Excel Add Ons For Power, Utilities, Renewables Fin Models
Calling all Power & Utilities, Renewables Investment Bankers / Private Equity Investment Professionals.
Since financial models for these sectors can be large and complex and involve VBA coding, curious to hear if there are any excel add-ons that you use to streamline efficiency / identify mistakes / reduce macro running time / basically any optimization?
We already use capIQ (or FactSet) for excel navigation and have access to Bloomberg, but want to know if there are any other excel-tools or subscription services , which would be recommended ?
Thanks
Ah, the quest for the holy grail of Excel efficiency in the high-stakes world of Power, Utilities, and Renewables! Based on the highest ranked content on WSO, here are a few suggestions that might just be the bananas you're looking for:
Excel's In-Built Tools: Before diving into add-ons, don't underestimate the power of Excel's own advanced features like PivotTables, Power Query, and Data Analysis Toolpak for optimization.
Add-Ins for Financial Modeling: There are specialized add-ins like Macabacus or the WSO's own Excel Modeling Course that can help streamline financial modeling tasks.
Error Checking Software: Tools like Spreadsheet Sentry or Excel's own Formula Auditing can help you identify and correct errors in complex models.
VBA Optimization: If you're already using VBA, consider tools like Code Cleaner or learning best practices for VBA coding to reduce macro running times.
Modeling Templates: Sometimes, the best optimizations come from starting with a solid foundation. The WSO Elite Modeling Package includes financial modeling templates that could be a great starting point.
Remember, while tools and add-ons can provide efficiency, nothing beats a solid understanding of the underlying financial modeling principles and best practices. Keep swinging through those financial jungles, and don't forget to check out the resources available on WSO for more insights and tools to help you optimize your Excel models.
Sources: Excel: Tools, Add-Ins, and Macros, Thoughts on Power and Renewables IB, Renewables valuations have gotten out of hand, Excel: Tools, Add-Ins, and Macros, Renewables / Energy Transition Primer
I work in corp dev at a utility and I so feel that. I wish there was an… “off the shelf” macro that we could use/adapt to our needs. Alas, every meaningful macro we have in our models are ones that we basically built from scratch. I am sure there are good, useful, industry-specific ones you can buy but I can’t help with that
Hey JL12 – Thanks for responding man. Two questions for you – one related to your response and the other, not so much.
I am equally trying to identify any new technology/software that my company can use to understand better the risks surrounding greenfield investments (strengthen cost budgeting/contingency planning capabilities) so we can improve our competitiveness for PPA/CfD auctions… Is there any chance you've encountered such software or tech being used in the industry? For instance, I reached out to this company, UL Solutions (https://www.ul.com/industries/energy-and-utilities/renewables ) to see if their software suite can be helpful to us, but curious to learn if you’ve come across em or know of any other names being used by industry participants
On the macro, this is my Achilles Heel. Even though I have 10+ years of experience in finance, I never looked at macros/VBAs until I moved to my current role (16 months ago). Can you please share any tips / guidance on how to quickly decipher line of codes better? I am not a total newbie, but it bothers me that I haven’t found a way to broke VBAs down the way one can at an excel formula: use “Evaluate Formula” function; or use CapitalIQ/FactSet’s “trace precedent/dependent” functions. It becomes even more confusing for me to follow when a code has a macro embedded in it. God forbid that a macro break down, "debugging" / trying to find a fix takes a long time
Thanks!
Any thoughts?
Not sure if you saw this!
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