In the latest article, co-authored by Craig Hatmaker and me, we delve into the game-changing potential of LAMBDA in Excel modeling. With LAMBDA, Dynamic Arrays (DA) become more accessible, transforming financial modeling with increased efficiency and scalability. Join me in exploring this paradigm shift in Excel, where we empower users to build faster, less error-prone, and more scalable models. Let's embark on this journey together and embrace the evolution of financial modeling with LAMBDA.

AI is now everywhere you turn!

The hype cycle on AI is insane, but this knowledge series will help you stay connected and on top of what this means in accounting and finance today.

In the series, we will aim to provide you, as an accounting and finance professional, with the right balance of insight to focus on the things that matter the most. Don’t panic, learn and improve.

#finance #accounting #ai #data #dataliteracy

Timing is everything and the launch of Microsoft Co-pilot, Season 5 Finale of the Financial Modelling Podcast and the release of this article could not have come at a better time...one could argue this it fate! 😁

Of all the articles in the financial modelling series, the topic of financial modelling standards seems to be the most controversial! 😱

So I opted for an AI co-author (ChatGPT) instead, who wasn’t afraid of getting grilled. 🤖

What is important is adopting something vs nothing. ☝

The latter is still largely the current state of model building in accounting and finance teams. 😥

Most people building models simply don’t follow any consistent best practices and propagate lots of errors! 😜

As a result, #Excel is to blame (not people avoiding best practices)! 😲

Here is a reality check!

Companies sell you software to take you out of #Excel to do what many of the standards advocate! 🤣

Follow some basic principles (like no hardcoding please!) and you will go very far and probably save millions of dollars on software that is rigid! Included in the article are a self-assessment and a few questions you can benchmark yourself against. 👊

Financial modelling still is one of the most highly sought-after skills in todays digital age with a complex business landscape.

Free links and lots more information in this article. 🤑

When you think of financial modelling generally your mind probably doesn’t go anywhere close to social issues like homelessness, chronic illness, crime, and recidivism. 🙈 🙉 🙊

You tend to think that modelling skills are generally only about corporate profits, project feasibilities, performance and cash flow. 🤑

As a result, you would be missing the wonderful opportunity that social impact investing and outcome-based programs can deliver. 😍

Thanks again to my co-authors Russ Wood and Alexander Artajaya, AFM for bringing their knowledge and experience to our latest article. 🙏

Financial models truly can change people’s lives. 🙌

#investing #socialimpact #people #financialmodelling #Excel

Thanks again to Khaled Chowdhury (my co-author) for the massive effort to get this latest article out in the series! 🙏
He also made some awesome gifs and videos to explain it, even more, simpler than I could. 🙌

We are certainly getting them out quickly! 😅

Tools are valueless without people who can leverage them.  😨

If you have yet to encounter Power BI, you should, as it has become a necessary tool and skill set for finance professionals. 😁

Don't get left behind and if you read this article we will make sure you don't! 👍

We have shared many links to other experts and ideas that will get you started and beyond! 🚀

Both Khaled and I will be speaking at the upcoming Global Power BI Summit, so be sure to register if you haven't yet in the link below. 👇

Out with the old, In with the new! ♻

It's finally out! 😁

Thanks, Benjamin Stoter, CA(SA) for collaborating on this latest article on automation in financial modelling. 🙏

This couldn't have come at a better time with all the hype around Chat GPT, AI and other similar related topics.

Some interesting things to consider in this article and also to look out for. 👀 "Bottom line, the person next to you who learns how to embrace and apply these tools is more of a threat to your job than the bot inside the machine.”

The Knowledge App has also been updated with this latest article. This year we aim to complete the remaining articles in the series. Link in the comments below 👇

The more I see polls on people’s views of what accounting and finance professionals need to focus on the more concerned I get. The gap between companies desperately wanting to hire talented accounting and finance professionals and those looking for a job grows ever wider. 

People learning to code yet not focusing on understanding the fundamental basics of accounting and business is a big concern. People build complex data models and advanced calculations but are not able to clearly communicate and visualize the outputs.

I wonder how long it’s going to take to correct this trend and hopefully, this article is a start.

Some CFOs see the opportunity to build a robust, rolling and integrated 3-way model with planning, budgeting, forecasting and variance to actuals as an exciting challenge.

Other CFOs find it frightening and avoid learning new ways to financial modelling.

Which one are you?

Not all DataDear replacements are created equally. Whilst one solution exits the market, others have joined (including us) and that's good for people looking for alternatives, but not all options are the same so be careful. Read this article to gain some useful factors to consider in your search for a replacement.

We have broken this down into 10 key factors you need to consider when transitioning to an alternative before the deadline comes at the end of October 2022.

Keep #Excel and leverage the cloud!

With so much change in finance and accounting, it's no wonder many feel anxious and have career uncertainty at the moment.

The next generation has already decided that accounting and finance are being disrupted so badly by automation they don’t even want a career as an accountant anymore at universities. Public practice firms are really struggling to find staff.

The new normal for Finance and Accounting

Finance and Accounting teams are expected to take a more strategic seat given the high rates of uncertainty in 2021 in relation to profits, cash flow and general business stability.

This is not about analytics but financial modelling.

Analytics is still valuable, but scenario modelling is slightly higher in demand currently. It's the answer to the analytics so what?

Background

This often comes up in debates and discussions around the world for budgeting, planning and forecasting activities.

Preceded by Excel is dead or something crazy like that!

The finance teams forecasting is often undervalued as a result.

Background

Last night we announced the arrival of Full Stack Modeller and the concept of being a Full Stack Modeller.

If you've never heard of the term then you have come to the right place to find out more.

My co-founders Kenny Whitelaw-Jones, Myles Arnott and Giles Male strongly believe that there is more to financial modelling than just Excel, Financial Modelling and Technology, even though the debate may show otherwise.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CO-AUTHOR

Lisa is a co-founder of a consulting firm that works with management teams to create confident decisions backed by data.  She uses financial modelling as a way to help her clients articulate their vision, bring colour through the numbers and break the strategy down into actionable steps.

Her company name, Effigy Consulting, is based around our belief that a financial model is a representation of the business:  The model is a safe space where you can test a business model and assumptions rather than destroying the actual business.

Typically in finance we have a particular type of cadence.

This cadence is largely consistent across different organisations no matter what the industry you support. We are likely to have some or all of these:

1. Monthly reporting,

2. Quarterly reporting and forecasting,

3. Half year reporting (if listed),

4. Annual statutory reporting and tax filing (we all have this one),

5. Annual budget process and

6. Longer range strategic planning for 3 to 5 years.

Now that's a pretty full dance card if you ask me.

So how do we keep up with all those requirements whilst making sure that we are not just hitting the deadlines but actually accelerating the value that we add to the business.

Read our latest blog for more insight without the big price tag attached.

Very few 😬 finance professionals have what it takes to build a good financial model, but if you use a few short steps you can find 👀 those diamonds👷 in the rough.

It's like changing someones title to Finance Business Partner and expect them 😁 to suddenly add value and build good models.

It doesn't work 👎that way, never will!

Without the right training and hiring you will just be running on the same tredmill 😵 with the same people with the same skills gap😱.

Being an advanced excel user📈(not that anyone can succintly explain exactly what that means) helps, but its certainly not the only criteria.☝

Forecasting does not guarantee you will be great at financial modelling. 😱

Just because you can drive a car doesn't mean you can be a Formula 1 race car driver. 🚗

Playing T20 cricket doesn't guarantee you will be a great test cricketer. 😁

The same goes for forecasting and financial modelling. 📊 📈 📉

#FinancialModelling #Finance #FutureofFinance

Is all this tech talk and Finance Transformation getting a bit much? 😵

Where do you start and stop? 🚦

There is so much on offer from RPA to Analytics to Modelling. 📈

Read my co-authored 🙌 article with Anders to learn more and demystify all the jargon and pick some practical solutions you can try. 👍

#finance #futureoffinance #analytics #Excel #cloud #digitization #FinancialModelling

I often get direct messages on LinkedIn from people asking me for either a job, career advice or helping them understand financial modelling and how do they apply for jobs in Australia, thinking Australia is immune to accountants losing jobs or unable to get them.

I wrote this blog to help the many that are lost in this fast evolving work force.

3 years ago I stepped out of the corporate world and became, what I didn't realise at the time, a virtual CFO for Banjo (Fintech lender).

I don't really like the word VCFO but it's what we have for now so let's just roll with it. Probably a blog on its own.

This post is some more tips and tricks I learnt along the way and especially clearly proving the Power of One = Power of None.

I hope you can learn from my mistakes.