“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”
– Barack Obama
If you have modelling or AI-related news, resources, or events that you’d like to share with 48,000+ of the world’s best modellers, please email cassandra.brightley@gridlines.com.
Climate // Financial services models underestimating key risks
Climate-scenario modelling has evolved rapidly in financial services and is becoming mainstream. This report from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries notes that there are some significant problems with climate models due to a disconnect between climate scientists, economists and model users in financial services. The report concludes that commonly used models are significantly underestimating the economic impact of climate change. Read more.
AI // Sturgeon’s law still applies
Sturgeon’s law says that 90% of everything is crap. Perhaps this applies to apps adopting AI as well. This article calls out the trends of apps jumping on the AI bandwagon and producing results that are disappointing at best. It’s a refreshing antidote to the usual AI hype. Read more.
Meetup // Mastering Excel – a roadmap for the average user
Microsoft Excel continues to evolve at an incredible pace. The introduction of new features and functions like Dynamic Arrays, LET, and LAMBDA opens up a whole new world of possibilities for modellers. On November 6th, Giles Male, founder of Full Stack Modeller, will host a hybrid meet up looking at what these new features mean for the “average Excel user”. Sign up.
Excel errors // Anaesthetists recruitment chaos
The trend of excel error stories popping up every few months continues. In this latest example, recruitment of anaesthetists in Wales was thrown into chaos due to errors in the Excel files being used to track candidates. “Erratic use of VLOOKUP” was one of the culprits. 🙄 Read more.
Thank you to Julian Hickling for sharing this story.
Resources for modellers
Introducing the “Women in Financial Modelling” scholarship. Plum Solutions, in partnership with the Financial Modelling Institute (FMI) has launched an initiative to empower and advance women within the financial modelling profession. The programme includes enrolment in the FMI Level 1 exam, access to Plum Solutions’ Online Exam Prep Training programme, and one-to-one coaching.
Modelling the stages of a project finance deal. In 6 minutes, this video breaks down the main stages of the Project Finance deal and the ways models need to be structured to respond in each..
Rolling forecasts best practices. This article from Wall Street Prep looks at the issues in modelling rolling forecasts and offers some useful tips.
Miscellany jobs
If you have a modelling related job that you’d like to include in the Miscellany please
email cassandra.brightley@gridlines.com.
Financial Modeller – Travel Brand, UK (Remote)
Strategy & Financial Modelling Professional – NEOM, Saudi Arabia (Hybrid)
Junior Financial Modeller – Project Finance Sector, UK (Hybrid)
Financial Modelling & Corporate Finance – ATU Duty Free, Turkey (Hybrid)
Director | Financial Modelling – BlackRock, United States (Hybrid)
And finally …
This week’s Miscellany was curated and edited by
Kenny Whitelaw-Jones
