Using Excel to Solve Financial Problems

While Excel™ is a remarkably powerful platform that can be used to solve a wide variety of financial problems, most users of Excel™ utilize only its more basic capabilities. This course is designed to expose Excel's™ more powerful capabilities including goal seeker, audit tracing, protection, using macros, optimization of portfolios, comparable analysis, choose function, and sensitivity tables. To illustrate Excel's capabilities the program participants build a series of spreadsheets that value corporate debt, optimize a strategic asset allocation, value a growth stock, and value stock options/warrants.

No sessions currently available. Contact client services to get the next available date.
Basic knowledge of Excel
No advance preparation required.
Students will be able to:
  • Create optimal portfolios using solver
  • Calculate Betas of companies, and estimate risk based on future gains
  • Estimate stock prices and value stock options
  • Calculate determinants of loans, solve for payments and interest
Anyone in the financial industry who uses Excel™.
"I've learned some valuable shortcuts in excel as well as some foundations on how to use excel for more advanced uses"
"Solving problems with excel and formulas. I learned shotcuts using the keyboard"
"Shortcuts, easier ways to organize data I use on a daily basis"
  • Portfolio Management Suite
  • Financial Modeling for Corporate Finance
  • Essentials of Business Valuation - Day
  • Essentials of Corporate Finance
    • Excel and Problem Solving
    Best practices in Excel
    • Tips & tricks that will help with efficiency, organization and accuracy
    • Data Validation
    • Linking comments and documentation

    Recording Macros

    • Using the macro recorder

    Model One: Using Solver and Excel Functions in Finance

    • Creating optimal portfolios using solver
    • Calculating of Betas, and estimation of volatility
    • Estimating appropriate ratings

    Model Two: Scenario Analysis

    • Calculating equity prices and returns using goal seeker
    • Estimate stock prices using industry multiples and goal seeker
    • Combining P/E’s and Betas to determine ROEs, solving for undervalued stocks

    Model Three: Sensitivity Analysis Tables

    • A one-dimensional: equity price as a function of discount rate
    • A two-dimensional: equity price as a function of discount and growth rate

    Model Four: Loans Schedules

    • Calculate determinants of loans and solving for payments, interest, maturity and loan values

    Model Five: Using “Choose” Function in Excel

    • Using Excel’s Choose function to compare equity values and returns of companies in like industries
    • Build comparison charts using dynamic ‘drop-down” lists

    Clients who register for this course will receive a complimentary 6 month subscription to the Financial Times and FT.com. The Financial Times is the world's most respected financial newspaper providing a broad assessment on finance, business and the industrial sector. Subscriptions will start within 6-8 weeks of the application process, and are limited to one per client. For questions about your subscriptions call 800-628-8088 or email uscirculation@ft.com. US and Canada enrollees only.

    Lunch included for all students taking day classes.