According to research, 88% of spreadsheets have errors and 50% of spreadsheet models used in large businesses have material defects.
Miscalculations like this can cause a company to lose a lot of money. This is where FAST standards come in to help.
Flexible, Appropriate, Structured, Transparent. This is the FAST standard and it makes for a good spreadsheet design. The objective of the FAST standard is to reduce errors by using efficient construction techniques to build a common style platform for financial models. This in turn will make the spreadsheets as understandable and secure as possible. So what does it all mean?
Flexible To be effective, the structure and style of models require flexibility for both immediate usage and the long term.
Appropriate Models must reflect key business assumptions directly and faithfully without being cluttered in unnecessary detail.
Structured Rigorous consistency in layout and organisation is essential in retaining the model's logical integrity over time, particularly as a model's author may change.
Transparent Effective models are founded upon simple, clear formulas that can be understood by other modellers and non-modellers alike.
Putting this into practice can be tricky. Would you know where to start? Financial modelling experts Grant Thornton do and they've teamed up with us to create a series of courses to help you to create a robust financial model. This skill is critical for accounting and finance professionals and these courses will give you everything you need to know.
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