly and establish practical ownership for future updates.

• Executive outputs structured around decisions, drivers, risks and recommended actions
• Dashboard design presents KPIs, cash headroom, valuation and scenario comparisons
• Waterfall charts explain profit, cash or valuation movements between periods
• Model handover packs include instructions, assumptions, checks and update responsibilities
• Stakeholder challenge handled through evidence-based explanations of drivers and limitations
• Application plan prioritises model improvements, data owners and review milestones
• Personal application priorities documented with actions, owners and target dates

You should understand the basic purpose and layout of the three primary financial statements and be comfortable with everyday Excel formulas. You do not need VBA, advanced Excel programming, prior valuation work or an accounting qualification.

Bring a laptop with a recent desktop version of Microsoft Excel and access to a charger. You may also bring a non-confidential example of a forecast, budget or business case that you would like to improve after the course.

The course is designed for financial analysts, FP&A professionals, finance managers, investment analysts, corporate development staff and commercial finance partners. It is also suitable for managers who review models and need to challenge assumptions and outputs.

Accounting courses focus on recording and reporting financial transactions, while this course focuses on forecasting and decision models. Budgeting courses concentrate on planning cycles, and general Excel courses teach wider software functions; this course applies Excel specifically to integrated financial modelling.

Participants can use the templates and methods for annual budgets, rolling forecasts, cash planning, capital-investment cases, refinancing analysis and valuation work. The model review checklist can also be used to assess spreadsheets produced by colleagues or advisers.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is split between instructor input, Excel model construction, case analysis, group discussion, scenario simulations and application planning.