Hey guys - I know there have been a few topics on this in the past, but my question is somewhat unique I suppose: How advanced are these programs?
I have 6+ years of financial modelling experience in a corporate environment but I’m looking to take that to the next level with maybe some more VBA and stuff like that. I have a pretty solid background when it comes to Excel, but I’m semi-looking for new opportunities and I think I could use a bit more advanced level of modelling skills if I’m looking to take on a more challenging role.
Note that I’m not looking to break into FO finance or anything of the kind… I’m just looking to move towards a management or advanced specialist position in FP&A in the coming year. Basically, if I was to land a new role, I don’t want to be in a position where I know less than those working under me, or I struggle to grasp what would potentially be more complex models in use at the new firm.
Bottom line: Am I going to learn enough to justify the cost of this with a few years of experience already in modelling? Or is there perhaps something out there at a more advanced level that would provide more value to me.
there are a few good books on amazon that cover ibanking modeling, valuation etc for about $50-85. Go to your local library and check them out before you fork out $200+ for BIWS especially if you don’t want FO work.
Look over what they say they cover. Wall St Prep’s premium package starts you with a blank excel sheet, and you model & link a company’s 3-statement model with DCF & comparables, as well as LBO & M&A modeling. If you have experience in that, don’t worry about it.
Any tips on books that cover VBA for modelling or any more of the advanced stuff would be appreciated as well. Thanks for the insight on WSP though. Looking through all of their material I don’t think I’d get much from that.
SecOnd goodwill’s message. I’ve taught from Benninga, and it’s THE go-to book for financial modeling. Most of the other books are geared towards valuation and/or IB models. Benninga gives a much broader treatment.
And if you want general (and very thorough) VBA knowledge, you can’t go wrong with Walkenbach’s Excel Power Programming with VBA.
I still haven’t figured out what good VBA is for modeling. All the ones I’ve seen use VBA for ultra simple things like printing or creating a table of contents worksheet, or possibly automating certain formatting settings.
I’ve used a little bit of VBA stuff for iterative stuff in the past (a complex income tax situation comes to mind), but my skills are pretty low in this area, hence my interest in learning more and maybe more areas to apply it to in making models more efficient. And I want to be able to understand some logic if some complex monster comes across my desk.
BIWS is legitimate. I was a beta tester and can validate that it is great. I have also used Training the Street, Wall Street Prep, and a bunch others and since they’re all good, I typically recommend BIWS because it is the least expensive option.