The Importance of Financial Modelling

Modelling can be an integral part of the creation of a successful business strategy.

Having plentiful raw data is always a good starting point for analysis with planning in mind but it does not always make much sense in its original form. Having the data is only of use if it can be structured and viewed in ways that make sense which is where modelling becomes key.

Modelling is an excellent way to structure data for analysis, building up a financial representation of the performance of the organisation to form the basis for all future planning. Options and risks can be estimated in a cost-effective way against various assumptions, highlighting optimal solutions in estimating financial returns and increasing understanding of the effect of resource constraints, thus leading to more effective business decisions.

Those creating financial models will be mathematically minded and highly skilled in the following:

• Performance analysis
• Statistical awareness
• Understanding algorithms
• Appreciating how the math involved solves the problem
• Using available tools to build models.

Although many powerful tools exist to aid financial modelling, many businesses still build within spreadsheets. This manual approach has inherent risks of human error but many companies hold the belief that off-the-shelf products will be too restrictive whereas Excel will allow them the flexibility of bespoke design.

The solution we propose to this concern is IBM® Planning Analytics, which allows the modeller to fully customise their experience and delivers hierarchical models which will allow users across the business to make sense of the data. This ease of analysis for the organisation then provides a stronger framework for future planning and strategy.

Get in touch with us today to find out more about how IBM® Planning Analytics can help you build more successful models and improve your planning and strategy development.