Financial Modeling Education

Financial Modeling Courses for Investment Banking, Private Equity, and FP&A.

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Mission Capital Consulting

Leesa Sleep

Board Member

TitleCard Capital Group, LLC

Vice President

Lariat Partners, LP

Associate

Hilton

Senior Analyst

FTI Consulting

Consultant

👇50% off all Financial Modeling Courses this week only.

Ever found yourself facing a last-minute request to build a financial model, feeling so overwhelmed you literally couldn’t think straight?  Then read this 👇

I've been there.  I remember EXACTLY how it feels, and it 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘴.

After being up until 2am the previous night, I had my head in my hands at a Colorado Rockies’ game, so insanely overwhelmed because I felt unprepared building a financial model.

Today, I can build in 2 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 what used to take me 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, and it’s definitely 𝘯𝘰𝘵 because I’m smarter, it’s because... 𝗜 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼.

What most people don’t realize is that Financial Modeling can be broken down in systematic steps you can repeat every time, so you’re not always recreating the wheel from scratch.

So that’s why I created the 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: teach everything I 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 I knew back then—𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠—to hopefully save just one Analyst from spending all weekend at the office.

Fast forward, here’s what things look like today:

🏆 Trusted by over 43,000 students with 4.9/5.0 Star average rating

🏆 Over 100,000 followers on LinkedIn & other social media platforms

🏆 Recognized by Business Insider and Financial Modeling World Cup

🏆 Featured by Wharton Online, Wall Street Prep, & LinkedIn Learning

In just 8 hours, you'll learn to build the 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 Financial Models I use with real Investment Banks, FP&A Teams, and Private Equity Firms—models you can use immediately—no fluff or insufferable corporate jargon.

Enroll today, and make sure you never spend another night, weekend (or vacation) burned out at the office 👉 https://www.financialmodelingeducation.com/

"Training is fantastic..."
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"Best money ever spent..."
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"Absolute game changer..."
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"Best course I've taken online..."
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"Most comprehensive course I've taken..."
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"I have taken several modeling courses, this one is the best..."
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Check it out here 👉 https://www.financialmodelingeducation.com/

50 Excel shortcuts for modeling 👉 https://lnkd.in/esbZCXje 


🟢 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿

Copy (Ctrl + C)
Paste (Ctrl + V)
Cut (Ctrl + X)
Undo (Ctrl + Z)
Redo (Ctrl + Y)
Save (Ctrl + S)
Bold (Ctrl + B)
Italic (Ctrl + I)
Underline (Ctrl + U)
Select entire column (Ctrl + Space)
Select entire row (Shift + Space)
Insert row (Ctrl + Shift + '+')
Delete row (Ctrl + '-')
Open format cells dialog (Ctrl + 1)
Insert comment (threaded note) (Alt + R + C)

🟠 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲

Fill down (Ctrl + D)
Fill right (Ctrl + R)
Apply currency format (Ctrl + Shift + $)
Apply percent format (Ctrl + Shift + %)
Apply border (Ctrl + Shift + &)
Format painter (ribbon) (Alt + H + F + P)
Hide rows (Ctrl + 9)
Hide columns (Ctrl + 0)
Go to specific cell (F5)
Select visible cells only (Alt + ;)
Freeze top row (Alt + W + F + R)
Move to next worksheet (Ctrl + Page Down)
Move to previous worksheet (Ctrl + Page Up)
Switch open workbooks (Ctrl + Tab)
Open name manager (Ctrl + F3)

🔴 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱

Show formulas (Ctrl + `)
Evaluate formula (Alt + M + V)
Name a range (Ctrl + F3)
Create a table (Ctrl + T)
Insert function (Shift + F3)
Jump to precedents (Ctrl + [)
Jump to dependents (Ctrl + ])
Go to special (Ctrl + G → Special)
Paste special (Ctrl + Alt + V)
Flash fill (Ctrl + E)
Repeat last action (F4)
Group rows/columns (Alt + Shift + →)
Ungroup rows/columns (Alt + Shift + ←)
Collapse outline (Alt + A + H)
Return to previous location (F5 → Enter)

🔵 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴

Lock cell reference (F4)
Add line break in cell (Alt + Enter)
Insert today’s date (Ctrl + ;)
Insert current time (Ctrl + Shift + ;)
Recalculate workbook (Ctrl + Alt + F9)
Paste values only (Alt + E + S + V)
Format as number (Ctrl + Shift + 1)
Format as date (Ctrl + Shift + 3)
Format as time (Ctrl + Shift + 2)
Increase decimal (Alt + H + 0)
Decrease decimal (Alt + H + 9)
Toggle absolute/relative (F4 (in formula bar))
Apply general format (Ctrl + Shift + ~)
Select entire worksheet (Ctrl + A (twice))
Add horizontal border (Alt + H + B + H)

⚠️ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿

Knowing Excel shortcuts 𝙬𝙤𝙣'𝙩 get you a seat on the Board, but it will help you speed up what the Board needs: 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 they can actually understand, that help you decide what the business should do next.

Want to put all those shortcuts to good use?

Master three statement modeling here: https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Chris Reilly

I can help you master Three Statement Modeling & 13 Week Cash Flow Forecasting in 8 hours.

𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 — Board Rejects AI Financial Model

After opening Excel Online for the first (and last) time ever, local financial modeler Chris Reilly proudly told the Board, “Yeah, AI made the whole thing.  It took eight minutes and I went and got coffee.”

The model reportedly included three statements, a debt schedule, and a circular reference that Reilly claimed "achieved sentience" before obliterating itself into a wall of cells that just said #𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘?.

“While we’d love to write a blank check for millions of dollars with zero diligence, we unfortunately needed at least one 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 brain to validate and interpret the output,” said the anchor LP of a large fund-of-funds.

“Loved his spirit,” added one Board member, “but that thing had more hallucinations than me in college.”

Despite promises that AI would “𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺,” the model apparently fabricated an entire new product line, three subsidiaries, and an IPO scheduled for next Thursday.

Sources went on to confirm the model forecasted 400% annual growth, negative expenses, and “infinite free cash flow.”

At press time, Reilly was reportedly seen updating the headline of his resume to "Chief Prompt Engineer."

If you're interested in Private Equity, you need to understand "the waterfall."  This video gives you the basics 👇


The 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 is:

Enterprise Value
   Less: Debt
   Less: Preferred
= Proceeds to Common


In a more 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, you might find:

Enterprise Value
   Plus: Cash
   Less: Senior Debt
   Less: Subordinated Debt
   Less: Hurdle Rate
   Less: Preferred
   Less: Catch-up Provision
= Proceeds to Common (split 80/20 to Investors/PE)

~~~
📍 𝘉𝘵𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘌. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶: https://lnkd.in/ewh-x6_k 
~~~


🧠 In either case, the 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲:

Start with Enterprise Value
   ↳ Work our way down the "waterfall"
      ↳ Until every investor group has been paid off
         ↳ And (hopefully) made a profit as well.


💻How it 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹:

You'll start with a schedule called "Returns."

The first number will be Trailing-Twelve-Months (TTM) Adjusted EBITDA.

(pulled from a schedule below your Income Statement).

The Adjusted EBITDA will then be multiplied by a "market multiple."

EBITDA x Multiple = Enterprise Value.

Armed with the Enterprise Value, you can now work your way down the waterfall, modeling the proceeds to each investor group, and calculating the respective ROIs and IRRs.


𝗘𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲...

This can be a little tricky to visualize from a LinkedIn post.

So, if you'd like to see this step-by-step using videos, I can help.

Learn more here 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

mission-capital-consulting

financial-modeling-education

Imran Fazal -I- lLahi- ACA, FCCA, ACMA

Learn the statement of cash flows with this simple AF one-pager 👇


✓ 𝙍𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙨𝙩

First things first, you'll need some data.

Ask for the Income Statement and the Balance Sheet.


✓ 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 — 𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩

1. Pull the Net Income from the Income Statement

2. Pull the Depreciation from the Income Statement

(or use the change in Accumulated Depreciation from the Balance Sheet if available)


✓ 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 — 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙩

You're calculating the 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 between two periods.

For Assets: Previous Period - Current Period

For Liabilities & Equity: Current Period - Previous Period

(note, if Fixed Assets are shown on a "net basis," you'll need to subtract Depreciation from your calculation as well)

~~~
📥 btw, here's a balance sheet guide 👉 https://lnkd.in/ew4nwaVx 
~~~


✓ 𝙀𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩

If done correctly, the ending cash should match what you see on the Balance Sheet.

Once it does, you can be confident your model is structurally sound.

And now you can carry those formulas forward to reflect your forecast.


💡𝙋𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙞𝙥

Once your Statement of Cash Flows is built correctly, you leave it alone.

~~~𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥~~~

Your modeling should only be done in the Income Statement and Balance Sheet.

The Statement of Cash Flows is nothing more than a formulaic bridge between the other two statements.


✓ 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

   • Get Income Statement & Balance Sheet
   • Calculate Changes b/t Balance Sheet
   • Works correctly when Ending Cash matches the Balance Sheet


~~~

Hey! I'm Chris Reilly, and I teach financial modeling.

I can help you master Three Statement Modeling in a few hours.

↪ https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Check out this video...

How you can use SUMPRODUCT to spot errors in your model 👇

~~~
📥 𝘱.𝘴. 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 👉 https://lnkd.in/efdpVuxX 
~~~

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮

Here's the formula: =SUMPRODUCT(--iserror([range]))

Note: In the video I incorrectly say "double negative 🙃," but Matthew Herbert of BizTrix pointed out that:

"The double minus is an operator, not negation. The double minus is the unary operator and it explicitly converts logical values into numbers (true converts to 1 and false converts to 0). ISERROR returns a logical value. This is why SUM(ISERROR(range)) or SUMPRODUCT(ISERROR(range)) returns 0 but placing the unary operator in front of ISERROR returns >0 when there is an error."

I have no idea what that means, but sounds good to me.

(Even as an experienced user and instructor there's always something new to learn!)


𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲

I will often put this SUMPRODUCT formula in the upper-left corner of a given sheet, and use it as a quick check/scan to see if any errors pop up.

Maybe something helpful you can add to your model 🙂.



~~~

👋 Hey, I'm Chris Reilly -- I teach financial modeling the way I 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 someone taught me.

🎓 I can help you master Three Statement Modeling and 13 Week Cash Flow Forecasting in only 8 hours -- and you'll complete your first working model in just 45 minutes.

↪ https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Hey so that model you just emailed your boss...

...did you check it for errors?


For real though, how closely?

(slamming F2 saying "looks good looks good looks good" isn't a strategy)

I hate to break it to you, but 90% of all spreadsheets contain errors.

(𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵)

That's an A- in being wrong.

Not great.

The truth is, Excel's amazing flexibility also exposes our 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 limitations —

We make mistakes.

All of us.

———

If there is software out there that can be:

▪️ a grocery list, and;

▪️ a time keeper, and;

▪️ billion-dollar LBO, then;

𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 the human mind can find a way to make a mistake.

(I've done it plenty of times)

———

That's why the first thing I do with every file is build "error checks."

It's a separate tab.

I call it "QC" for "Quality Control."

Others call it "QA" ("Quality Assurance").

Others call it "Errors" or "Validations."

Doesn't matter what you call it, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

———

You link all your possible errors to this one place.

▪️ Does my Balance Sheet balance?

▪️ Does my Statement of Cash Flows match the Balance Sheet?

▪️ Are my Covenants in compliance?

▪️ Does my Cash go negative?

Then at the top, you put a "𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗟."

The Master Check Cell references all the 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 errors below.

And ~𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽~ you link this Master Check Cell to cell A1 of 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘣 in your workbook.

That way, when something goes wrong (and it will),

you are 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 notified (in cell A1), and you can investigate.

𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗶𝗽:

▪️ press "ctrl + [ " on cell A1

▪️ it will bring you to your "QC" tab

———

I've got an example in the image below.

You can see my list of possible errors,

and my "Master Check Cell" at the top.

For complicated files I will have hundreds of these.

It is the first and last tab I 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 check before hitting "send" in my email.


𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 ⤵️

📥 Stay organized with this modeling checklist 👉 https://lnkd.in/eVTU67fY 

✅ Master this error-checking technique with step-by-step videos 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

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