Financial Modeling Guide

Define the deliverables at each stage of building a financial model to guide development efforts and ensure that the correct expectation is set among the financial modeling team as well as the users and eventual audience of the financial model results.

Consult the entire team and users early on to ensure that you build adequate detail and functionality that enable the analyses and sensitivity options required in the financial model. A few hours of careful planning and coordination early on in the process will save you days (if not weeks or months) of rework and corrections.

However, be sure to avoid unnecessary detail, as fleshing out what goes into the model and who-does-what should not equate to creating redundant work. Rather, as with all plans, the simplest ones are normally the most effective.

Look at the illustration for an example of how to define key deliverables when planning a financial modeling exercise.

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