Year 1 · Foundations · Corporate Finance & Valuation
Excel Foundations for Finance
Build the spreadsheet habits used in finance: clean model architecture, reliable formulas, logical tests, lookups, date handling, financial functions, sensitivities, charts and error checks.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
What you should be able to explain after this lesson
01
Build a clean finance workbook with separated inputs, calculations and outputs.
02
Use relative, absolute and mixed cell references correctly.
03
Apply logical, conditional aggregation and lookup functions to financial datasets.
04
Work safely with dates, time periods and common finance functions such as NPV, XNPV, IRR and XIRR.
05
Create scenario and sensitivity analysis without hard-coding outputs.
06
Audit a spreadsheet for formula consistency, data quality and presentation risk.
CONCEPT MAPA professional spreadsheet workflow
A good finance model is designed before formulas are written
CORE FACTS · SAME IN EVERY MODE
Professional spreadsheets separate source data, assumptions, calculations and outputs so users can trace logic.
Inputs should be clearly labeled with units, dates and source context.
Hard-coded assumptions embedded inside long formulas are harder to review and update.
Consistency of time direction, signs and units matters as much as formula syntax.
BeginnerTeaching style changes, knowledge does not.
Instead of typing growth of 5% directly into twenty formulas, place the 5% assumption in one labeled cell and reference it everywhere. Then when the assumption changes, the whole model updates from one place.
COMPARISON
Weak vs strong model design
| Weak practice | Better practice |
|---|---|
| Assumption hidden inside formula | Dedicated labeled input cell |
| Mixed units without labels | Explicit units on every schedule |
| Manual output edits | Outputs driven by formulas |
| No error checks | Visible control checks |
PROFESSIONAL VOCABULARYHard-code / valeur saisie en dur / hard-code Schedule / tableau de calcul / schedule
A manually typed value rather than a formula-linked or source-linked value.
A structured supporting calculation block used by a financial model.