Blog
Expert guides on financial modelling, valuation, and forecasting. Built for finance professionals, founders, and analysts.
NPV Formula: How to Calculate Net Present Value in Excel
The NPV formula explained, with a fully worked five-year example, three ways to calculate net present value in Excel (NPV, XNPV, and by hand), the one-period-offset trap, and how to choose a discount rate.
Purchase Price Allocation and Goodwill in M&A
A complete guide to purchase price allocation (PPA) in M&A under ASC 805 and IFRS 3: how to fair-value acquired assets, calculate goodwill as the residual, handle the deferred tax liability, and run goodwill impairment tests. Includes a full worked example.
LBO Returns Bridge: What Drives Private Equity Returns
Build an LBO returns bridge that decomposes private equity value creation into EBITDA growth, multiple expansion, and debt paydown. Full worked example, Excel formulas, IRR attribution, and a sensitivity table.
LTV:CAC Ratio: How to Calculate and Benchmark It
Learn how to calculate the LTV:CAC ratio, benchmark it against the 3:1 rule, and avoid the blended-CAC mistake that hides which acquisition channels are actually profitable, with a full worked example.
Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio: Formula and How Lenders Use It
Learn the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio formula and calculation, why lenders use the lesser of price and appraised value, maximum LTV by loan type for residential and commercial real estate, and how LTV works with DSCR, CLTV, and loan-to-cost to size a loan.
How to Build a Board Reporting Template in Excel
Learn how to build a board reporting template in Excel: which KPIs to track, month-on-month and year-on-year deltas, traffic-light status, and a one-page dashboard, with a full worked example.
Quality of Earnings (QoE) Adjustments Explained
Learn how Quality of Earnings (QoE) adjustments work in M&A due diligence: the five categories of EBITDA add-backs, a full worked example, and how adjustments move purchase price.
How to Build a CapEx Forecast
Learn how to build a capex forecast in Excel: top-down vs. bottom-up methods, a project-level portfolio build with NPV and payback screening, a monthly budget tracker, and a full worked example.
DuPont Analysis: Breaking Down Return on Equity
Learn the DuPont analysis formula for decomposing ROE into margin, asset turnover, and leverage (equity multiplier). Includes the 3-step and 5-step formulas, a worked example, and peer benchmarking.
How to Build a Depreciation Schedule in Excel
Learn how to build a depreciation schedule in Excel with straight-line, declining balance, and MACRS methods, worked examples, and the formulas that tie it to your 3-statement model.
Headcount Planning: How to Build a Hiring and Payroll Forecast
Learn how to build a headcount planning model in Excel: department-level hiring plans, attrition, fully-loaded comp, and payroll forecasting, with a full worked example.
CAGR Formula: How to Calculate Compound Annual Growth Rate
The CAGR formula explained step by step: how to calculate compound annual growth rate, a full worked SaaS revenue example, three ways to compute it in Excel, and why CAGR differs from a simple average growth rate.
