Accessible [1/6] | Forvis Mazars Financial Modelling

Excel can be readily understood by an interested party if presented clearly and structured in a human-readable format.  The Forvis Mazars financial modelling standard aims to design models that can be used, read and understood by the end user, including the details of the calculations. 

• Use plain English, not Excel-speak 
• Meaningful calculations 
• Everything labelled with a title and units 
• Use headings to organize sections, like a report 
• From left to right, top to bottom 
• Format formulas for reading 
• Don’t hide anything 
• Cover page and contents page 
• Consistent labelling structure 
• Professionally present every part of the model 
• Apply purposeful and consistent formatting  
• Graphs are worth a thousand numbers 
• Use simple grouping 
• Complementary colours 
• Logical hierarchy of labels that helps the user find what they are looking for quickly and easily 
• Separate inputs, calculations and outputs 
• Label, colour and group worksheets