Robotic Process Automation Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a tool used to automate processes/workflows using software bots, which can be used to cut down on repetitive, boring tasks a firm may face in day-to-day operations. Robotic process automation is not an “intelligent” form of technology like AI is, as its goal is to simply mimic

Consolidating Business Data with Cloud Services Consolidating your business data, from many different systems, could be a laboursome task. Thankfully, this task is becoming simpler with cloud services. Cloud services, like Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, allow you access to IT components like servers and databases for your business using a pay as you use

Economic Indicators Interest rates, inflation, stock prices, bond yields – you’ve probably heard many of these mentioned in the news over the past year. Consumers and businesses alike track these signals to gain a picture of the current health of the economy. Economic indicators are not only constrained in “fiscal” roots such as those mentioned

Language Models & VBA Introduction Large LLMs (LLMs) like ChatGPT have revolutionized the field of natural language processing, enabling machines to understand and generate human-like text. While they have found extensive applications in various domains, one intriguing and practical use case is their ability to assist in writing VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code for

Dynamic Management of Weekly and Monthly Reporting When it comes to building FP&A reports, users often desire two distinct views of operational data. On one hand, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should reflect the natural cadence of business operations, following the working week from Sunday to Saturday. These KPIs provide the user with actionable guidance for

Power BI Dashboarding: KPI Visuals Exhibit A: A PowerBI dashboard with: A.1 Matrix Visuals; A.2 Donut Chart; A.3 Bar Chart; A.4 Combo Bar-Line Chart; A.5 Slicers Microsoft’s Power BI platform is an efficient tool for data visualization, allowing users to have a more “hands on” approach when working with large datasets. Choosing which KPIs to

Valuation approach – The Senators Case review The Ottawa Senators are making headlines with reports suggesting that a group of high-profile celebrities, including The Weeknd, Snoop Dogg, and Ryan Reynolds, are interested in buying the team. This news comes as the Senators' valuation is at an all-time high, with Forbes recently listing them at US$800

Leveraging AI in Financial Modelling Since the popularization of ChatGPT in December, the availability and adoption of deployable AI models has increased dramatically. While the value derived from such algorithms most certainly extends to financial modelling in the form of improved speed, accuracy, and insights, it is important to understand their limitations and potential biases.

Budgeting and Variance Analysis for Mid-Market Businesses Budgeting is an essential process for any organization, be it a business, government agency, or non-profit. It involves creating a financial plan that outlines expected income and expenses for a specific period. The budgeting process includes various steps, such as forecasting revenue and expenses, setting targets and objectives,

Financial Modelling for Power Projects Power generation projects are often contracted with stable cash flows, leading to de-risked returns over the project lifespan. However, a power project involves several financial aspects that need to be assessed with detailed financial analysis to effectively understand the project’s risk-return profile and evaluate its economic viability. A robust financial

Order Automation for Distribution Businesses Many business operations can be completed using various online software products, which can simplify creating orders or posting invoices. Companies can go even a step further and utilize them to automatically create orders and invoices. Intricate automated systems are not just for large cooperations with on-premise servers: mid-market companies can

Inform Your Sales Decisions with Time Series Forecasting through Random Forest In the world of data analytics, sales forecasting is the process of using historical sales data to accurately predict future sales performance. Informed decisions for operations like pricing, inventory planning, accurate budgeting, and resource allocation can be done using sales forecasting. Understanding and analysing

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.