Blog
7 Lessons Learned Building Hundreds of Financial Models
Intro I’ve built hundreds of Financial Models over the years, and frankly don’t even want to know how many hours I’ve spent... more »
Sometimes the Model Needs to be Complicated
Intro I commonly preach simplicity when it comes to Financial Modeling. Afterall, most financial models are completely bloated with stuff you... more »
7 M&A Concepts You Must Know if You Work in FP&A
Remember When I Said… …that FP&A and Private Equity are deeply intertwined? This post is no exception. Reminder, the ethos of all my... more »
3 Things to Make You a Good Modeler (Excel is last)
Setting the Record Straight Like any Finance pro, I love Excel (who doesn’t?). But being good at Excel is just one small piece of being a good modeler,... more »
Take the Headache out of Building the Sources and Uses.
Intro Straightforward in concept, but oddly tricky to model, the Sources and Uses is a critical part of M&A modeling that you need to... more »
Doomsday Cash Runway (with template)
You’ve been there, right? Big night out with the buddies. One too many sodas. Your alarm goes off. It’s 6am. Time to get ready for work. Fun... more »
It’s Time We Simplified Cash Flow Modeling
Intro Cash Flow Modeling: one of the more cryptic and misunderstood concepts in Financial Modeling. It’s time to simplify this whole exercise, once... more »
What is the best practice for financial modeling in excel
What is the best practice for financial modeling in excel? "Financial modeling sits at the core of the finance industry, providing insights into future... more »
A Simple Guide to ROI and IRR (and why you need both)
Intro When evaluating an investment, especially in the Private Equity setting, two terms are often thrown around: ROI IRR What are they, and why do we need... more »
My Story of Working on the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy
Intro Most of my posts are "how to" based. After all, my goal is to help you become a better Financial Modeler. This week I thought I'd mix it up and tell... more »
Understanding SDE vs Adjusted EBITDA
Introduction: SDE vs Adjusted EBITDA, what exactly is the difference? When assessing the financials of a company, two terms often surface in the realm of valuation... more »
Two Modeling Approaches to Working Capital
Intro Let’s get “into the weeds” a bit this week and talk through a critical skill for financial modeling: how to model the Working... more »
The Art of 'Good Enough': Balancing Perfection and Practicality in Financial Modeling
Introduction In the meticulous world of financial modeling, the quest for perfection is a common pursuit. As financial professionals, we often find ourselves... more »
PayPod: Building Better Financial Models with Chris Reilly
In this engaging conversation, Chris Reilly, founder of Mission Capital Consulting and Financial Modeling Education, joins the PayPod podcast to discuss... more »
The First 100 Days After Close
Intro I talk a lot in this email series about how to build certain elements of financial models. But what we don't talk about as much is when this stuff... more »
The Matching Principle Visualized in Excel...
What is the Matching Principle? In the world of financial accounting, the Matching Principle stands as a cornerstone, ensuring that companies accurately... more »
Building a Cohort Analysis in Excel
Understanding Cohort Analysis: A Deep Dive Cohort analysis is a powerful tool used in business analytics to understand the behavior of specific groups over time.... more »
Difference between LBO Model and FP&A Model
Here are the primary differences between an LBO Model and FP&A Model... LBO Model Often complicated in its structure, an LBO Model is shorter-term in... more »
Debt Issuance Costs: Modeling Convenience vs. GAAP Accuracy
In the world of financial modeling and M&A transactions, debt often plays a starring role. However, there's a nuanced area that doesn't always get... more »
FP&A Operating Model: The exact layout I use almost every time
Here’s the exact layout of nearly every FP&A Operating Model I build… The information flows from right to left, meaning: Summaries < —... more »
EBITDA Changes in M&A (viewed by month)
Ever wonder how EBITDA changes in an M&A transaction (pre- and post-close)? This post walks through the differences... EBITDA, as Defined This... more »
Free Cash Runway Template in Excel
Forget 13 weeks. Let's get real. This is my "Doomsday Cash Runway" Template. (with a free download at the end 🔽) tl;dr just grab the template here.... more »
Modeling Accounts Receivable with OFFSET in Excel
How to use the OFFSET function to build collection delays in Accounts Receivable... To be honest, the OFFSET function always used to scare me: it looks... more »
Stress test: Want your model to be good? Then make it absurd...
What am I talking about really? Creating a "stress test." You've built this fancy model, and things "look pretty good." But at the same time, you... more »
An Entire Private Equity Transaction on One Page
Here's how I fit a private equity transaction on one page. This is an example of what you would show a Managing Partner before moving forward with a deal.... more »