Is there anyone that uses exam calculators at work as opposed to using Excel instead?
If you’re a ‘deal guy’ you use a calculator, or even better you do the math in your head. If you’re an analyst who supports the decision makers you probably prefer excel to over complicate the analysis and justify your existence. Actually you probably don’t have a choice as an analyst. The Investment committee needs to make sure there’s an overly complicated logical basis for the decision even though it was already made on an HP. Excel plays the vital role of covering everyone’s ass.
And if you’re an accountant, you use a 10-key adding maching 99% of the time.
I rarely use my calculator. Only when I’m trying to find what $1 will grow to at X% over X years (which is useful when talking to people about retirement plans).
Y que Mas?
I have excel or R open so often I haven’t used a calculator in ages, other than for dividing a dinner tab.
Most of the rest I can do in my head, though I will occasionally use a calculator if I need a more accurate estimate of prices with sales tax.
So once you pass the CFA exam your BA II becomes a relic for the future generation.
“You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation”.
You could stand outside an exam center and try to re-sell it for a huge markup to some dink who forgot theirs. Of course hoping they’re carrying a lot of cash on them.
Not sure if that’s an Ethical violation. The only case I ever remember is the guy who gets hammered at lunch and plays it fast and loose in the afternoon.
I use both. Calculators here and there for basic questions, but I use excel for a variety of things. It’s just faster. If I want to look at potential total return for a couple distressed bonds under various scenarios it saves me a lot of retyping and allows me see every scenario, etc.
Nice avatar op! And the name…
I haven’t used my exam calculator since I took L3. I don’t even have a calculator at my desk. I usually just use excel. If I need to do something quickly that isn’t very complicated I’ll just grab my cell phone and use the calculator app on there.
Yeah I don’t use the exam calculator I either use a largish desk caculator or excel
no one uses windows calc?
Is that like MS Paint?
keypad
My gfs laptop has a calculator button that pulls up the windows calculator its so handy. Only downside is its right next to number lock so you hit that all the time
I do a ton of work in Excel, from Monte Carlo simulations for risk analysis, to constructing binomial interest rate trees to NPV and IRR calculations, and more.
Nonetheless, I always have my calculator (HP 12C, which I didn’t have when I took the exams) to do the quick stuff, such as PV, FV, PMT calculations.
Each has its place.
You can’t do IRRs in your head? So beta.
I used to consider you a friend . . .jk
Excel all the way. And I also use the windows calculator sometimes, although it can’t even get the order of operations right
I can, but I choose not to.
I save my neurons – both of them – for more interesting mental exercises.