Artificial Intelligence is here, and financial modellers are under increasing pressure from Boards, banks and management to understand where AI can be applied and how it can deliver real business value. Hear from financial modeller Jeff Robson as he cuts through the hype and focuses on the practical implications of (more…)
Finance professionals are often tasked with processing large, complex datasets and extracting meaningful insights under tight deadlines. Traditional methods of data analysis can be slow and resource-intensive, hindering decision-making and operational efficiency. This session dives deep into best practices for prompt engineering, selecting the right large language model for specific use cases, and understanding retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) techniques. Wendy demonstrates live (more…)
Competitive Excel as an Esport is gaining popularity for its display of incredible skills of contestants who can manipulate data and perform complex calculations at lightning speed. The recent Microsoft Excel World Championship finals in Las Vegas were a thrilling showcase of talent and technical prowess. Top competitor Lianna Gerrish joined us in person during her trip to Sydney to discuss the competitor experience and take us (more…)
Learn how to compile a budget vs actuals report that will be both insightful and visually appealing. The Budget vs Actuals report is one of the most valuable reports you can produce as it helps you bridge the gap between expectations with actual outcomes. Join us to hear from Fractional CFO, Josh Aharonoff as we learn how to (more…)
This session explores how to transform an Excel-based credit rating model for local government authorities into an interactive and scalable report using Power BI and Microsoft Fabric. Participants learn techniques to modernise complex financial models and leverage the advanced capabilities of Power BI for (more…)
One of the most controversial topics amongst financial modellers is the use of circularity to build the financial statements in a model. Watch to hear from financial modelling specialist Carolina Lago as we dive into this often-debated topic. You’ll learn why many modellers avoid circularity at all costs—and why (more…)
Are you using the latest features of Modern Excel to their full advantage? Save time and speed up month end processes by streamlining the process and automating workflows. Watch for the latest in our virtual meetup series for financial modellers and hear from South African Financial Modeling World Cup Founder, Renier Wessels. Together, we’ll explore how to best leverage some of the latest features of Excel to harness the full potential of Power Query and Dynamic (more…)
It’s better to be roughly right than exactly wrong
A financial model which forecasts into the future, by definition, contains a certain degree of uncertainty. We feed our best estimates based on the most accurate information we have at the time, into the assumptions of the model which in turn feeds our predictive forecasts. To then use those forecasts to made ridiculous statements about the future direction of the company with utter confidence and absolute precision is completely preposterous! Yet we see this happen all the time.
The output of a model is only as good as its inputs (garbage in and garbage out) and it’s reckless to use the outputs of the model without qualifying the inputs used to come up with those numbers. In the example below, it would make a lot (more…)
Most financial models contain a valuation section for investors, which usually includes a DCF calculation. But is this method sufficient for professional valuation practitioners when they value an investment? What do investors look at when they use a financial model to assess the value of an asset? Watch this live hybrid session streamed live from the CPA offices in Sydney to hear from senior financial modeller and valuation practitioner, Ruby Liu, who will help you to understand (more…)
For decades PivotTables have been the ‘go-to’ tool in Excel for analysing data. The popularity of the humble PivotTable lies in its flexibility, ease of use and ability to make sense of large amounts of data quickly. However, there are two ‘New Kids On the Block’; the GROUPBY and PIVOTBY functions. All the power of PivotTables wrapped up in a formula! So, is this really the end of PivotTables In Excel? (more…)
