The Spreadsheet Modelling tool that saves you hours
Why do you need a spreadsheet modelling tool?
Making sure your spreadsheet model is accurate and producing the correct results means you need to ensure that data is input correctly and that no mistakes are creeping in.
To make your life easier when modelling in Excel, it is essential to use a tool like OAK that can verify your work for you, saving you time and giving you full confidence in your models.
Here’s how we help you to make sure you’re using the best modelling practices
Verify consistency of structure/layout and formulas. At the same time, detect errors. Then easily create documentation needed to brief users. And know your spreadsheet is auditable.
The most complex task for a modeller is to improve simplicity and usability. The Optimize will show alternatives to your formulae and how to identify redundancy by applying the BODMAS rule as much as possible.
How Spreadsheet Modelling Can Help Different Users
Businesses
Businesses have lots of data to play with.
Using a spreadsheet modelling tool like OAK, you can get a summary of the entire workbook, and an overview of the logic behind the structure, layout and formulas, reducing the risk of error before finalising your model.
Financial Analysts
Financial analysts have the most use cases for spreadsheet modelling as they must dig deep into the historical data, research it, analyze it, and forecast future finances.
Use OAK during the spreadsheet-building process to control the formula risk score on your calculations while maintaining consistency across the model structure and specific worksheet properties.
Accountants
Accountants often dabble on the endless rows and columns of excel sheets to compile, analyze and verify the financial data of an organization.
OAK can positively impact how you do things as an accountant, often taking off a huge chunk of monotonous tasks from your work schedule, such as comparing two versions of the same spreadsheet and identifying the material differences
How To Develop Models with OAK
When you are working on spreadsheet modelling, the amount of information you deal with is considerable. OAK will be tremendously helpful at multiple stages of the procedure, including:
Summarizing a Workbook
In the business world, a spreadsheet is rarely used only by the person who created it.
Having the option to generate a summary of a complex workbook is frequently convenient, whether you are creating spreadsheets or using them. It gives end users a broad picture of the model’s logic.
You can also determine how many distinct or different formulas are there.
Manipulating Names
Instead of relying on confusing mathematical notations when referring to cells In Excel, with OAK, you have the ability to give those cells names meaning and utilize those names in calculations, like =Revenue-Costs easily.
If you enjoy utilizing names, OAK offers a variety of services that might be useful to you.
Using the select OAK | Names | Redefine and OAK | Names | Recreate commands, you can modify the names you assign to amounts in any cell.
The OAK | Names | Remove #REF! command allows you to rapidly delete any broken names in a given cell.
By mistakenly utilizing Excel’s Create Names command, you may rapidly remove undesired names from the name space by using the OAK | Names | Delete command.
By using the OAK | Names | Localize command, you may modify the scope of a number of names added by Excel’s Create Names command from global (associated with a workbook)
Comparing Workbooks/Worksheets
One of the most frequent issues that users creating a complex model in Excel run into is that they eventually forget what was altered in earlier iterations of the same document.
It gets harder, if not impossible, to tell how a complex Excel workbook as a whole has been changed when each worksheet gets bigger and more sophisticated.
You can identify the differences between two worksheets or two workbooks using the Compare Workbooks/Worksheets feature.
Spreadsheet Modelling FAQ
What makes a good spreadsheet model?
Spreadsheet models are tools that are programmatically designed using formulas and mathematics to serve a specific purpose. These tools automate certain repetitive tasks, which are highly error-free and often consume a lot of time manually. Learn what a spreadsheet model needs to be good below:
Spreadsheet models should be simple and consistent in design, and easy to navigate.
Any spreadsheet model should be error-free, meaning any margin of error should be foreseen when doing spreadsheet modelling.
Flexibility should be a cornerstone. Spreadsheet modelling should account for any variations in data input, such as negative numbers.
All spreadsheet models should be reusable as there is no point in doing spreadsheet modelling for single use.
Spreadsheet model should be clear and concise on its purpose and use.
Best practices for spreadsheet modelling in Excel
Scope
First, you need to define the scope of the problem. Then, what you want to solve with the spreadsheet model and the contents of the input/output data should be clear.
Specify
Once you define the scope of the problem, you should now specify what formulae or logic you will be used when modeling the spreadsheet.
Design And Build
This is the main part where the spreadsheet modeling takes place. You can now design a clear and concise module using the specified logic to solve the problem defined earlier.
Test
Testing the spreadsheet once the modelling is done is important to weed out any margin of errors. Make sure you test the model in many ways to find any inconsistencies or mistakes.