Complete guide to financial modelling
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I attended one of Jonathan's courses recently and commented at the time that it was rather like the spreadsheet equivalent of going from an ordinary car to driving an F1 car!
I have now read through his book and I can only say that this is a superb publication. It sets out how to do advanced spreadsheet modelling far better than anything else I have come across. Also I was very pleased to find in certain models I had tried to follow what I had been taught, and found that in almost every case my approach proved to be very similar to the suggested solution in the book.
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Practical Financial Modelling
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A financial may be described as a tabulation of numbers and the mathematical relationship between those numbers. The spreadsheet model operator enters numbers as data and the spreadsheet should do all the calculations needed to produce the required statements. Nowadays, spreadsheet modelling is a basic practical tool of management accounting.
This guide consists of 163 pages of text along with a CD containing Excel-based demonstration material. It offers detailed advice on preparing financial models using Excel spreadsheets, which is likely to be of use to both practitioners and students of practical financial modelling.
Swan, a professional instructor in the use and application of spreadsheets, goes through every aspect of the modelling process, from the design of the model structure all the way through to sensitivity analysis and automation. He covers a wide range of practical considerations, from the basics of the Bodmas assumption in Excel formulas to audit trails and system documentation. Although there are many guides to Excel on the market, this one is distinguished by its emphasis on how to use the program for management accounting.
It's always possible to pick holes in any product. In this case I would note that some of the spreadsheet extracts included in the text are so smudgy as to be unreadable. I would also have liked more material on using Excel's Chart Wizard function to prepare graphics.
The accompanying CD contains approximately 50 small spreadsheets offering clear, practical illustrations of points covered in the text. These spreadsheets can be opened in the oldest versions of Excel that are still in common use. Even the most experienced modeller will learn something from this resource.
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