Blog

Using F11 quick charts

Most financial modellers create graphs to visualise data or to check trends. While building finance models, a good modeller will keep asking themselves whether their results are looking sensible. A good financial modeller will regularly chart line items and analyse the resulting trends - even while...

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F1F9: a local presence in Dubai, GCC and beyond

We are pleased to confirm our presence in the Gulf with a team based in Dubai. Our full range of services will be available across the region: training, model build, and model review / risk management. The Dubai office will be led by Omar Shaker who has recently joined our senior team.

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Monitor parts of your Excel workbook without leaving your current view

How do I know what is going on in my kitchen when I am upstairs in my bedroom? If that's a question that is a concern to you, then you might have considered some sort of surveillance device. A web cam, perhaps. Such a device exists in Excel – designed to answer the question: "how do I know...

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Use Excel – and be confident that you are using it well

It’s always interesting to pass the time with a fellow traveller on a long-haul flight. In this instance, I was on a regular trip to New Delhi to visit F1F9’s head office. My neighbour was the head of internal audit for a FTSE 100 company. We talked about Excel, of course, and how a business...

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Additional keyboard shortcuts to increase your productivity

We are launching a new version of F1F9’s keyboard shortcuts. You will find them available to download in an Excel workbook just below.The shortcuts are stored as macros in the workbook. On opening the workbook, you may need to click on “Enable Content” or “Enable Macros” to make sure things run properly.

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Standardised Modelling – Behavioural change is always hard

“If you want to make enemies, try to change something” Woodrow Wilson Despite what we modelling geeks might like to think, people are both rational and emotional. Which makes standardised modelling practices difficult to implement. Our ebook 'How to Standardise Modelling' helps modellers...

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How to Model Balances in Excel

There are two basic types of line item in financial models – flows and balances. Balances are amounts at a point in time. Balances can be financial or non financial. Every balance has similar properties. This blog explains what those properties are, and gives a standard model component that...

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Amnesia – 10 Signs Spreadsheets are Killing your Finance Function

The following text is taken from our ebook - 10 signs spreadsheets are killing your finance function: #4 Amnesia SYMPTOMS: Last minute panic buying of birthday presents. Missed gym appointments. You hear ‘aren’t you meant to be somewhere else?’ more often than you’d like. Family...

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Managing Modelling: Embrace an open and honest culture

Errors will happen. It is an unfortunate fact of life, whenever humans are involved with complex data manipulation and modelling, errors occur. A financial modelling manager needs to create an environment where any member of the modelling team can feel comfortable notifying them as soon as an...

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Business Analysis Lifecycle ebook: Conceptual Modelling

We have taught analysts from hundreds of companies to build financial models. Financial modelling proficiency requires skills that take time to acquire, develop and perfect. Sometimes the difficulties students have are related to how to build their model. More often, difficulties relate to what...

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Financial modelling: start with the end in mind

"The habit of beginning a process of construction with a clear understanding of the end product can be highly beneficial when building financial models"

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New ebook on collaborative financial modelling

The article below is taken from our new ebook: Managing Modelling - How to run an effective modelling team, it's available for you to download free of charge and with no form-filling. Financial modelling should be a collaborative team-based activity, not an individual activity. Building team...

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Building financial models using Agile – a quick introduction

Modelling is an inherently difficult and complex task. At F1F9 we build financial models using an Agile approach - here's why: Most guidance on managing the model build process recommends a traditional life-cycle approach of Specify, Design, Develop, Test, Deploy. When applied to most...