By Anurag K
Key to really FAST modelling!
Building a first financial model from scratch can take weeks, often at the cost of sleep and sanity. By the time the second model comes around, even for a different business, it's common to notice large parts of the logic repeating. And the same happens in the third.
That’s when the thought arises:
Should there be a universal template that contains all the logics used repeatedly? Would that save time in the long run?
Not So Fast, Templates Are Not the Answer!
Template models are static by nature, built for a specific purpose, often in a specific context. While they might seem helpful at first glance, they come with serious limitations and hidden risks. Here's why:
a) Category Rigidity
Templates either come overloaded with redundant categories or force users to manually add new ones. The latter is painful and high-risk, even adding one revenue stream could involve dozens of changes across sheets. One small oversight can lead to broken financial statements, and worse, create key person dependency if only one person understands how it all fits together.
b) Time Series Limitations
Extending or rolling forward time series in templates is almost never straightforward. Either you're stuck with the original structure, or you need an experienced model developer to safely extend the timeline. This defeats the purpose of using a template in the first place.
c) Lack of Functional Flexibility
Templates are locked into their original features. If you want to include a DCF or switch to driver-based revenue forecasts, and it’s not already baked in, you'll need someone with advanced Excel expertise to retrofit it. That’s more time, more cost, and more risk.
d) Sector-Specific by Nature
Most templates are hardwired for a particular industry. An Oil & Gas model won’t adapt well to a SaaS business. Reworking such templates often takes more time than building something fresh from scratch.
So, what’s the secret to building models faster, without the mess?
The EMF Approach
Over years of hands-on experience and industry consensus, it’s clear: the modular approach wins. Just like Henry Ford revolutionized car manufacturing with the assembly line in 1908, making production faster, cheaper, and better, we’re having our own Ford moment. We've trained AI to build models for you, fast, error-free, and fully aligned with the F.A.S.T. Standard. The result? Models that impress investors and work right, every time.
No more bad specifications!
90% of projects fail because they start with unclear requirements. We've solved that too. Our interactive platform, asks you everything it needs to know about your project in a structured way. As you tweak the scope, we instantly update your pricing. It’s like customizing your cable package, but for financial models.
Ready to try it yourself?
👉 Build your model here
Not So Fast, Templates Are Not the Answer!
Template models are static by nature, built for a specific purpose, often in a specific context. While they might seem helpful at first glance, they come with serious limitations and hidden risks. Here's why:
a) Category Rigidity
Templates either come overloaded with redundant categories or force users to manually add new ones. The latter is painful and high-risk, even adding one revenue stream could involve dozens of changes across sheets. One small oversight can lead to broken financial statements, and worse, create key person dependency if only one person understands how it all fits together.
b) Time Series Limitations
Extending or rolling forward time series in templates is almost never straightforward. Either you're stuck with the original structure, or you need an experienced model developer to safely extend the timeline. This defeats the purpose of using a template in the first place.
c) Lack of Functional Flexibility
Templates are locked into their original features. If you want to include a DCF or switch to driver-based revenue forecasts, and it’s not already baked in, you'll need someone with advanced Excel expertise to retrofit it. That’s more time, more cost, and more risk.
d) Sector-Specific by Nature
Most templates are hardwired for a particular industry. An Oil & Gas model won’t adapt well to a SaaS business. Reworking such templates often takes more time than building something fresh from scratch.
So, what’s the secret to building models faster, without the mess?
The EMF Approach
Over years of hands-on experience and industry consensus, it’s clear: the modular approach wins. Just like Henry Ford revolutionized car manufacturing with the assembly line in 1908, making production faster, cheaper, and better, we’re having our own Ford moment. We've trained AI to build models for you, fast, error-free, and fully aligned with the F.A.S.T. Standard. The result? Models that impress investors and work right, every time.
No more bad specifications!
90% of projects fail because they start with unclear requirements. We've solved that too. Our interactive platform, asks you everything it needs to know about your project in a structured way. As you tweak the scope, we instantly update your pricing. It’s like customizing your cable package, but for financial models.
Ready to try it yourself?
👉 Build your model here
4 Comments
EMF
Thank you, the traditional model build approach is going to soon fade away.
Grace Collins
In project finance, we often need rolling timelines with changing phases something templates struggle with. Is this possible?
Anurag Kushwaha
We provide customised modules that can adapt to your needs
Sophie Reed
Great article! especially agree that templates are not a silver bullet, manual tweaks introduce far more risk.