Financial Modelling & Excel Resource Links - Updated

I wrote a blog article last year with links to some good Excel and Financial Modelling online resources.  Due to it's popularity at the time, and the fast moving pace of the online world, I thought it was time to update it!  www.plumsolutions.com.au/free-stuff is a good place to start, but there are a lot of other online resources available as well.

Whilst it's great to come on a training course and get a really intensive experience, chances are you won't remember all of it, especially if it's a pure Excel course with little practical application.  That's why it's a good idea to sign up for those newsletters and blog sites that will provide you with a steady stream of inspiration and "Oooh, I never thought of doing it like that" moments.  If your inbox can cope with a few extra emails - it just might be worth wading through a few extra emails to get to the good stuff.

So to save you hours of surfing and signing up to questionable sites, here is a list of our favourite sites, and thanks to the members of the Linked In Financial Modelling in Excel group who contributed.  Feel free to add any resources I have missed as I'm sure there are plenty!

Web Resources

• Chandoo aims to make you "awesome in Excel" and his blog is incredibly popular, due to the fantastic info he sends out all for free - pretty much on a daily basis!  Signing up to his newsletter is one of the best moves you can make if you want to continually improve your Excel skills.
• Financial Mechanics have some fantastic new videos at http://financialmechanics.tv you should definitely check out, as well as a newsletter and user forum and a new podcast series.
• The FAST modelling standard is gaining traction as the standard for financial modelling best practice.  http://www.fast-standard.org.  Financial Models should be Flexible, Accurate, Structured and Transparent.
• http://blog.corality.com A great blog with tutorials on lots of Financial Modelling and Excel-related topics, especially the area of risk and model audit.
• http://www.navigatorpf.com also has some excellent tutorials for download and a blog.
• http://www.fimodo.com/ is a refreshingly impartial Financial Modelling blog with contributions from Financial Modelling experts around the world.  No hidden sales or agendas!
• Access Analytics has a good knowledge area with extensive research articles, and some very useful whitepapers.
• http://www.vertex42.com/ The guide to Excel in everything – loads of templates and calculators.
• http://www.financialmodelingguide.com and the related www.finance30.com have a huge student following and have a lot of content on general finance as well as Financial Modelling, although you sometimes have to wade through a lot of content to get to the good stuff.
• Join the Linked In “Financial Modelling in Excel” group at www.Linkedin.com. If you aren’t a Linked In user yet, it is a great place to connect and stay connected with people in your industry – kind of like Facebook for Business!

White Papers & Other Documents

Available for download online.  You may need to register to access them.
“Financial Modelling Best Practice Guidelines” Whitepaper by Jeff Robson, Access Analytic Available at http://www.accessanalytic.com.au/kb
“Best Practice Modelling Standards, Spreadsheet Standards Review Board available at http://www.ssrb.org

Books

These books are all available at www.bookdepository.com

• “Practical Financial Modelling – A Guide to Current Practice” – Jonathan Swan, CIMA Publishing 2008
• “Financial Modeling” Third edition – Simon Benninga, MIT Press 2008
• “Financial Modelling in Practice: a Concise Guide for Intermediate and Advanced Level” - Dr Michael Rees, Wiley Finance, 2008
• “Mastering Financial Modelling in Microsoft Excel: a Practitioners Guide to Applied Corporate Finance” - Alastair Day, Financial Times Series, 2007
• “Building Financial Models: the Complete Guide to Designing, Building and Applying Projection Models” Second Edition – John S. Tjia, McGraw-Hill Finance & Investing 2009
• “Next Generation Excel: Modeling in Excel for Analysts and MBAs” – Isaac Gottlieb, Wiley Finance, 2010

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