The Advantages of Power BI (Business Intelligence) Given the rapid growth in the sheer volumes of data to be analyzed, coupled with the need for automation, customization and accessibility, FP&A professionals have increasingly found it burdensome to perform their functions on an Excel worksheet. This pain point especially comes into sharp focus in the context

Challenges of Financing a Microgrid Project A Microgrid is like a traditional power grid in that it is a group of interconnected sources and uses of energy, however, it differs in that it could operate completely independently of external connections. According to research conducted by Guidehouse in 2021, renewable microgrids will account for 500,000 new

Time Series Best Practices Producing statistically robust results with univariate time-series data requires following a few best practices and methodologies. Many programming languages such as R, MATLAB and Python include packages which allow the end user to employ a variety of statistical tests, nullifying the need to write complex functions. The following models represent a

Quality of Earnings (Part 2) We got an idea of what is a Quality of Earnings (“QoE”) analysis, the procedures performed for such analysis, and the purposes & types of adjustments, in our Quality of Earnings Part 1 blog (Quality of Earnings - Part 1). With these basic concepts in hand, we will move toward

Quality of Earnings (Part 1) Often small businesses have ample of accounting anomalies such as personal expenses recorded in the books, cash basis of accounting, multiple one-time expenses, inaccurate assumptions, and so on. Quality of Earnings (“QoE”) reports help break down the components of financial statements and gives a drilled-down picture of financial performance and

Cumulative EBITDA to Cumulative Operating Cash Flow Analysis A key procedure in our work preparing Quality of Earnings (“QoE”) reports is to chart cumulative EBITDA against cumulative operating cash flows. The aim of this procedure is to provide quick insight into the accrual’s ratio of a business, which is a measurement of the degree to

Cap Table Modelling Advanced Features: Exit Analysis Introduction Capitalization tables are a necessary component of the financing/investment process for both founders and investors. For founders and previous shareholders, cap tables identify the effect on ownership of new capital raised, for investors, cap tables show what they are getting for what they are putting in. Although

Q4 North American M&A Market Outlook At the start of 2022, dealmakers expected the M&A market to thrive after overcoming the economic issues created by COVID during 2020 and 2021. In fact, 2022 has been affected by various geopolitical issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain challenges and rising inflation and interest rates, all

Evaluating Counterparty Risk Evaluating counterparty risk is a key component of any firms’ action plan when dealing with new clients.  Whilst financial modelling and data analytics work is Sapling’s main area of expertise, risk assessment and mitigation remain a recurring topic on a variety of projects that have been undertaken. Counterparty risk evaluation varies from

Replacing Excel for KPI Analysis As private equity firms are increasingly focused on adding value to portfolio companies, key performance indicators (“KPIs”) have been growing in importance. KPIs are quantitative measurements that allow users to continually assess a company’s performance; examples include Revenue per Client, Client Retention Rate, Customer Acquisition Cost, etc. These KPIs are

Sapling was recently quoted in a report on the development of local government resilient microgrids. This report describes a research project undertaken by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities with funding from the United States Department of Energy.

The Excel Lambda Function for Financial Modelling Excel has newly released the LAMBDA feature, currently only available for Excel ‘Insiders’ on Office 365. This new feature allows users to write their own custom Excel functions using normal Excel formula language. These new functions can then be referenced and re-used throughout the entire workbook, the same

KPIs for Clinic Roll-Up Capturing valuable data is more necessary than ever before for any business. Data is key to understanding business drivers that drive the operational and financial results of an organization. In order to capture data effectively and extract valuable insights, businesses/clinics, in this case, need to build a structured data warehouse system

key trends from CFOs and Finance leaders, including Improved FP&A relating to ESG information, Increased needs for data analytics and budgeting, Greater concern for data security.

key trends from CFOs and Finance leaders, including Improved FP&A relating to ESG information, Increased needs for data analytics and budgeting, Greater concern for data security.

Sapling Financial Consultants Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of an Advisory Board. The Board’s mandate is to provide strategic guidance and foresight to Sapling.

As Canada embarks upon a new stage of innovation, entrepreneurs are facing many challenges in an ultra-competitive environment.

Many companies falsely believe that having a CFO, or a robust financial department, means that they shouldn’t look into an externally built model.

What does “Finance” do? While it may sound like a simple question, it’s actually a very legitimate one, because the answers will be wide-ranging across CFO’s.

4 different ways for small businesses to help reduce their environmental impacts and in many cases, save money.

All of the success cases that we have seen over the years have been an indicator that, when used correctly, financial models can significantly impact the operations of a company.

It is no secret that climate issues have a direct impact on small business performance.

We have all heard sayings like ‘you get what you pay for’ or ‘cheap things end up being expensive’ and professional services are no exception!

a study conducted by BDC found that financing is still one of the key barriers for SMEs to grow

Point-of-sales loans are increasing in popularity and consumers have been choosing to borrow at checkout, instead of financing purchases.

At Sapling, we have seen a lot of financial models, and learned that sometimes growing businesses have assumptions that might push them in the wrong direction.

Sometimes you might be dealing with your sales quotas the same way as slicing your pizza wrong…if one slice is too big, someone might end up with no pizza..

Electric cars and charging stations have become more popular than ever. They present many benefits when compared to conventional petrol/diesel cars.