If you've had little formal training in financial forecasting with Excel or have ever burnt the midnight oil trying to get a balance sheet to balance, this book is for you. A simple walk-through of the common perils and pitfalls of financial modelling, this book offers a solid foundation. Taking little for granted, Liam Bastick examines the most common and necessary Excel functions, emphasizes the importance of a standardized and functional layout, explains accounting concepts simply, and reinforces four key concepts of best practice: consistency, robustness, flexibility, and transparency—CraFT. With more than fifty examples and an extended case study that creates a simple financial model from scratch to highlight the key concepts, this is a hands-on book to help users work with Excel more efficiently and effectively. This simple methodology has been adopted by many seasoned professionals who no longer must resort to balancing figures, circulars, and macros.