FP&A RESOURCE

GUIDE

Contributing Authors

Khaled Chowdhury Lance Rubin

 Guide Overview

The purpose of this guide is to provide resources to the

average FP&A Professional. The Guide Contains sections
on

Plan Buddies - Professional Community

FP&A
Excel
Financial Modeling
Power BI
FP&A Data Science & AI
Podcasts
FP&A Today Podcast

Note: The guide does contain some affiliate commission

link and I will earn a small amount if you register for
certain courses within the guide.
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Section 1 - FP&A

FP&A Section
 THE MODERN
FINANCE
PLAYBOOK
NEWSLETTER
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 What Is FP&A?
FP&A is a set of activities that support a company in
accomplishing strategic objectives and managing an
organization's financial health:

Planning and budgeting

Forecasting

Integrated financial planning

Management and performance reporting

Financial modeling

Scenario modeling

Analytical activities

Business partnering
Common FP&A Roles
Architect - Bridge between IT and finance. Have
a helicopter view of how everything fits together.

Data Scientist - Leverages advanced analytical

tools to generate hidden drivers and predictions.

Analyst - Works with architect. Analyzes data and

creates reports.

Storyteller - Presents results in contex that it's

easier for business leaders to make decisions.

Influencer - Works with senior executives to

guide the direction the company needs to take.

Connector - Connects and links things together.

Interpreter - Individual who sits between the

business and the analyst to provide materials for
the storyteller - to different audiences and
levels.
From: FP&A Trends 2021
FP&A Roles Continue to Evolve

Courtesy of Born Capital

Skills Required for FP&A Roles
Strategic Thinking - Ability to understand company
strategy and tie it to the financials. Able to use strategic
frameworks in analysis.

Critical Thinking - Able to objectively analyze and

evaluate different situations and form smart business
judgments.

Communication - Able to communicate complex

financial concepts in simple business terms.

Storytelling - Able to take complex financial

presentations and convert them to a business story.

Influencing - Can influence the business to make smart

decisions without having formal authority.

Data Analytics - Able to work with large data sets and

generate value added insights.

Ability to Anticipate - Able to anticipate business

needs and convert them to financial plans.
 Skills Required for FP&A Roles
Financial Modeling - Can take assumptions and convert
them to a financial model that aids the business in making
business decisions

Excel - Strong knowledge of Excel, including using it to build

models, analyze data, and automate and streamline
processes

Accounting - Working knowledge of accounting to include

debits, credits, accruals, the timing of revenue, and expenses.

Report Building - Can build business reports, graphs, charts,

and dashboards.

Problem Solving - Able to analyze a problem and provide

potential solutions to help solve the problem.

Collaboration - Able to work well with people from across the

company on various projects.

Planning - Able to build financial plans and forecasts for

revenue, opex., and capital planning.
Tips for Budgeting & Forecasting

Understand your company's business Strategy

Understand the Key drivers of your business

Focus on the 80 items

Build a flexible Driver-based model

Involve Key stakeholders

Understand one-time vs. ongoing expenses

Use Scenario modeling

Provide a Range to your estimates

Budgeting & Forecasting Methods
Common methods for budgeting & forecasting:
Zero-Based Budgeting - All budgets start with
zero and must be rejustified annually.

Incremental Budgeting - Prior year actuals plus

some incremental amount for growth.

Activity-Based Budgeting - This is top-down

budgeting in which you determine the key
activities and inputs necessary to support a
certain target.

Driver-Based Budgeting - The budget is focused

on the key drivers that have the biggest impact
on the budget. Focus on understanding key
business drivers required to achieve objectives.

Value Proposition Budgeting - Review each line

item to determine the value it provides to the key
internal and external stakeholders and calculates
expenses based on the value they create.
Headcount Planning Methods

Run Rate - Use the prior period compensation

costs and assign a growth factor to build the
plan.

Name-Based Planning - Build a headcount

plan using names for each position with actual
salaries and then placeholders for new roles.

Role-Based Planning - Build plan based on

number of heads in each role using an average
salary for each role in the plan.

Capacity-Based Planning - Build plan using

capacity metrics to estimate the amount of
labor needed and the cost per unit of labor
(Example: Call Center)
 Compensation Costs
Compensation Cost
Base Salary - This is the base rate paid to an employee. Usually, either an
hourly rate or an annual salary.

Taxes - All government taxes (unemployment, healthcare, retirement, etc.).

Bonus - Usually a % of salary for all eligible employees.

Incentives - Special employee incentive programs. For example,

operations might pay a quarterly incentive based on certain performance
targets.

Commissions - This generally consists of sales commissions paid based on

the sales plan. Usually, a certain percentage of sales.

Hiring Costs - The cost to hire an employee, including recruiting costs,

relocation, and hiring bonuses.

Benefits - These are benefits above and beyond base salary, such as
insurance premiums, travel, education reimbursements, etc.

Merit/Cost of Living - Usually, a percentage of base salary is assigned to

all employees for an annual cost of living increase.

Overtime - Estimate for the amount of overtime that hourly employees

will work during the year.
Headcount Planning Tools
 Managing Expenses
Ways to Reduce Expenses:
Eliminate unused Software licenses.
Get rid of duplicate software.
Outsource non-core functions.
Offshore established processes.
Leverage buying power to reduce third-party spending.
Limit Overtime.
Stop servicing unprofitable customers.
Require capacity modeling support for backfill hires.
Shut down unprofitable products.
Stop all non-essential T&E.
 R&O Forecasting
R&O Forecasting - A high-level forecasting method focused
on identifying risks and opportunities vs. doing a full re-
forecast of the entire P&L:
Risks - In business terms, risk refers to unknown
factors that impact performance. These are the
"bad guys" that were not included in the annual
budgeting process.

Opportunities - These are the "Good Guys" that

were unknown or not included as part of the
annual budgeting process

Pros
Easy to implement.
Less time intensive.
Cons
Not as detailed.
Many small items, when added together,
can be material and get missed as the focus
is on material items.
 Revenue R&O Example

Sample Commentary for R&O Forecast:

Higher sales due to closing 2 deals earlier than anticipated.

Price increase at 3% for 40% of customer base starting in

July.

Churn rate higher than planned and expected to continue.

Sales productivity improvement due to new training

program.

A product outage occurred on January 6th for 6 hours due to

server failure resulting in $40K loss.

Decline in install revenue due to change in product mix.

 EBITDA R&O Example

Sample Commentary for R&O Forecast:

See revenue commentary for key revenue drivers.

COGS adjustment is based on a percentage of revenue

impact.

Wage increases due to inflation being higher than expected.

Delayed customer support hires to preserve EBITDA.

Software lisc. renewal cost higher than forecasted.

Canceled marketing event due to COVID-19.

Assessing Your FP&A Function
Benefits of an FP&A Org. Assessment
Provides an understanding of the current state.

Aids in the creation of the ideal future state.

Provides data needed for tracking improvement.

Shows employee’s commitment to assessing and

improving the org.

Helps validate work done by the organization.

Helps diagnose problems and propose interventions.

Serves as a communication tool within the

department and with stakeholders.

Helps builds the organization’s capabilities.

What to Review
 FP&A Assessment Resources
FP&A Maturity Assessment Model — FPANDA CLUB –
Developed by Anna Oblakova

FP&A Maturity Model – Link to a webinar sponsored by

Board and presented by FP&A Trends on the FP&A
Maturity Model: Best-In-Class FP&A and How to Get
there. Link: FP&A Maturity Model Webinar

Podcast on moving up the Maturity curve by David Upton

Link: PodChats for FutureCFO: Moving up the FP&A
maturity curve - FutureCFO

The FP&A Maturity Model is a guide presented by the

Association for Finance Professionals Link: The FP&A
Maturity Model (futurecfo.net)

Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance

Management book by Jack Alexander, Chapter 5 provides
various FP&A Assessment tools
 Assessment Example
Conduct FP&A Skills Inventory Analysis:

Rate team on various financial capabilities.

Rate individual employees on various financial capabilities.

Develop a plan to improve individual and overall team skills.

Reevaluate periodically to track progress and adjust goals.

 Sample Stakeholder Survey
Open Ended Questions:

What would you like your FP&A team to start doing?

What would you like your FP&A team to stop doing?

Do you use the reports provided by your FP&A Team?

 Financial Ratio Analysis
Ratio Analysis – Financial ratios are a way to analyze
a business and to easily compare and benchmark
them against other companies in an industry.

Some common types of financial ratios include:

Profitability Ratios

Liquidity Ratios

Efficiency Ratios

Coverage Ratios

Market Value Ratios

 Profitability Ratios
Common Profitability Ratios:

Gross Profit Margin = (Net Revenue - COGS)/Net

Revenue

Operating Margin = (Net Revenue - Operating

Expenses)/Net Revenue

Net Profit Margin = (Revenue - All Expenses)/Revenue

Return on Assets = Net Income/Assets

Return on Equity = Net Income/Equity

Return on Sales = Operating Profit/Net Sales

Return on Investment = (Return on Investment/Cost of

Investment) *100%
 Liquidity Ratios
Common Liquidity Ratios:

Current Ratio = Current Assets/Current Liabilities

Quick Ratio (Current Assets - Inventory)/Current

Liabilities

Working Capital = Current Assets - Current Liabilities

 Efficiency Ratios
Common Operational Measures/(Efficiency Ratios):

CAGR = [(Current Year Sales/Period 1 Sales)^1/# of

Periods] - 1

Accounts Receivable (A/R) Turnover Ratio = Credit

Sales/Average Accounts Receivable

Accounts Payable (A/P) Turnover Ratio = Net

Credit Purchases/Average Accounts Payable

Inventory Turnover Ratio = COGS/Average

Inventory
 Coverage Ratios
Common Coverage Ratios:
Interest Coverage Ratio = Earnings Before Interest and
Taxes/Interest Expense

Debt service Coverage Ratio = Net Operating Income/Debt

Service

Cash Coverage Ratio = (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes +

Non-Cash Expenses)/Interest Expense

Asset Coverage Ratio = ((Total Assets - Intangible Assets) -

(Current LIabilities - Short-Term Portion of Long-Term
Debt))/Total Debt

EBITDA-to-interest Coverage Ratio = EBITDA/Interest

Expense
 Common Market Value Ratios
Common Market Value Ratios:

Price Earnings (P/E) Ratio = Market Price Per Share/Earnings Per

Share

Book Value Per Share = Shareholder Equity/# of Shares

Earnings Per Share = Business Earnings/# of Shares

Market Value Per Share = Total Market Value/# of Shares

Dividend Yield = Total Dividend Payout/Market Price of Stock

Common Financial Metrics (P&L)
Gross Profit Margin - Margin. after subtracting the cost of goods sold from
the revenue.

(Revenue - Cost of Goods Solds)/Revenue

Net Profit Margin - Margin after subtracting all expenses from revenue.
(Revenue - Expenses)/Revenue

Operating Profit Margin - Margin after subtracting only operating expenses

from revenue.
(Revenue - Operating Expenses)/Revenue

Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation & Amortization (EBITDA)

Margin - EBITDA is a measure used to value a company that excludes
interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from the calculation.

(Revenue - Expenses (excluding Interest, taxes, depreciation &

amortization))/Revenue

Revenue Growth - Measures how quickly revenue has grown from one
period to the next.

(Ending Revenue/Begining Revenue) - 1

S&M Expense Ratio - Sales & Marketing expenses as a percentage of
revenue.
S&M Expenses/Revenue

R&D Expense Ratio - Research & Development expenses as a percentage of

revenue.
R&D Expenses/Revenue

G&A Expense Ratio - General & Administrative expenses as a percentage of

revenue.
G&A Expenses/Revenue
Common Financial Metrics (B/S)
Net Working Capital- Margin. after subtracting the cost of goods sold from
the revenue.

Current Assets - Current Liabilities

Current Ratio- Measures the ability to meet short-term funding needs using
current assets
Current Assets/Current Liabilities

Quick Ratio - Measures the ability to meet short-term funding needs using
must liquid assets which excludes inventory.
(Current Assets - Inventories)/Current Liabilities

Debt to Equity Ratio - Measures the amount of debt the company has as a
percentage of overall equity.

Total Liabilities/Shareholder's Equity

Debt to Asset Ratio- Measures the amount of debt a company has when
compared to assets. Measures how much of the assets have been funded
through debt.

Total Liabilities/Total Assets

Days Sales Outstanding- Measures time it takes to convert sales to cash.
(Receivables/Revenue) * 365

Days Inventory Outstanding - Measures how long a company holds

inventory.
(Inventory/COGS) * 365
Days Payable Outstanding - Measures how long a company takes to pay its
creditors.
(Accounts Payable/COGS) * 365
20 Critical Balance Sheet Ratios Investors Must Analyze - https://www.oldschoolvalue.com
 Retail Industry Metrics
Sales Per Square Foot - Helps determine how efficient you are at using
store space.
Net Sales/Store Square Footage
Sales Per Employee - Sales generated per employee, help with staffing
stores.

Net Sales/# of Employees

Average Order Value - Average amount a customer spends per

order/transaction.

Total Revenue/# of Orders

Customer Retention - Helps in understanding the number of customers
kept during a period.
((End of Period Customers - New Customers During Period)/Customers at
start of Period)*100
Conversion Rate - Helps you understand how many people who visited your
store/website became a customer

(# of Sales/# of Visitors)*100
Inventory Turnover - Number of times you turned over your inventory
during a time period.

Cost of Goods Sold/Average Inventory Cost

Gross Margin Return on Investment - This tells you the profitability of
your inventory
Gross Profit/Average Inventory Cost
Shrinkage - Inventory lost due to theft, damage, or administrative errors.
Ending Inventory Value - Actual Inventory Value
Service Industry Metrics
Billable Hours Leverage - Measures what percentage of hours a partner
bills of the total hours worked.
Total Billed Hours/Partner Billed Hours
Billable Headcount - Measures what percentage of headcount is billable
headcount vs. support headcount

# of Billable Employees/# of non-Billable Employees

Net Fee Revenue Per Partner - Measures the amount of revenue being
generated by each partner in the firm.

Billable Hours Per Partner * Average Hourly Rate of Partners Team

Gross Profit Per Partner - Measures the amount of Gross Profit each
partner is bringing in across their portfolio of business
Revenue Per Partner - COGS Per Partner

Average Gross Bill Rate - Measures the average billable rate across the
entire organization.

$ of Billed Work/# of Hours to Produce the Work

Total Billable Hours - This is the total number of billable hours for a time
period.

Sum of All Hours Billed

Days Sales Outstanding - Measures how long it takes to collect cash from
your sales
(Net A/R/ Sum of 12-Months of Net Revenue)*Days in the Year

Leverage Ratio - This metric is useful for service businesses that have debt.
Net Debt/TTM EBITDA
KPIs for service-based businesses (and formulas) - The Management Blog (beebole.com)
Manufacturing Industry Metrics
Overall Equipment Effectiveness - Measures how effective your
equipment is at producing usable product.
Quality*Availability*Performance

Throughput - Measures how much a machine, factory, person is producing

over time.
Units Produced/Time
Capacity Utilization - Measures how much capacity you're producing from
your equipment vs. how much your equipment can potentially produce.

(Actual Output/Potential Output) * 100

Yield - This is a quality and performance KPI that measures how much of
your product is usable.

Usable Units Produced/Total Units Produced

Scrap - Scrap is the material that is discarded or rejected ruing the
manufacturing process.

Scrap/Total Product Run

Availability - Measures the amount of time machines are working vs. the
total time they should be working.
Uptime/Total Time

Customer Return Rate - Measures what percentage of goods is returned by

your customer and not caught during your quality check process
Goods Rejected/# of Goods Delivered

On-Time Delivery Rate - Measures ability to deliver product to client on-

time
# of Work Orders Delivered Ontime/Total Work Orders
Top 12 Manufacturing KPIs To Track Operational Excellence (gomingo.io)
Insurance Industry Metrics
Revenue Per Policyholder - Measures the average amount of revenue
generated per policyholder
Total Revenue/# of Policyholders
Average Cost Per Claim - The average amount paid out per claim filed by
customers.
All Claim Costs/# of Claims
Return on Surplus - Measures how much profit an insurance company can
bring in relative to the revenue it generates from its policies.

After-Tax Income & Capital Gains/Total Assets

Loss Ratio - Measures the amount paid out in policy claims vs the total
amount earned from all premiums.

Total Policy Payouts/Total Revenue from Premiums

Expense Ratio - The ratio of expenses excluding claim payouts vs total
revenue earned from all premiums.
Expenses Excluding Loss Payouts/Total Revenue from Premiums

Renewal Rate - Measures the number of customers who renew the policy
after the initial policy period is up
Customers who Renew Policy/Total Customers
Average Policy Size - This is the average price or size of a policy during a
given time period.
Revenue from All policies/# of Policies
Underwriting Speed - A measurement of the time it takes to review a policy
and make an underwriting decision
Days in underwriting of all policies/Policies Written
Insurance Industry's 18 Most Critical Metrics - Guiding Metrics
 SubscriptionBusineses
Subscription Business Revenue
Revenue
Subscription Businesses (SaaS) - Revenue in a subscription
business is recurring and operates like an "Annuity" and so
understanding and valuing a subscription is business. A few key
factors play a significant role in this kind of business:

Cost to acquire the customer or "Annuity"

What does each customer pay

How long does a customer stay

SaaS Metrics Section created brought to you by Subscript the

Analytics platform for B2B Saas Teams
 ARR vs. CARR
𝐀𝐑𝐑 - Annual Recurring Revenue is typically calculated as
money earned over the next year from live contracts. ARR
excludes revenue that is committed but has not started
booking.

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑 - Includes revenue that has gone live and revenue that is
booked and committed to go live and become recurring
revenue. This allows companies to more accurately reflect all
revenue, both committed and already recurring.

Use CARR when:

Growing rapidly 100% plus YOY

When you have a timing delay between booking and go live
Common
SAAS
Metrics
 Common SaaS Metrics

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) - ARR is the value

of the recurring subscription revenue over the next
twelve months.

Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) - ARPA is all

revenue (subscription, transactional,
implementation) divided by total accounts for a
given period.

Billings - Billings shows the amount billed to the

customer over a certain period and will differ from
bookings.

Bookings - Metric that tells the value of signed

contracts with customers for a given period.

Burn Multiple - The burn multiple measures

efficiency and tracks how much revenue is
generated for each dollar spent.
 Common SaaS Metrics

CAC Payback - CAC payback is the time it takes to

pay back the cost of acquiring a customer and is
usually calculated in months.

Churn Rate - The churn rate is the percentage rate

of lost subscribers over a given period.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) - Customer lifetime

value is the customer's worth over the relationship's
lifetime.

Customer Retention Rate (CRR)- CRR measures

how many customers a company retains over a
certain period.

Conversion Rate - Conversion rate measures the

number of conversations a company receives from a
set of leads.
 Common SaaS Metrics
Gross Margin - Gross margin is the revenue received
minus the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) related to the
item.

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) - MRR shows the

monthly recurring revenue expected from all
customers.

Net Promotor Score (NPS) - NPS is used to

understand customers' loyalty to a business's
products and firm.

Net Retention Rate (NRR) - NRR is the percentage of

revenue retained from existing customers over a
period of time.

Qualified Marketing Traffic - traffic that comes to

the website that is not currently a customer but could
become a customer in the future.
 Common SaaS Metrics

Rule of 40 - The rule of 40 is that a SaaS company's

sum of growth and profit margin should exceed 40%.

SaaS Magic Number - The SaaS magic number asks

how many dollars of revenue we create for every
dollar spent on acquiring a new customer.

SaaS Quick Ratio - The SaaS quick ratio measures the

ability to grow recurring revenue despite customer
churn.

Sales Rep Ramp - Sales rep ramp is the time it takes

your sales rep to ramp up and become fully
productive at selling.

Return on SaaS Employees (ROSE) - Rose Measures

recurring revenue dollars earned for every dollar of
employee expense.
 TIPS for
Aligning
SAAS
Metrics
How To Track and Analyze B2B SaaS Metrics (subscript.com)

https://www.subscript.com/the-dive/how-to-track-and-analyze-
b2b-saas-metrics
Tips for Aligning & Standardizing
Align upon company-wide SaaS metrics to track
and report.

Limit Key SaaS metrics to no more than ten.

Standardize calculation method for SaaS

metrics company-wide.

Involve key stakeholders in the alignment

process.

Agree on source data for calculating SaaS

metrics.

Automate tracking and reporting of SaaS

metrics.

Conduct periodic reviews on key SaaS metrics.

Metrics Calculated Multiple Ways
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Payback - Several
methods exist for calculating CAC. Requires aligning on
Sales and Marketing Costs to include in the numerator and
what MRR and margin in the denominator.
Churn Rate - Churn can be calculated based on total
revenue, total customers, and both net and gross churn.
Many different methods exist for determining churn.
Conversion Rate - How you calculate your conversion rate
will vary depending on how you define a conversion and
what you consider a lead. Is the rate only for qualified leads
or all leads, etc.?
Average Revenue Per Account - Requires alignment on
what revenue to contain and how to calculate # of accounts
during the period.
Rule of 40 - Uses growth rate + profitability margin. The
growth rate is typically based on GAAP accounting, but
several options exist for what profit margin to use.
 FP&A Assessment Model
Developed by Anna Oblakova, Based on a set of
questions, you rate your current and desired state on 18
areas such as (Tools, Reporting, Team Development, etc.):

The assessment model

rates each section on a 5-
point scale :

Lagging

Emerging

Defined

Progressive

Visionary

Link to Website: FP&A Maturity Assessment Model — FPANDA CLUB

 Data Management

Budgeting/Financial Modeling

Dashboards/Reporting

Link to Full Article on FP&A Tools:

Workflow/Collaboration
4 Key Pillars of FP&A Planning Tools
 Data Management
Data Integrations - What systems does it integrate with?
Does it integrate with my EPR, CRM, and HRIS System?
How many dimensions and attributes can the tool manage?
What rules and configuration logic do they use for managing
the model?
Can the data be brought in and viewed at a transactional level?
 Budgeting/Financial Modeling
Data Model - What dimensions are included for modeling?
Calculation Engine - What does it use for the calculation engine
(Excel, Google Sheets, multi-dimensional modeling, other)?
Modeling Syntax - Is the syntax easy to learn?
Structure vs. Flexibility - Is the tool flexible enough to handle
your modeling needs? Does it have pre-built templates, can you
build your own templates?
Planning Model - What levels and modules does the tool have
for modeling. Revenue, headcount, expense, operational, etc?
 Dashboarding/Reporting
How well does the tool integrate with PPT, Google Slides,
Excel, etc.?
Can the data be easily connected with BI tools?
Can one bring in and display outside data in dashboards?
Can one create custom metrics and reports, or are you limited
in what reports are available?
How does the licensing work for sharing reports?
 Workflow/Collaboration
Can you create custom workflows?
Can you have multiple levels of approvals?
Can you assign a person and a date to each item in the
workflow?
Do your notifications integrate with Teams, Outlook, Slack?
At what level can you leave comments, can you comment on
specific data elements?
Can you create threaded comments?
 The Art of Storytelling

Special thanks to Alex

Banyan and Vena
Solutions
5 Key Knobs of Storytelling

1. Vulnerable Origin
2. Intention
3. Struggles & Obstacles
4. Transformation
5. A Message that Matters

Special thanks to Alex Banyan and Vena Solutions

 Tell Your Story

VULNERABLE ORIGIN INTENTION

Think about Harry Potter the back Have an intention that guides
cover did not talk about the your actions. Example of story
greatest wizard in the wrold it with a clear intention was the
spoke to the heart about a boy who Hangover
was an orphan living in a terrible
circumstance.

STRUGGLES & OBSTACLES TRANSFORMATION

At the end of the story we want
What are the struggles & obstacles to see a transformation think of
you have faced. Every great story the Lord of the Rings, StarWars,
tells of the struggles one has gone Harry Potter they all had
through during the journey. transformations.

A MESSAGE THAT MATTERS

A great example of building a story
around a message that matters is
Apple and Steve Jobs think different
campaign, this campaign talked
about what Apple believed in.

Special thanks to Alex Banyan and Vena Solutions

 Data Storytelling

Data storytelling is a methodology for communicating

information, tailored to a specific audience, with a
compelling narrative. It is the last ten feet of your data
analysis and arguably the most important aspect.
What is Data Storytelling? | Data Stories Definition | Nugit
Tips for Improving Your Presentation
1. Ask yourself on each slide/graph what is the main point
2. Eliminate all unnecessary presentation elements (bright
colors, lines, etc.)
3. Keep it simple and only cover what is necessary
4. Practice - Make time to plan out and practice what you will
say
5. Join a speaking club - Great way to get comfortable
presenting
6. Watch others present and take notes
 Presenting Resources

www.toastmasters.org - International speaking

club
Join to practice giving effective presentations
Storytelling with Data - Great book on tips for
improving you data storytelling skills

www.ted.com/watch/tedx-talks
Watch presentations & take notes on what works!

Online Courses
(Linkedin/Udemy/Coursea)
 Strategic Frameworks

SWOT Matrix

Porter's 5 Forces

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

PEST Framework

VRIO Famework

36
 SWOT Matrix
SWOT - SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats. Consists of listing your strengths and weaknesses (internal)
and opportunities and threats in the marketplace (external).

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Strong cash position No Digital storefront

Patented technology Limited product offering
Channel partnerships Quality issues

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

International expansion New technology

Acqusitions Gov regulation
Digital storefronts Supply shortages

37
 Porter's 5 Forces
Porter's Five Forces - Porter's Five Forces is a framework that is
used to assess the attractiveness of an industry based on five
competitive forces.

Industry Competition - How much competition exists

in the industry

Potential New Entrants - Do barriers to entry exist in

the industry?

Power of Suppliers - How much power do suppliers of

inputs for your goods maintain? Does the industry
have many or one supplier?

Power of Customers - Do customers have a lot of

power over product pricing.

Threat of Substitutes - How many substitutes are

available for your product?
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix
BCG Matrix - The BCG matrix uses 4 quadrants to rank the
attractiveness of your products based on market share size and
market growth rate. The four quadrants are Stars, Question Marks,
Cash Cows, and Dogs.
 PEST Analysis
PEST Framework - PEST framework is used to assess your business
based on four major factors that could impact your business:
political, economic, social, and technological factors.
 VRIO Framework
VRIO Framework - The framework reviews your company's
resources through four lenses. These lens are value, rarity,
imitability, and organization.

Value - How valuable are the product(s) and/or

service(s) you provide to the marketplace?

Rare - How rare are the product(s) and/or service(s)

you provide to the marketplace?

Imitability - How easy is it for your competitors to

imitate your product(s) and/or service(s)?

Organization - How organized is your company, is it

positioned to be able to capitalize on opportunities that
exist in the marketplace?
 Resources to Learn More

WEBISTES

7 Business Strategy Fameworks for small Business

Top 5 Strategy Frameworks Every Business Strategist

Must Know | TSI (thestrategyinstitute.org)

Top 5 Business Frameworks according to Strategy

Consultants (business-to-you.com)

6 Business Frameworks From Top Business Strategy

Consultants - brunchwork
 FP&A Websites
The FP&A Guy (thefpandaguy.com)

FP&A Professionals (fpnaprofessionals.com)

FP&A Prep (fpaprep.com)

FPANDA CLUB

Home | FP&A Trends (fpa-trends.com)

FP&A Content from the Association for Financial Professionals

(afponline.org)

AI Finance Club

A list of resources for FP&A

 FP&A Courses
1. Best Practice FP&A Course
2. Financial Planning & Analysis Certification - Association of
Finance Professionals
3. FP&A BootCamp - Christian Wattig
4. Financial Modeling& Valuation Analyst - Corporate Finance
Institute
5. FP&A Mastery Program - Wall Street Prep
6. Become a Corporate Financial Planning Analyst - LinkedIn
Learning
7. Udemy includes courses such as
World Class FP&A Org
FP&A Foundations
FP&A: Building a Company's Budget
8. IMA's FP&A Certificate Series
 Financial Planning &
Analysis Training
Learn to create value you for your business &
business partners while increasing your visibility

Course Description Target Audience Course Syllabus

The course will be an immersive Individuals who have Finance Session 1: FP&A Overview & Analytics
experience that provides instruction and/or Accounting experience and Session 2: Budgeting & Forecasting
and practical case study work to want to gain practical knowledge in Session 3: Reporting & Visualization
participants to help these FP&A. This course will help Session 4: Business Partnering &
individuals learn best practices in individuals who have limited FP&A Influencing
FP&A. experience significantly advance
their FP&A skill set.
Buy Course
Next Dates Cost Virtual/Zoom
Feb 12th, 13th, 20th and 21st from $599 USD or $800 CAD Per Person Sessions will be recorded and
12 PM - 2:30 PM EST Note: Last course at this price, price distributed to participants who are not
will increase in 2024. able to attend any of the sessions.

Instructors Experience

Paul Barnhurst (aka Ron Monteiro

the FP&A Guy) (aka the Storytelling Guy)

Paul spent 12+ years in FP&A roles in several industries and is Ron spent 18 years in Finance and Accounting roles with
an influencer in the world of FP&A. He currently hosts two several experiences in FP&A. He worked for top-tier
popular finance podcasts FP&A Today and Financial Modeler's organizations with world-class FP&A functions (Kraft Foods,
Corner. He provides training and development for Finance & Campbell's, Kruger Products). He currently runs his own
Accounting teams globally. Paul worked for leading training and development business focused on providing
organizations, including American Express, Solera and practical training to Finance & Accounting individuals and
DigiCert. teams.
"Amazing sessions by Ron & Paul. Incredible rapport
between both of them. Valuable, practical and
Bonuses of this method digestible content for us to get closer to the
Case studies, breakouts and practical work will be problems we are solving.
Steve Groccia, Customer Operations, Mosaic
included throughout the course.
Participants receive 1 free 30-min coaching session with "Your course summarizes what takes many years to
Paul or Ron figure out by yourself and gives fresh new ideas. I
absolutely loved it, you have a new fan!"
Participants will receive copies of all course materials Mario Kozumplik, FP&A Director, 2K
and supplementary FP&A resources
"Amazing course! All 4 sessions added tremendous
Access to one free digital training course value to my role and team. You both provided
incredible tips, resources and examples that catered
to everyone."
Jennifer Caron, Finance, Mars
LEARN MORE & REGISTER BY GOING TO WWW.THEFPANDAGUY.COM OR BY CONTACTING US AT:
[email protected] or [email protected]
 FP&A Certificate (FPAC)

Earn the Certified Corporate FP&A

Professional and stand out in your career.
This certification helps set one apart as a
qualified FP&A professional who has earned
the AFP's prestigious FP&A Professional
certification.

FP&A - Certified Corporate FP&A Professional

Sponsored by AFP (afponline.org)
 FP&A Bootcamp

Create analysis, forecasts, and presentations that

drive business forward. Master the essential skills
of Financial Planning & Analysis.

FP&A Prep (fpaprep.com)

Instructor: Christian Wattig

 CFI's FMVA

The Corporate Finance Institutes offers the Financial

Modeling & Valuation Analyst Certification Program.

Financial Modeling and Valuation

Analyst (FMVA)® | CFI
(corporatefinanceinstitute.com)
 FP&A Mastery

Wall Street Prep offers a course titled FP&A

Mastery that includes 8 modules covering
many of the key areas of FP&A.

FP&A Training | Financial

Planning & Analysis Course
(wallstreetprep.com)
Other FP&A Courses

Building a Top-Notch FP&A

Organization | Udemy

FP&A - Financial Planning

& Analysis Foundations |
Udemy

Financial Planning &

Analysis Company's
Budget Course Online |
Udemy
 Other FP&A Courses

Corporate Planning, Budgeting,

and Forecasting (illumeo.com)

https://www.illumeo.com/cours
es/corporate-budgeting-best-
practices-training-course

50
 Other Finance Courses

Become a high-performing
finance professional

51
 FP&A Follows

Aliyyah Abdullah Bryan Lapidus, FPAC

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Nicolas Boucher Anders Liu-Lindberg

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Christian Franz Hansen Asif Masani

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Soufyan Hamid Larysa Melnychuk

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Brian Kalish, FP&A Darryl Morrissy

LinkedIn LinkedIn

52
 FP&A Follows

Stephen Newland Kathy. Svetina 🧩

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Anna Oblakova Terrell A Turner

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Chris Ortega Christian Wattig

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Carl Seidman Muhammad Zeeshan

LinkedIn Taqi | LinkedIn

53
 Section 2 - Microsoft Excel

70
 Excel Shortcut Keys
Shortcut Key Shortcut Description Shortcut Key Shortcut Description

Ctrl + N Create a new workbook Ctrl + U Underline highlighted cells

Ctrl + O Open a saved workbook Ctrl + V Paste

Ctrl + S Save a workbook Ctrl + Y Redo Last action

Ctrl + A Select all content in workbook Ctrl + Z Undo last action

Ctrl + B To Bold Cell Ctrl + 1 Format cell contents

Ctrl +C Copy Ctrl + 5 Strkethrough cell contents

Ctrl +D Fill cell from data in cell above Ctrl + 9 Hide a row

Ctrl + F Search for something in workbook Ctrl + 0 Hide a column

Ctrl + G Jump to an area within workbook Ctrl + ; Enter current date in cell

Ctrl + H To find and replace cell contents Ctrl + - Delete columns or rows

Ctrl + I To italicize cell Ctrl + + Insert columns or rows

Ctrl + K Add a hyperlink to a cell Ctrl + Shift + = Insert columns and rows

Ctrl + L Open the create dialog box Ctrl + Shift + ~ Switch between formulas and values

Ctrl + P Print a workbook Ctrl + Shift + @ Apply time formatting

Ctrl + T Create a table Ctrl + Shift + ! Apply comma formatting

 Excel Shortcut Keys
Shortcut Key Shortcut Description Shortcut Key Shortcut Description

Ctrl + Shift + $ Apply currency formatting Alt + Page Up Move the screen toward the left

Ctrl + Shift + # Apply date formatting Ctrl + F2 Open print preview window

Ctrl + Shift + % Apply percentage formatting Ctrl + F1 Expand or collapse ribbon

Ctrl + Shift + & Place border around cells Alt Open the access keys

Ctrl + Spacebar Select an entire column Tab Move to the next cell

Ctrl + Home Go to cell A1 F2 To edit a cell

Ctr + Shift + Tab Switch to previous workbook F3 To paste a cell name for named cells

Ctrl + Shift + F Open fonts menu Apply absolute or relative cell

F4
references

Ctrl + Shift + O Select cells containing comments

ESC Cancel an entry

Ctrl + Up Arrow Go to top cell in current column

Enter Complete an entry

Ctrl + Down Arrow Go to last cell in current column

Alt + H + H Select a fill color

Ctrl + Right Arrow Go to last cell in selected row

Alt + H + B Add a border

Ctrl + Left Arrow Go to first cell in selected row

F9 Calculate workbooks

Ctrl + End Go to last cell in workbook

Shift + F9 Calculate active workbook

Move the screen towards the

Alt + Page Down
right Ctrl + F4 Close Excel
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
CHOOSEROWS - Returns the rows that you specify from an
array/range of data.

Syntax: =CHOOSEROWS(array, row_num1,[row_num2],...)

Array/Range - Contains the rows to be returned and is a required input
Row_num1 - Enter the first-row number to be returned, required input
[Row_num2]... - Enter additional row numbers, 1st row required others
optional

CHOOSECOLS - Returns the columns that you specify from an

array/range of data.

Syntax: =CHOOSECOLS(array, col_num1,[col_num2],...)

Array/Range - Contains the columns to be returned and is a required input

Col_num1 - Enter the first-column number to be returned, required input
[Col_num2]...- Enter additional column numbers, first required others are
optional

DROP - Excludes a specified number of rows or columns from

the start or end of an array. Example dropping your headers.

Syntax: =DROP(array, rows,[Columns])

Array/Range - Range from which you will drop rows or columns

Rows - # of rows to drop, negative drops from the end of range
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
EXPAND - Expands/pads an array/range with a specified
number of rows and columns

Syntax: =EXPAND(array, rows, [columns],[pad_with)

Array/Range - This is the array/range you want to expand, required input
Rows - The # of rows to include in the expanded array and is required
[Columns] - The # of columns to include in the expanded array and is optional
[Pad-With] - The value you want to pad the range with and the default is #N/A

FILTER - Filters an array/range of data based on your criteria

Syntax: =FILTER(array,include,[if_empty

Array/Range - The array or range to filter

Include - Enter the inclusion criteria as a boolean array/range whose is the
same size as the filter array.
[If-empty] - The value to return if the filter array returns no values

HSTACK - Combine ranges/arrays together to create a larger

array/range

Syntax: =HSTACK(array1,[array2]...)

Array1 - Enter the first array/range you want to combine together

[Array2]... - Enter additional arrays/ranges you want to combine together
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
LET - Allows you to assign names to calculation results. This
means you can store intermediate calculations in your formula
and only have to reference them once.

Syntax: =LET(name1, name_value1, calcuation_or_name2,

name_value2, Calculation_or_name3...]
Name1 - Enter the name you want to use for the first value you that you are
creating. The name must start with a letter
name_Value1 - The value assigned to name1. This can be a formula, a cell
range, etc. that is assigned to name1
Calculation_or_name2
Calculation - The calculation is the last argument in the formula and
includes all the names used in the LET Function
Name2 - This is where you assign a second name to be used with the name
value if you need more than one
Name_Value2 - The value assigned to name1. This can be a formula, a cell
range, etc., that is assigned to name1
Calculation_or_name3.. - same as 2 but where you enter the third argument in
the formula or the calculation. You can have more than 3 in the formula.

Image from Microsoft Help within Microsoft Excel

 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
LAMBDA - LAMBDA functions are used to create custom,
reusable functions that can be called by a name you assign the
function. The functions can be used throughout your
workbook.

Syntax: =LAMBDA([parameter1, parameter2, ...,], calculation)

Parameter - A value that you want to send to the functions could be a cell
reference, a string or a number. You can include up to 253 parameters in a
LAMBDA function and this argument is optional.
Calculation - The calculation arguments is where you enter the formula you
want to execute and return as the result of the custom function you have
created. This is the last argument in the formula and is required.

For more on LAMBDA go to the blog article on my website

Excel LAMBDA Function — The FP&A Guy (thefpandaguy.com)

https://www.thefpandaguy.com/microsoft-excel/excel-lambda-
function-jb4zp

Image from Microsoft Help within Microsoft Excel

 LAMBDA Helper Functions
LAMBDA HELPER FUNCTIONS - Seven functions that are
designed to aid in creating re-usable LAMBA functions but also
serve as stand-alone functions themselves.

Functions include:

MAP
REDUCE
SCAN
MAKEARRAY
BYROW
BYCOL

If you are interested in learning more about these functions

see the blog below by Microsoft or go to my website to learn
more.

Announcing LAMBDA Helper Functions (microsoft.com)

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/announcing-
lambda-helper-functions-lambdas-as-arguments-and-more/ba-
p/2576648
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
SEQUENCE - Used to generate a list of sequential numbers in a
arnage/array.

Syntax: =SEQUENCE(rows,[columns],[start],[step]
Rows - Enter the number of rows you want to return, is a required field
[Columns] - Enter the number of columns you want to return, optional field
[Start] - Enter the number you want to start with if not entered, starts with 1
[Step] - Enter the amount to increment each number by if not entered assumes
1

SINGLE - This function is used to return a single value with

implicit intersection.

Syntax: =Single(value)

Value - Enter the value you want to be evaluated using implicit intersection.

SORT - Used to sort a range or array.

Syntax: =DROP(array,[sort_index],[sort_order],[by_col])

Array/Range - The range/array to be sorted, required argument

[Sort_index] - The number that identifies the column or row to sort by, optional
[Sort_order] - Choose 1 ascending or -1 descending order, ascending is default
[by_col] - Used to indicate desired sort function, by row or column
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
SORTBY - Sorts a range or array using another range or array.

Syntax: =SORTBY(array,by_array1,[sort_order1],[by_array2],
[sort_order 2],...
Array/Range - The range/array that is being sorted
By_array1 - The first range/array to be sorted on
[Sort_order1] - Sort order for criteria 1, 1 for ascending, -1 for descending
[By_array2] -The second range/array to be sorted on
[Sort_order2] - Sort order for criteria 2, 1 for ascending, -1 for descending
... You can have multiple arrays and sort orders and such as 3,4,5,6, etc.

TAKE - Returns contiguous rows or columns from the beginning

or end of an array/range based on what you specify.

Syntax: =TAKE(array,rows,[columns)

Array/Range - The array/range from which to take the rows or columns

Rows - Enter number of rows to take, if from end use negative values
Columns - Enter number of columns to take, if from end use negative values
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
TEXTBEFORE - Allows you to return text before a given
character or string.

Syntax: =TEXTBEFORE(text, delimiter,[Instance_num],

[match_mode],[match_end],[if_not_found]
Text - This is the text that you want to search and is required
Delimiter - This is where you mark the point before which you want to extract
the data and is required.
[Instance_num] - The instance for which you want to extract the text by default
will extract at the first instance, a negative number starts the search from the
end
[Match_mode] - Enter 0 for case sensitive, 1 for case insensitive, optional
[Match_end] - Will treat the end of text as a delimiter, by default is an exact
match
[If_not_found] - Enter the value you want to return if nothing is found, optional

TEXTAFTER - Allows you to return text after a given character

or string.

Syntax: =TEXTAFTER(text, delimiter,[Instance_num],

[match_mode],[match_end],[if_not_found]

See TEXTBEFORE formula for details around each function

input as it operates the same it is just used to split text after a
certain point instead of before a certain point.
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
TEXTSPLIT - Allows you to split text strings by using column
and row delimiters

Syntax: =(text, col_delimiter,[row_delimiter],[ignore_empty],

[match_mode],[pad_with])

Text - Enter the text you want to split, required field

Col_Delimiter - This delimiter is used to spill the text across the columns and is
required
[Row_Delimiter] - Delimiter is optional and used to spill the text down the
rows
[Ignore_empty] - Tell the formula what to do when you have two delimiters
next to each other and so one is empty contains no data. Use True/False,
optional
[Match_Mode] - Search the text in case sensitive or case insensitive mode,
optional argument
[Pad_with] - This is the value for which to pad the result. By default it is #N/A

TOCOL - Returns an array/range in a single column.

Syntax: = TOCOL(array,[ignore],[scan_by_column])

Array/Range - Array/range that is to be returned as a column

[Ignore]- Ignore certain values, 0 - keeps all, 1 - ignore blanks, 2 - ignore errors,
3 - ignore erros and blanks
[Scan_by_column] - by default the array is ordered by row, and you will need to
tell it you want it to order the values by column. True- Columns, False - row
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
TOROW - Returns an array/range in a single row

Syntax: = Syntax: = TOROW(array,[ignore],[scan_by_column])

Array/Range - Array/range that is to be returned as a row
[Ignore]- Ignore certain values, 0 - keeps all, 1 - ignore blanks, 2 - ignore errors,
3 - ignore erros and blanks
[Scan_by_column] - by default the array is ordered by row, and you will need to
tell it you want it to order the values by column. True- Columns, False - rowl

UNIQUE - Returns a list of unique values from a range/array

Syntax: =UNIQUE(array,[by_col],[exactly_once]

Array/Range - The array/range from which you want to return unique list
[by_col] - This argument is optional and is used to determine how to compare
data
[Exactly_once] - Optional argument that return list of data that appears only
once

VSTACK - Combine/append multiple ranges/arrays into one

large vertical array

Syntax: =DROP(array1, [array2]..)

Array1 - This is the fist array you want to append to the list
[Array2].. This is the additional arrays you want to append to the list
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
WRAPCOLS - Wraps the provided range/array by columns at a
specified point to create a new array

Syntax: =WRAPROWS(Vector, Wrap_count,[pad_with])

Vector - The reference of cells to wrap
Wrap_Count - The number of values to include in each column
[Pad_with] - The value to pad with when no value is included

WRAPROWS - Wraps the provided range/array by rows at a specified

point to create a new array

Syntax: =WRAPROWS(Vector, Wrap_count,[pad_with])

Vector - The reference of cells to wrap

Wrap_Count - The number of values to include in each row
[Pad_with] - The value to pad with when no value is included

RANDARRAY - Returns a random array of numbers

Syntax: =RANDARRAY([rows],[columns],[min],[max],
[whole_number]

[Rows] - The number of rows you want to return

[Columns] - The number of columns you want to return
[Min] - The minimum number you want to include in your array
[Max] - The maximum number you want to include in your array
[Whole_number] - True - returns a whole number, false - decimal values
 Microsoft Excel 365 Functions
XMATCH - searches for an item in a range/array, returns
position

Syntax: =XMATCH(lookup_value,lookup_array,[Match_mode],
[Search_mode])
Lookup_value - The value you want to lookup in your array
Lookup_array - The range/array to search in for the lookup value
[Match_mode] - Match type, 0 - exact, -1 exact or next smallest, 1- exact or next
largest, 2 - wildcard match
[Search_mode] - 1 - search first to last, 2 - search last to first, 2 and -2 binary

XLOOKUP - Used to find something in a range/array

Syntax: =XMATCH(lookup_value,lookup_array,return_array,
[if_not_found],[Match_mode],[Search_mode])

Lookup_value - The value you want to lookup in your array

Lookup_array - The range/array to search in for the lookup value
Return_array - The range/array to return the value from
[If_not_found] - Enter text you want displayed when no value is found
[Match_mode] - Match type, 0 - exact, -1 exact or next smallest, 1- exact or next
largest, 2 - wildcard match
[Search_mode] - 1 - search first to last, 2 - search last to first, 2 and -2 binary
Excel Tabular Data Structure

The Data format for analyzing data in excel

should be structured as follows (Tabular Data):

1. Column headers in one row.

2. Each data record is in one row, and each row

contains a complete record set.

3. No blank rows in the data.

4. No subtotals throughout the data or totals at the

end.

5. Each field/column houses its own type of data

(i.e., Month, Product, amount, geographic region,
etc.).

6. A single Column should never contain more than

one type of data.
 Excel Table Benefits
Takes an array or range of data and turns it into a
“structured data set” .

Works in Excel 2007 or later.

Creating a table tells Excel that a data set is related

together.

Understanding and using tables is a necessary part of

learning Power Query.

Tables make managing and analyzing your data

easier, including sorting, filtering, updating, and
analyzing data in Pivot Tables.

Excel Tables are the beginning of your structured

data journey, which helps prepare you for data
modeling.
Excel Table Layout
Excel Table Design Menu
 Table Nomenclature

Tables are similar to named ranges in that they can have no spaces in the
name but can have _ and . in the name. For example, the above table is
named Data.CP. Similar to named ranges you can reference table names in
excel formulas.

Table Headers – Table headers use the nomenclature of the table name so in
this case = Data.CPG[Headers] in a cell would reference all six header rows in
the above example. If I wanted to reference the first column header Sku name
I would write = Data.CPG[[#Headers],[sku name]].

If I needed to reference the data in a specific column, I would type the table
name = Data.CPG followed by the column name so if I wanted to reference the
column period, I will write Data.CPG[Period].

This type of structured referencing makes creating calculated columns easy.

For example, say I need to add a new column called ASP, and I need to
multiply the Quantity column x the Price column in a new column labeled ASP
I would write =[Quantity]*[Price] and it would automatically calculate the
answer in every row within that column.
Power Query
 Power Query

Power Query is an ETL (Extract Transform Load) Tool:

Designed to combine files together.

Designed to clean & transform files.

Designed to automate the refresh process.

 Power Query Interface
Power Query opens inside Excel as a separate window.
When Power Query is open, you cannot work on your Excel
worksheet.
 Power Query Menus

The first part of the Data ribbon in Excel is

related to Power Query and is focused on
helping you load data to Power Query. The
second pane lets you refresh your data and
access your queries in Power Query.

The Home menu in Power Query contains

some of the most common functions and
features in Power Query, including loading
your data, adding and removing columns and
rows, performing fundamental
transformations, and options for combining
data together (Merge & Append).
 Power Query Menus
The Transform menu is used to perform general transformations
such as grouping your data, using the first row as a header,
splitting columns or performing basic math operations on your
data.

The Add Column menu provides options for

adding columns to your data. You can add an index
column, conditional column, duplicate a column or
extract data from an existing column, and more.

The View menu provides an

option for seeing the M
code behind the query, a
diagram of how all queries
are related together and
various options for setting
up different views in the the
query pane.
 Excel Follows

Leila Gharani Kat Norton

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Oz Du Soleil John Michaloudis

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Jon Acampora Jordan Goldmeier

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Mynda Treacy Brian Jones

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Cris Dutton Matt Britian

LinkedIn LinkedIn
 Excel Websites
Exceljet | Work faster in Excel – This website does
a great job of providing guidance on every
function available in Excel today.

Welcome to Chandoo.org – Learn Excel, Charting

Online – One of the most popular Excel websites
on the internet.

Excel Tips & Solutions Since 1998 - MrExcel – Bill

Jellen runs the MrExcel website and has published
over 300 books on Excel. His site includes one of
the biggest and best message boards.

Excel Easy – #1 Excel tutorial on the net (excel-

easy.com) – This website has great tutorials on
learning Excel from the basics through VBA.

Excel Campus – Master Excel. Dominate

Deadlines. – Includes a number of tutorials and
free
resources for learning Excel.
 Excel Websites
Xelplus - Leila Gharani – Includes over 300
tutorials on Microsoft Office, Google Sheets. Her
primary focus Is on Excel and she is my favorite
Excel teacher, runs a highly successful Excel
YouTube channel.

Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook Online

Training Courses (myonlinetraininghub.com) –
This website has a great blog and free resources
for learning Excel and Microsoft office.

How To Excel | Master Excel – Hosted by John

MacDougall and he has a lot of great blog
articlesfor learning Excel and other Microsoft
products including Power Automate.

Excel Blog (microsoft.com) – This is the official

Microsoft Excel Blog website and will have details
on latest updates to Microsoft Excel.
 Excel YouTube Channels
Mike Excel is fun Girvin (ExcelIsFun - YouTube) - the channel
has nearly 3,500 videos. He has 100’s of playlists, including full
free courses he teaches at his local college. His videos include
everything from beginner to highly advanced concepts.

Leila Gharani (Leila Gharani - YouTube) – has over 1.5M

subscribers and 400 videos. Outstanding teacher who has the
ability to explain difficult concepts and make them seem easy.

Bill Jelen (MrExcel.com - YouTube) – Has over 2,200 videos on

Excel, and every weekday releases a 2-minute video showing a
brief tip or trick to improve your Excel skills.

Chandoo (Chandoo - YouTube) – Contains hundreds of videos

on various Excel subjects from simple tips and tricks to how to
build dashboards, budget trackers and more.

ExcelJet (Exceljet - YouTube) – Contains hundreds of short

videos (2-5 Minutes) on various Excel topics. Great way to
learn a new tip or trick every day.
Section 3 - Financial Modeling
 Financial Modeling Skills
Understanding of accounting

Strong Excel/spreadsheet skills

Ability to read financial statements

Understanding of how to link 3-financial statements

Attention to detail

Presentation skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

Forecasting

Ability to simplify complex things (Formulas, models,

assumptions)
Financial Modeling Design Principles
1. Plan and design your model upfront
2. Include an assumptions tab/section – ask the right
questions
3. Structure the file (inputs, calculations, outputs)
4. Include Model Instructions
5. Include cover page, executive summary, and table
of contents
6. Use schedules for calculations
7. Build a scenario section for your model
8. Use color coding to distinguish (inputs, links,
calculations, etc.)
9. Never hardcode data into formulas
10. Keep formulas simple
11. Limit file sizes by using best practices
12. Include error checks throughout model
Common Types of Financial Models
Financial models can be used for many different purposes
but some of the most common types of financial models
include:

Integrated 3- Statement Model

Discounted Cash Flow

Merger & Acquisiton Model (M&A)

Budget/Forecasting Model

Consolidation Model

Options Pricing Model

Company Comparables Model

Project Model
 Profit Frog Series

What is Profit & Loss (P&L) and How to Use It Effectively

in your Business

What is a Financial Model? A Guide to Financial

Modeling

What is a Scenario Planning Template and How Can I

use it?

Learn more at ProfitFrog.com

 Profit & Loss Statement

Revenue - COGS - Expenses = Profit

Revenue: Money generated from your product(s).

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Direct costs necessary to produce

your product.

Gross Profit: Profit after subtracting the Cost of Goods Sold

(COGS).

Operating Expenses: Expenses incurred in the normal

operation of the business.

R&D: Expenses related to research & Development of

product
G&A: General & Administrative expense such as finance,
legal, management team
S&M: Expenses related to selling & marketing of product,
such as sales commissions

Operating Income: Income after subtracting out cost of gods

sold and all operating expenses

Net Income - Income after all expenses

 Scenario Planning

Brainstorm - Start by coming up with multiple different

1 scenarios that you believe could happen for your business.
Choose Scenarios - After discussing various scenarios
choose which scenarios to model. This can start with
2 ranking scenarios based on which ones you believe will be
most valuable to model.
Develop Model - Build the model or models that allow
3 you to compare each scenario against each other. Focus
on key drivers for each scenario.
Evaluate Scenarios & Develop Game Plan- Review each
4 scenario that you modeled in step 3 and ensure you have a
game plan for the different scenarios.
Implement Game Plan - Implement game plan for
5 scenario selected and continually monitor the business
and adjust plan or implement new scenario when
necessary.
 A Financial Model
Fed Reserve Definition (SR11-7) - A Quantitative method,
system or approach that applies statistical, economic, financial
or mathematical theories, techniques, and assumptions to
process input data into quantitative estimates."

Investopedia Definition - Financial Modeling is the process

of creating a summary of a company's expenses and earnings
in the form of a spreadsheet that can be used to calculate the
impact of a future event or decision.

Danielle Stein Fairhurst Definition - A complex

spreadsheet - As long as a spreadsheet has financial inputs
and outputs, and is dynamic and flexible, I'm happy to call it a
financial model!

Profit Frog Definition - A spreadsheet or application that

helps us develop forecasts for business decisions so we can
make the decision that optimizes our profits.
Financial Modeling Books
Finacial Modeling Online Resources

Full Stack Modeler - "Promises to transform your

modelling skill set"

Plum Solutions - https://plumsolutions.com.au

Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) - Corporate

Finance Institute | FMVA® | CBCA™ | CMSA®

Wall Street Mojo - Investment Banking, Financial

Modeling & Excel Blog (wallstreetmojo.com)

Financial Modeling Courses & Investment Banking

Courses (wallstreetprep.com)

WSO Courses | Wall Street Oasis

Financial Modeling Certification | Financial

Modeling Institute https://fminstitute.com/podcast
Financial Modeling Standards

FAST - (Flexible, Appropriate, Structured,

Transparent) - The FAST standard is structured
design rules for financial modeling.
(https://www.fast-standard.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/10/FAST-Standard-02c-
July-2019.pdf)

SMART - The Smart methodology provides 10

guiding principles that help ensure your model
is following best practice modeling standards.
(http://info.corality.com/download-10-smart-
guidelines-for-financial-modelling)

BPMS - The Best Practice Modeling Standards

is a modeling standard produced by the
Spreadsheet Standards Review Board.
(http://www.ssrb.org/download)
Financial Modeling Follows

Lance Rubin Hedieh Kianyfard

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Danielle Stein Fairhurst 🟢

Chris Reilly
LinkedIn LinkedIn

Giles Male Kenny Whitelaw-Jones

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Ian Schnoor, CFA, CFM Viswanathan M B

LinkedIn LinkedIn
Modeling Courses by Chris Reilly

5 Simple Steps to a 3-Statement Model -Great for

learning the basics of how to build a 3-statement model

Advanced Three Statement Model Template -Great

template you can use when building 3- statement
models includes instructional videos

Financial Modeling for Private Equity - Great course for

learning how to build Private Equity financial models

3 Statement Bundle - This is a bundling of multiple

courses focused on 3-statement modeling

Note: I highly recommend Chris's courses as I have

learned a lot from watching his courses. However, If
you decide to take one of his courses using the above
links I do receive an affiliate commission.
 Modeling Courses by CFI

Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst

Note: I do not earn a commission if you take a course

from Corporate Finance Institute
 Financial Modeling Institute
FMI: Offers Financial Fundamentals course and the
premier global accrediation for financial modelers.

Foundations in Financial Modeling

Advanced Financial Modeler

Use code FMC15 or Podcast to save 15% on the

Financial Fundaments Course or the FMI Certification

Click here to Purchase the courses

Note: If you purchase from FMI I am eligible to earn an affiliate commission.

Financial Modeler's Corner

Financial Modeler's Corner is sponsored by FMI

Use codes (FMC15 or Podcast) to save 15% on the Financial
Fundaments Course or the FMI Modeling Certification.
Click here to Purchase
Financial Modeler's Corner Guests
Financial Modeling Learning Series

https://fmwiki.glideapp.io/dl/da19fa
 List of Articles
Mindset of Embracing the grey
The History of Spreadsheets & Financial Modeling
Excel Spreadsheet vs. Excel model for FP&A
Deal Models vs. Operational Model
Table Based Financial Modelling (TBFM)
ProjectFin deals vs. Other deal models
Project Finance Operational models
Fundamentals of 3-way Cashflow Modelling
SaaS Startup financial models
Scoping a Financial Model Built Primarily for Business Valuation
Financial Model Development
User Friendliness in Financial Modeling
Corporate Finance Theory and Modelling
Data Sourcing for Financial Modeling
Workbook Structure and Hyperlinks for Financial Models
Best Practice Formula Construction for Financial Modeling
 List of Articles
Error Checks for Excel and Financial Modeling
Special Edition: Financial Modeling for COVID-19 Uncertainty
Model Audit and Model Review - Can I rely on this model?
Special Edition: Dynamic Arrays
Knowledge Regression in FP&A and Financial Modelling (And How
We All Fix it Together)
Developing a Portfolio of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
How Sensitive is Your Model to Impacts?
Scenarios Analysis the Best Cure for Sensitivity
Simulations
Macros/VBA
Getting a Financial Modelling Qualification
The World Cup of Financial Modeling (FMWC E-sports)
Financial Modeling Standards
Automation in Modelling
How Financial Models Can Turn Lives Around
 List of Articles
Visual Influence and Story Telling
Excel, Analytics & Power BI
Google Sheets vs. Excel for Financial Modeling
The Implications of not Following a Modeling Standard
Completion & Ongoing Alignment of Models Built
LAMBDA - the New Excel Paradigm for Modeling
Building a Financial Modelling Strategy for a Business
Mindset of Embracing the Grey

Embrace the Grey

Lisa Barham

Lance Rubin
The History of Spreadsheets &
Financial Modeling

History of Spreadsheets

Dave Theron Colin Human

Lance Rubin
Excel Spreadsheet vs. Excel Model for
FP&A

Excel Spreadsheet vs. Excel Model

Cindy Rodgers

Lance Rubin
Deal Model vs. Operational Model

Deal Models vs. Operational Model

Ruby Liu

Lance Rubin
Table Based Financial Modeling

Table Based Financial Modeling

Craig Hatmaker

Lance Rubin
Project Finance vs. Other Deal
Modeling

Project Finance vs. Other Models

Matthew Bernath

Lance Rubin
Project Finance Operational Models

Project Finance Operational Models

Matthew Mehid Assadi-

Bernath Moghadam

Lance Rubin
Fundamentals of 3-way Cashflow
Modeling

3-way Cashflow Modeling

Furgan Baig

Lance Rubin
SaaS Startup Financial Models

SaaS Financial Modeling

Chironjit Das

Lance Rubin
Scoping a Financial Model Built
Primarily for Business Valuation

Scoping a Financial Model

Joris Kersten

Lance Rubin
Financial Model Development

Financial Model Development

David Thompson

Lance Rubin
 User Friendliness in Financial
Modeling

User Friendliness in Financial Modeling

David Thompson

Lance Rubin
Corporate Finance Theory and
Modelling

Corporate Finance Theory

David Thompson

Lance Rubin
Data Sourcing for Financial Modelling

Data Sourcing for Financial Modeling

Paul Barnhurst

Lance Rubin
Workbook Structure and Hyperlinks for
Financial Models

Workbook Structure

Jennifer Harrison

Lance Rubin
Best Practice Formula Construction for
Financial Modeling

Best Practice Formula Construction

Jennifer Harrison

Lance Rubin
Error Checks for Excel and Financial
Modeling

Error Checks for Financial Modeling

Maarten Bessems

Lance Rubin
Special Edition: Financial Modeling for
COVID-19 Uncertainty

Financial Modeling for Uncertainty

Danielle Stein Fairhurst

Lance Rubin
Model Audit and Model Review

Model Audit and Model Review

Ian Bennett

Lance Rubin
Special Edition: Dynamic Arrays

Dynamic Arrays

Jeff Robson

Lance Rubin
Knowledge Regression in FP&A and
Financial Modelling (And How We All
Fix it Together)

Knowledge Regression in Modeling

Rob Trippe Andrew Codd

Lance Rubin
Developing a Portfolio of Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Developing a Portfolio of KPIs

Betsy Macclean

Lance Rubin
How Sensitive is Your Model to
Impacts?

How Sensitive is Your Model

Carl Seidman

Lance Rubin
Scenario Analysis the Best Cure for
Sensitivity

Scenario Analysis

Carl Seidman

Lance Rubin
 Simulations

Monte Carlo Simulation

Kerry Mayes

Lance Rubin
 Macros/VBA

Macros/VBA
Benjamin
Marcus Small
Stoter

Lance Rubin
Getting a Financial Modelling
Qualification

Financial Modelling Qualifications

Danielle
Mohammed
Stein
Mostafa
Fairhurst

Lance Rubin
The World Cup of Financial Modeling
(FMWC E-sports)

Financial Modeling as a Sport

Lance Rubin
Automation in Modelling

Automation in Modelling
Benjamin
Stoter

Lance Rubin
How Financial Models Can Turn Lives
Around

How Modelling Benefits Lives

Russ Wood Alex Artajaya

Lance Rubin
Visual Influence and Story Telling

Visual Influence & Storytelling

Aaron Parry Jeff Robson

Lance Rubin
Excel, Analytics & Power BI

Excel, Analytics, & Power BI

Khaled Chowdhury

Lance Rubin
Google Sheets vs. Excel for Financial
Modeling

Google Sheets vs. Excel

David Benaim

Lance Rubin
The Implications of not following a
MOdeling Standard

Lance Rubin
 Aritcles Yet to be Written

Completions & Ongoing Alignment of Models

Built

LAMBDA - The New Excel Paradigm for Modeling

Building a Financial Modeling Strategy for a

Business
The FP&A Guy Services Offered
Contact me at [email protected] if
you are interested in any of the below services:

Corporate training to include Excel, Data

Visualization, Storytelling, Soft skills, Leadership,
Financial and Business Comprehension, and FP&A
Training

FP&A consulting services (budgeting/forecasting,

financial model, Org Assessment, data analysis

Content creation for your finance businesses

(Webinars, Blogs, LinkedIn Posts, White Papers)

Click here to sign up for my free newsletter

 Section 4 - Power BI

Authors

Khaled Chowdhury Lance Rubin

 Power BI Getting Started for FP&A
Power BI is now the undisputed market leader in business
intelligence (BI). It is one of the citizen tools in Microsoft Power
Platform Offerings.

Primary layers in Power BI

Get Data - Power Query ETL (Extract, Transform and Load)
Connect to 100+ sources to bring and shape your data

Data Modelling (Relationships) & Formula (DAX)

Build relationship between tables, no more VLOOKUP's or index/match
Excel-like formula capable of doing amazing things like time
intelligence

Visualizations
Dynamic canvas to develop interactive and dynamic presentation

Sharing (Web, Teams, Mobile)

Designed for sharing on all platforms where you have internet
Dynamic security means you build one report for all regions and
leadership
One version of Truth

User-friendly platform that enables stakeholders to self-serve reports and

dashboards that is built by analysts and citizen developers
Unlock the Power BI Champion within you!

Fundamentals of Success

Full Article Link – A detailed step-by-step guide to mastering Power BI

Power BI Top Modeling Tips
Power BI Top Visualization Tips

Click to see live

Click to see live

 Data Analysis Expression (DAX 101)
Description – describes the DAX in the below Total Revenue
Syntax – formula structure with the DAX function upfront uppercase
and parameters and filter contexts – bits in the middle
Data Analysis Expression (DAX 101)
Advanced Tools for Finance &
Accounting
Power BI YouTube Channels
 Power BI Websites

For Power BI PL-300 Certifications Free Resource follow this article:

Power BI Free Learning Path
Power BI Books
Power BI Connect with the Authors

Lance Rubin Khaled Chowdhury

https://www.modelcitizn.com https://wwww.datacrafters.io
Section 5 - FP&A Data Science & AI
Prophet Forecasting Algorithim

Prophet is a forecasting procedure

implemented in R and Python. It is
fast and provides completely
automated forecasts that can be
tuned by hand by data scientists
and analysts.

Prophet | Forecasting at scale. (facebook.github.io)

https: //facebook.github.io/prophet/
 Microsoft Finn Algorthim
The Microsoft Finance Time Series Forecasting Framework, aka
Finn, is an automated forecasting framework for producing
financial forecasts. While it was built for corporate finance
activities, it can easily expand to any time series forecasting
problem!

Automated feature engineering, back testing, and model

selection.
Access to 25+ models. Univariate, multivariate, and deep
learning models all included.
Azure integration to run thousands of time series in parallel
within the cloud.
Supports daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly
forecasts.
Handles external regressors, either purely historical or
historical+future values

Microsoft Finance Time Series Forecasting Framework • finnts

https://microsoft.github.io/finnts/
Finance - Data Science Books
 AI Finance People to Follow

Nicolas Boucher Adam Shilton

Glenn Hopper Christian Martinez

Section 6 - FP&A Podcasts
FP&A Tomorrow
 Podcasts

FP&A Tomorrow The Financial Modeling

Podcast Podcast

FP&A Today Financial Modeler’s

Podcast Corner

The MyExcelOnline CFO Weekly

Podcast Podcast

The Finance & Accounting Being Planful

Show Podcast