Financial modeling and Valuation in Excel

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Version

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I. A selection of useful tips and tools

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Index
Page #
Formatting a worksheet 4-11

Freeze Panes 12-19

Set Print Area 20-22

Fast scrolling 23-26

Fixing references 27-34

Text to columns 35-42

Alt + Enter 43-45

Wrap text 46-48

Custom sort 49-53

Select special 54-58

Data validation 59-65

Dynamic naming 66-68

Custom formatting of cells 69-73

Recording Macros 74-80

Name cell ranges 81-83

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Formatting a worksheet

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Formatting a worksheet

Newly created
worksheet in Excel

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Formatting a worksheet

Use this button or Select the entire

Ctrl + A worksheet

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Formatting a worksheet

Change the color of

the sheet to white

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Formatting a worksheet

Adjust the width of the

first column to 1.25

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Formatting a worksheet

Select the entire

Select the
worksheet entire
again
sheet

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Formatting a worksheet

Choose Arial, font

size 9

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Formatting a worksheet

B1 will be the title of

the sheet

Assign a font size 12

and a dark blue
color to the text

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Freeze Panes

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Freeze panes

Go to “View”

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Freeze panes

Select a given row

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Freeze panes

Click on “Freeze
Panes”

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Freeze panes

The result is that the first three

rows remained visible even when
we scroll down

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Freeze panes

Click “Unfreeze Panes” if you

would like to unlock the row

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Freeze panes

We could use “Freeze Panes” for columns, rows

or single cells. In this example we will freeze
everything above B4 and everything to its left side

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Freeze panes

Column A and the first three rows are locked after

we froze B4

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Set Print Area

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Set print area

Select the area that you would like to be printed

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Set print area

Go to “Page Layout” and click on “Print Area”,

select “Set Print Area”

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Fast Scrolling

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Fast scrolling

Click Ctrl+ Arrow key (in this example Down

Arrow)

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Fast scrolling

Excel will take you to the last non-blank cell

This command can be used in any direction

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Fast scrolling

You can also select the range that you are

scrolling through, by holding
Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Key

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Fixing references

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Fixing references

We multiply
(Volume) * (Cost per Unit)

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Fixing references

If we copy the formula to the right it will

multiply
(Cost per Unit) * (Price per Unit)

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Fixing references

G is the column 4 is the row

reference reference

Let’s say that we want to do the following: We have to fix the column reference
1. Multiply (Volume) * (Cost per Unit) of Volume because we would like to
2. Copy the ready formula and multiple multiply by Volume when we copy to
(Volume) * (Price per Unit) the right

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Fixing references

After we fixed the column reference of

volumes, the copied formula multiplies
(Volume) * (Price per Unit)
exactly as we wanted to

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Fixing references

After we fixed the column reference of

volumes, the copied formula multiplies
(Volume) * (Price per Unit)
exactly as we wanted to

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Fixing references

We can also fix row references

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Fixing references

When we copy the formula downwards,

we can see that the Volume cell
remained on the 4th row

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Text to columns

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Text to columns

When we have text in cells which is

difficult to elaborate “Text to columns”
comes in hand

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Text to columns

Go to “Data” and select “Text to

Columns”

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Text to columns

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Pick “Delimted” if the data follows a
given pattern

2
Pick “Fixed width” if you want to
separate the data into columns
mechanically

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Text to columns

Select the criteria according to which

the data will be separated into columns

Check if the data is

aligned well and click
“Finish”

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Text to columns

The data is well organized

into columns

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Text to columns

Select “Fixed width” if you want to

manually select how to separate
the data into columns

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Text to columns

Manually select how to organize

the columns

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Alt + Enter

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Alt + Enter

Click before the text that you would

like to have on a new row but
within the same cell

Press Alt + Enter

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Alt + Enter

The cell’s content is on two rows

within the same cell

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Wrap text

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Wrap text

If the text content of a cell leaves

its borders, use “Wrap text” in order
to adjust the row size and fit the
text within the cell

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Wrap text

The cell fits to its content

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Custom sort

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Custom sort

If you would like to sort a table

according to one of its columns you
could use “Custom Sort”

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Custom sort

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Select the whole table

2
Go to the “Home” menu and select
“Custom Sort”

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Custom sort

In the dialog box which opens we

can select:

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Criteria How to order
the data
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Column according to
which to sort by

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Custom sort

The table is sorted by each row’s

Volume figure

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Select special

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Select special

If you want to select cells in a given

range/table according to a criterion
you can do the following

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Select special

1
Select the whole table

2
Click F5

3
Click on “Special”

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Select special

Choose a criteria according

to which you would like to
select cells within the table

For example if we select

“Blanks”

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Select special

All empty cells within the table

will be selected

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Data validation

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Data validation

In order to create a drop-down

list we have to do the
following:

1 Select the range of cells for

which you would like to
create a drop-down list
2
Go to the “Data” menu and
click on “Data Validation”

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Data validation

In the dialog box which

opens select the type of data
that you would like to have in
the selected range

Let’s select “List”

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Data validation

Pick which values will be

included in the list and click
OK

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Data validation

The drop-down list is ready

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Data validation

If we try to type a different value

that the ones which are in the
list we receive an error message

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Data validation

In order to remove the error

message:

1
Go to “Data”, “Data Validation”

2
Select the third tab within the
dialog box, which opens

3
Unselect the box saying “Show
error…”

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Dynamic naming

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Dynamic naming

In order to create dynamic

names within a model:

1
Type equal, as if you are
creating a formula

2
Put within brackets the hard
text. In this case “P&L:”

3 Use the “&” function in order to

link to a given cell (C4 in this
example)

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Dynamic naming

Change the content of C4 and it

automatically updates in H4 as well

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Custom formatting of cells

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Custom formatting of cells

Give a custom format to a given cell

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Custom formatting of cells

Give a custom format to a given cell

1
Right-click on the cell/range of cells

2
Go to “Format cells”

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Click on “Custom”

3
Type in the menu the desired number
format

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Custom formatting of cells

Assign any type of format: date,

number, percentage etc.

Here we would like to have a multiple

format, therefore we have “.0 x”

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Custom formatting of cells

Here is the output format

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Recording Macros

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Recording Macros

In order to enable the “Developer” tab

right-click on the Ribbon and select
“Customize the Ribbon”

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Recording Macros

Click on “Developer”

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Recording Macros

The “Developer” tab is

enabled

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Recording Macros

Click on “Record Macro”

Assign a name to your new

macro

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Recording Macros

Every action that you perform while

recording will be memorized

Once you are ready, click on “Stop

Recording”

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Recording Macros

Click on “Macros”, select the Macro that

you recorded and then “Run”

It will reperform all the actions that you

took in the Excel sheet while recording it

!Be careful because you can’t undo a

Macro!

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Name cell ranges

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Name cell ranges

Select a cell or a cell range and click in

this box

Assign a name of your choosing to the

cell/cell range

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Name cell ranges

If you prefer you can use this name when

typing formulas like in the example above

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