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.

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 excel 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.

We have been working with Mubadala to standardise their approach to financial modelling (“The Mubadala Way”) since 2012. We have taught over 200 analysts from a wide variety of sectors. Our training programme uses a variety of learning approaches: self-study backed up with support from our team of modellers, informal and formal assessments, instructor-led classroom sessions and webinars. At the final stage of the programme, participants are required to present to senior members of the organisation. Our initial brief was to run a programme for Mubadala’s core modellers – those professionals who work with financial models of considerable complexity on a daily basis. Based on a real-world case study, the training took participants through all the requirements for financial modelling from basic skills and drills in Excel to the design and construction of a highly complex set of financing requirements.

Since running the early programmes, we have amended the course material to give it a more general appeal (suitable for analysts for whom modelling is not core but nonetheless important). This included the development of further case studies relevant to the work being undertaken (including a hotel and a satellite). We continue to work with Mubadala’s learning and development team in improving the design of the programme.

Mubadala’s commitment to a single financial modelling standard has resulted in its analysts understanding the importance of a common approach and honing their technical skills. The course has been popular and in high demand – with participants enjoying the study material and the opportunity to present their work to senior colleagues.

Eneco is a Dutch energy company that works for all to participate in the transition to sustainable energy. It services 5.3 million customer contracts across The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and has an ongoing commitment to promoting financial modelling skills amongst its analysts. Eneco engaged F1F9 to deliver a programme of excel modelling courses to their investment analysts. The initiative has been extended to include advanced Project Finance modelling. 70+ analysts have completed the F1F9 training. Eneco has adopted a standardised approach to modelling across the business and finance functions. Analysts are able to build high-quality models across multiple business units (wind, solar, heat and industrials).

Following a recommendation from Grant Thornton UK, Warth & Klein Grant Thornton (WKGT) with offices in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, Germany, engaged F1F9 to enhance proficiency in financial modelling in Excel, within the organisation. The participants included junior team members as well as seasoned professionals from varied service lines including Corporate Finance, M&A, Audit & Assurance, and Valuation. Since 2015 and supported by WKGT’s in-house FAST modelling champions, we have delivered several intensive in-house financial modelling courses and provided ongoing post-course learning in the form of online tutorials and support from our modelling experts. The training has been delivered in German using F1F9 staff based in Germany and has been held annually since 2015.

The course participants gained a deeper understanding of efficient modelling and a general improvement in their Excel skills. This knowledge facilitates decision making by providing easily-understood results in reasonable timeframes. The modular structure of FAST has also reduced the time it takes to review models, particularly larger or more complex ones.

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 excel 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 financial 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.

F1F9 engaged with Energy Saving Trust (EST), a world leading centre for advice and research working with businesses, governments, consumers and communities to promote domestic energy efficiency. Ricardo Energy & Environment, developed a financial model for EST to help community groups understand the potential profitability of community renewable investments. The model has been published as part of Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). We reviewed the template model to give EST an appropriate level of confidence that the tool could be reliably used by the community groups. F1F9 agreed a scope of work that maximised the impact of review time. We undertook a focussed review of the construction phase calculations, including costs and financing, and of the operations phase, reviewing power prices, revenues, costs, financing and tax. Because we were reviewing a template model to be used by multiple user groups, we checked workings against the model’s extensive user notes and stress tested the model by changing assumptions, dropdown inputs and scenarios. We also reviewed the model for ease of use and understandability alongside a technical and best practice review.

F1F9 worked alongside Ricardo to deliver a review report which clearly described and prioritised findings within the agreed time frame. With the comprehensive review report and regular dialogue, Ricardo could easily act upon our review findings making the template model more reliable to use. The model has now been in use for 2 years, and F1F9 have provided further support to give confidence in the model as it continues to evolve.

F1F9 worked with the Amber Infrastructure team, a leading international infrastructure specialist focussed on development, financing and investment in public infrastructure. Amber was assessing an investment for the National Digital Infrastructure Fund (NDIF) for the acquisition of a substantial minority shareholding and provision of capital facilities in NextGenAccess (NGA), a wholesale broadband company. We reviewed the forecasting and valuation model developed by NGA to give Amber an appropriate level of confidence in the forecasts before entering into the transaction. F1F9 agreed a scope of work with our client that maximised the impact of our review time — including technical review, logical review, sensitivity testing and model specific elements. The model included a large number of repeated structures for several classifications of upfront and recurring revenues and costs, so a bespoke element of our review focussed on confirming the consistency of these calculations and that all of the calculated values flowed correctly to the financial statements.

F1F9 worked alongside Amber to deliver a comprehensive review report within the project timetable. Our findings were clearly described and prioritised, enabling our client quickly to identify points that needed to be addressed before completion. Regular dialogue throughout the process meant our client remained in control at all times, with complete clarity of the approach to the review and its findings and resolutions.

F1F9 worked closely with the Finance Director at Rocket Marketing Group, a business that creates, develops and manages a variety of added-value reward and customer loyalty programmes. Our client needed to create a forecasting model to support the planning of a medium-term business strategy and, by the end of the process, have the capability to build models of similar complexity without help. We planned a combination of online modelling resources, on-the-job coaching, and joint design and build — all to fit within the available budget. Online excel financial modelling resources could be utilised when time allowed and when content was relevant to the build. The model build itself was facilitated by regular video conferences for planning, discussion of approach and targeted training on specific aspects of the model. We took responsibility for parts of the build where Victoria needed to focus on her role as Finance Director.

Our flexible response to the needs of Victoria and Rocket enabled them to gain the key business insights they needed, and to be equipped for whatever analysis the business will demand in the future.