Importance of Financial Modelling

Financial Modelling - Anup N. Amatya & Associates

Financial Modelling help forecast a business’ financial performance into the future based on historical data and assumptions. At Anup N. Amatya & Associates, professional Financial, Business & Management Consultants, we help our clients to develop appropriate Financial Modelling tools to forecast future outcomes with alternate business strategies.

 Hierarchy of Financial Modelling

Three Statement Model – Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement

DCF Analysis – Discounted cash flow analysis to value a business

Scenario Analysis – Estimate changes in the value of a business in different possible scenarios

Sensitivity Analysis – Evaluate how sensitive investment is to changes in drivers

M&A Analysis – Evaluate the attractiveness of potential merger, acquisition or divestiture

Capital Raising – Analyze the pro forma impact of raising debt or equity

LBO Analysis – Determine how much leverage can be used to purchase a company

Good models separate inputs, processing, and outputs

Inputs:  

  • Clearly identified
  • Should only ever be entered once

Processing:

  • Processing should be transparent
  • Broken down into simple steps
  • Easy to follow

Outputs:

  • Quickly accessible
Model Inputs

Objectives:

  • Accurate
  • Reasonable data ranges
  • Easy to use
  • Easy to understand
  • Easy to update data

Achieving Objectives:

  • Enter each data once
  • Use colour to differentiate inputs with outputs
  • Use data validation & Conditional formatting
  • Use comments
Model Processing

Objectives:

  • Easy to maintain
  • Accurate processing
  • Transparency

Achieving Objectives:

  • Break down complex calculations
  • Use comments and annotations
  • Use formatting & Calculate final figures for the output reports
 Model Outputs

Objectives:

  • Provide key results to aid decision-making
  • Easy to understand
  • Unambiguous

Achieving Objectives:

  • Make outputs modular
  • Consider creating a summary section with only the key model outputs

Financial forecasting framework (for a Three Statement
Financial Modelling)

Assumptions & drivers – Historical ratios and figures which drive the forecast

Income statement – Summarizes the company’s profit and loss

Balance sheet – Displays the company’s assets, liabilities and
shareholders’ equity

Cash flow statement – Reports the cash generated and spent by a company

Supporting schedules –Breaks down longer calculations such as PP&E and debt
schedule

Illustrations:

Anup N. Amatya & Associates, professional Financial, Business & Management Consultants can help our clients implement appropriate Financial Modelling tools for alternate business strategies to gauge their outcome.

For more details, Contact Us, or follow the links below.

Author: Anup Narsingh Amatya