Financial Model Detective

Book excerpt: I used to love Kinder Surprise as a kid, and now opening up someone else's financial model gives me the same sensation. Unnecessarily complex models are like those gifts that require an engineering background to assemble; the overly simplified models are like the readily assembled figurine of dinosaurs that end up in the trash right away, and good financial models are like those gifts that you still keep inyour secret shoe box.Within the pages of this financial modeling manual, you will find hints and tricks on how to conduct a preliminary review of a financial model and decide as early as possible whether you want to work with the inherited model or build your own model instead.