The workshop curriculum is designed to make participants highly proficient in Excel, equipping them with essential skills for roles like Finance Analyst in consulting, equity research, or investment banking. To effectively build financial and business models, mastering Excel is crucial—starting with fundamental concepts and progressing to advanced techniques.

We begin by teaching essential Excel basics, enabling participants to use relevant financial formulas, efficiently navigate models, increase speed, and develop custom formulas for various scenarios. Here’s how we build proficiency:

– Mastering keyboard shortcuts to minimize mouse usage

– Sorting data and applying advanced filters beyond basic limitations

– Freezing cells, rows, and columns for easier navigation

– Applying conditional formatting to enhance data presentation

– Establishing linkages used in financial modeling

– Utilizing basic formulas like sum, product, division, multiplication, and concatenate

– Using VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and data matching functions

– Combining multiple functions, such as VLOOKUP + Match, Index + Match, and VLOOKUP + IF

– Calculating CAGR and using transpose functions

– Employing IF functions and table functions

– Creating and analyzing Pivot Tables

– Calculating IRR and working with cell referencing

– Using interest functions like EMI calculators

– Applying SumIF, CountIF, SumIFS, and SumProduct functions

– Advanced usage of the VLOOKUP function in complex scenarios

After mastering the Excel basics, participants move on to more advanced formulas designed to extract meaningful insights from large datasets in seconds.

The focus shifts to leveraging Microsoft Excel for efficient and effective data analysis. This includes, but is not limited to:

– Combining multiple functions like VLOOKUP + Match, Index + Match, and VLOOKUP + IF

– Using the OFFSET function

– Conducting sensitivity analysis through various methods

– Implementing Scenario Manager within financial models

– Managing iterative calculations and understanding how to disable them

– Performing statistical analysis, such as correlation, regression, and variance

– Summarizing and consolidating data from multiple sheets using the INDIRECT function

Charting Excellence

Many of us default to basic bar or pie charts for any data visualization. However, presenting robust data insights requires the right charts. Our charting workshops teach participants how to select the appropriate charts for specific data, and with Excel proficiency, you’ll learn to create dynamic charts, including:

– Guidelines for creating effective bar charts

– Using linked objects in charts (e.g., dynamic flags)

– Choosing the right chart based on the data

– Building dynamic charts that auto-update without manual changes

– Using Name Manager for dynamic chart creation

– Displaying multiple charts in the same location using filters

– “Now and Then” analysis charts

– Waterfall and thermometer charts

– How charts evolve with sensitivity analysis

– Adding interactivity through form controls

Practical Application: Dashboards

Participants will apply advanced Excel formulas, charting techniques, and conditional formatting to create professional dashboards. This process includes:

– Advanced Excel formulas

– Conditional formatting for data highlights

– Utilizing developer tabs for enhanced functionality

– Expert charting, including advanced tricks using Excel formulas

PowerPoint Training

Many people believe they are proficient in PowerPoint, often based on experience from school or college. However, there’s a significant gap between basic PowerPoint skills and the standards required in the corporate world. Our training covers:

– Ensuring every slide passes the 20-second test

– Creating impactful slides with fact-based content, proper data sourcing, effective charts, and strong visual appeal

– Structuring and phasing data presentations effectively

– Crafting a presentation flow that tells a compelling story

Before diving into the complexities of Financial Modeling and Valuations, we first ensure you’re well-versed in the essential finance concepts that are critical for mastering financial and valuation analysis. We focus on making you comfortable with how financial segments integrate, answering all the “WHY” questions—such as “Why do we do this?” and “Why is this important?”—instead of simply following tradition. Our goal is to clearly explain both the logic and methodology behind every step.

Key areas covered include:

– Understanding the **Statement of Financial Position**, **Income Statement**, **Cash Flow Statement**, and the importance of various adjustments

– Explaining the interconnections between the three financial statements and how accounting flows between them

– Conducting **Ratio Analysis** using key financial ratios, such as liquidity, asset management, debt management, and profitability ratios

– Assessing a company’s financial health through multiple ratio analyses

– Performing 3-Step and 5-Step DuPont Analysis

– Margin of Safety and Break-Even Point, analysis

– Calculating the Present Discounted Value of Money (Time Value of Money)

Every major project begins with an assessment of its economic feasibility. The financial feasibility of projects relies on capital budgeting techniques to address the financial decision-making challenges faced by firms.

What You’ll Learn:

– Why Net Present Value (NPV)is preferred over Internal Rate of Return (IRR)for evaluating a project’s financial viability

– How to build dynamic business models from scratch with multiple scenarios using XIRR and MIRR

– Developing assumptions and understanding the rationale behind them before constructing a business model

– Applying methods like the lowest common denominator and annual equivalency cash flow to assess projects with different lifespans

– Using formulas for after-tax Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to determine the cost of capital

– Calculating free cash flows to the firm (FCFF) and free cash flows to equity (FCFE) to assess a project’s profitability

– Making informed project decisions with advanced tools like Data Tables, Scenario Manager, and Solver

Trading Comps is a pricing technique that ranks among the most widely used valuation methods by investment bankers and finance professionals. In this course, we will learn how to construct detailed trading comps, starting from peer selection to the analysis of the final output. We’ll explore how to compare and utilize these multiples as a valuation technique, investigate potential reasons for discrepancies in the multiples, and strategies for addressing those differences.

Key Learning Objectives:

– Steps to create meaningful trading comps analysis, including enterprise value, latest twelve months (LTM) figures, adjusting reported financials, and calculating & benchmarking multiples

– The impact of convertible securities such as options, warrants, restricted stock units (RSUs), convertible bonds, and convertible preference shares

– The treatment of leases (operating vs. capital) and R&D expenses in financial analyses

– Analyzing why companies within the same sector might trade at different multiples and understanding how to assess these differences before concluding whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued

– The role of multiples in IPO valuations

– Conducting regression analysis on multiples

– Understanding how the relevance of multiples varies by industry, including which multiples primarily influence peer pricing within that sector

– Reasons why a high-growth company may trade at lower multiples compared to a company with less growth

– Examining differences in multiples across various industries and the factors driving those differences

– Strategies for selecting peers when other listed companies in the same space are unavailable

Precedent Transactions/Deal Comps is a variant of trading comps and one of the three primary valuation techniques utilized by investment bankers, alongside trading comps and discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation. This technique is fundamentally based on deal value, which focuses on the multiples offered in previous transactions under similar purchasing conditions. In this course, we will explore how to calculate transaction multiples, understand how these differ from those calculated in trading comps, and identify the situations where this valuation technique is most applicable.

Key Learning Objectives:

– Steps to construct a meaningful transaction comps analysis, including enterprise value, the latest twelve months (LTM) figures at the transaction date, adjustments to reported financials, and calculating & benchmarking multiples

– The fundamental differences between transaction comps and trading comps

– The impact of controlling premiums on multiples, including the rationale for the size of these premiums

– Identifying the valuation scenarios in which transaction comp multiples are appropriate to use

In the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation technique, we assess the value of a business or asset based on its fundamentals. This approach differs significantly from the relative comps technique; while DCF focuses on determining the intrinsic value of an asset, relative valuation seeks to establish its market price, which can diverge considerably from the fundamental value derived through DCF. In this module, we will focus on valuing an asset based on key fundamentals such as cash flows, risks, and growth potential.

Key Learning Objectives:

– Projecting detailed free cash flows for the company

– Determining the ideal projection period for the target company

– Incorporating various risks into projections and cash flow calculations

– Switching between currencies in projections and understanding its impact on the discount rate

– Calculating the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) when certain information is unavailable

– Identifying potential inconsistencies in our assumptions regarding cash flow projections and discount rates, and strategies to resolve them

– Exploring different methods for calculating terminal value (including EBITDA multiples and perpetual growth methods) and their implications for DCF valuation, along with their inherent limitations

– Examining various approaches to calculating beta and their effects on WACC and DCF valuation

– Understanding how to treat options differently in DCF valuation compared to trading comps, and the rationale behind this distinction

A merger model is designed to assess the impact of a transaction (merger or acquisition) on the future earnings of the remaining shareholders in the newly formed company. This model evaluates both the short-term and long-term effects of the transaction on shareholders’ future earnings, determining whether these earnings will increase or decrease as a result of the acquisition. In this course, we will cover:

– How to construct a fully integrated merger model to determine whether the transaction is accretive or dilutive to shareholders

– The effects of a stock deal versus a cash deal on shareholders’ future earnings

– Incorporating synergies into the pro forma earnings of the new company post-acquisition

– Adjusting for the refinancing of existing debt in the target company

– An overview of the M&A process

– The importance of mastering PowerPoint for effective presentations

– Basic PowerPoint skills

– Crafting a Letter of Interest

– Drafting a comprehensive Letter of Intent

– Understanding the fundamentals of merger modeling

– Access to merger model files

– M&A notes for reference and study

A Leveraged Buyout (LBO) involves acquiring a company using a significant amount of borrowed funds, such as bonds or loans, to cover the purchase costs.

LBO Model Components:

-LBO Valuation: Assessing the overall value of the transaction

– LBO Transaction Assumptions: Establishing the foundational assumptions for the deal

– LBO Debt Assumptions: Outlining the debt structure for the acquisition

– LBO Goodwill Calculation: Determining the goodwill resulting from the acquisition

– LBO Closing Balance Sheet: Creating the balance sheet at the time of closing

– LBO Income Statement: Preparing the income statement post-acquisition

– LBO Balance Sheet: Constructing the balance sheet for the new entity

– LBO Cash Flow Statement (CFS): Analyzing cash flows related to the LBO

– LBO Key Metrics: Identifying essential performance metrics for the LBO

– LBO Files: Accessing relevant documentation and templates for the LBO model

A key component of the curriculum involves conducting mock interviews for candidates, providing them with valuable experience and exposure to potential real-life interview scenarios. These stress interviews not only help candidates but also allow faculty to assess and evaluate their performance, offering insights into the candidates’ current standing and a clear action plan for further development.

Additionally, Finsaviours assists candidates in refining their CVs to make them more appealing and professional. A well-crafted resume plays a crucial role in shaping a positive first impression in the interviewer’s mind.