Power NI is the largest electricity company in Northern Ireland. Their parent is the Energia Group, a leading integrated Irish energy business with substantial businesses in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In 2018 F1F9 created a best practice budgeting and reporting model for Power NI, followed by two smaller builds looking in more detail at specific elements of the business. Subsequently, Energia Group expressed a desire to improve and standardise their range of financial reporting and forecasting models. In response to this we delivered a series of in-house training courses on best practice modelling to finance delegates from businesses across the Group. We recently supplemented this engagement with a ‘model clinic’ and remediation work to a tax model that the Energia Group identified as a priority for development.

As a result of this work, the Energia Group has realised significant efficiencies in their modelling practices. The staff we have trained are now equipped to build better structured, more robust models and have direct access to F1F9 resource wherever it adds value.

In 2016, F1F9 won a tender to work with Ofwat, the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, and we continued to support them through to 2018. We worked closely with the regulator to rebuild the 2019 price review model (PR19) that Ofwat and the regulated water companies would use in the price review process. A large number of complex and interrelated elements need to be incorporated into this type of model, with further layers of complexity introduced from functionality for sensitivities, adjustments and overlays. Transparent calculations and consistency of model structure was paramount for this tool, which led Ofwat to specify a model built using the FAST standard. F1F9 worked very closely with the Ofwat Analytics team to develop a model that they were confident would facilitate a smooth and efficient price review.

Our client described their experience of working with us:
“F1F9 has been a flexible, responsive partner for the PR19 model build. With a large team of skilled financial modellers they have always been able to meet our modelling requirements, even when deadlines have been very short… I have shared beta versions of the model with companies and feedback from them has been positive: companies have found the FAST-compliant model much more transparent and easier to use. Feedback on the model from internal Ofwat stakeholders has also been very positive”.

Masdar is a global leader in renewable energy and sustainable urban development and has more than a decade of experience working in partnership with business and government as a renewable energy developer and investor. Masdar chose F1F9 as its modelling partner to provide support in the development and monitoring of investments in renewable wind and solar energy projects. We have been adding value to their modelling work since 2012. Masdar wanted a single point of contact to coordinate the delivery of consistent modelling solutions for several projects under development as well as for a portfolio of operational projects. F1F9 applied the FAST standard and highly-refined model structures to build models that gave both clarity to calculations and maximised the commonality between models. This was supported by bespoke classroom training and reinforced with online resources. We worked closely with the Masdar team to develop effective dashboards focussed on user efficiency and printable reports to communicate results to decision makers.

F1F9’s approach meant that our client’s teams could achieve their desired improvement in transparency and usability across the model estate. The models were used by Masdar to support numerous operational and business development projects, with the experience gained on each project improving productivity on the next.

Virgin Trains is a train operating company that has operated the InterCity West Coast franchise since 1997. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland.

The company’s previous process for budgeting, reporting actuals and updating forecasts was complex and time-consuming, with the complexity leading to errors in the final output. Over 80 spreadsheets were in use across 11 departments for the budget process alone. Duplication of common inputs led to inconsistency.
F1F9 created a new process for updating, analysing and communicating large financial datasets in 8 Excel financial models which take inputs from core non-Excel management information systems. This dramatically increased budgeting and forecasting efficiency as well as reducing the risk of errors. The reporting process is now simple and more accurate with a rapid turnaround. We worked in close collaboration with our Virgin Trains contacts and completed the work in 2 months. The new process has been fully adopted within Virgin Trains and F1F9 are providing ongoing support.