The Financial Modelling Podcast

The project finance landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by global trends like sustainability, digital infrastructure growth, and advanced technology. In this episode, host Matthew Bernath breaks down the five latest trends shaping project finance in 2025. From renewable energy projects and ESG-linked financing to the boom in digital infrastructure and the rise of public-private partnerships, we'll explore what these changes mean for financial modellers and industry professionals. Discover how to navigate the complexities of hybrid energy systems, integrate ESG metrics into your models, and leverage technology to stay ahead in a competitive field. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just entering the world of project finance, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Ready to supercharge your financial modelling in Excel? This episode dives deep into how Claude AI is revolutionising the game! Forget tedious formula reviews and frustrating debugging sessions. We're unlocking the power of AI to transform your workflow. We'll explore how Claude can: Unravel complex models, identifying errors you might have missed. Simplify messy formulas, turning them into lean, mean, calculation machines. Generate instant documentation so you'll never have to explain your model again. Help you implement best practices in your models, as any good financial modeler should. Tackle real-world modelling challenges like seasonal variations in working capital, and much more. Join us to discover how to combine the awesome power of Claude AI with your expert financial modelling skills. It's time to make your Excel models more robust, efficient and downright impressive. This is not just about AI; it's about becoming a modelling master. Tune in now!

Data centres are increasingly vital in our digital economy, serving as the backbone for cloud services, artificial intelligence, and other technology-driven applications. However, developing a data centre is a capital-intensive undertaking that requires sophisticated project finance modelling to ensure bankability. This podcast outlines the critical parameters, financial structures, and considerations required for successfully project-financing a data centre. This podcast is based on the Financial Modelling Podcast article : How to Project Finance a Data Center

Data centres are the backbone of the digital world, powering everything from streaming services to artificial intelligence. But how are these massive, complex, and expensive facilities financed? Join us as we explore the financial models that make data centres possible, from equity investments to project finance, and examine the key metrics that investors use to evaluate these high-stakes ventures. We'll also discuss the trends shaping the future of data centre financing, including sustainability, public-private partnerships, and the rise of hyperscale data centres. Whether you're an investor, a tech enthusiast, or simply curious about the infrastructure that powers our digital lives, this podcast will give you an inside look at the money behind the cloud.

In the season 5 finale of the Financial Modelling Podcast, we explore the potential of generative AI in financial modelling. Our guests, Lance Rubin, Hedieh Kianyfard, Danielle Stein Fairhurst and Adrian Miric, discuss the current use of generative AI in finance, its benefits and limitations, and potential use cases for financial modelling. As we wrap up the season, we thank our sponsor, Model Citizn, for their support and encourage listeners to share their thoughts and experiences with generative AI in finance. Join us for this exciting finale episode and gain valuable insights into the future of financial modelling. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your preferred platform! Here is Lance's article that he co-wrote with ChatGPT: https://www.modelcitizn.com/modelling-blogs/2023/3/23/the-implications-of-not-following-a-modelling-standard

In today's rapidly evolving financial landscape, traditional data sources such as company reports, financial statements, and economic indicators are no longer enough to gain a competitive edge in the market. Alternative data, which refers to non-traditional data sources such as satellite imagery, social media activity, web traffic, and credit card transactions, has become an essential tool for investors and financial analysts to make better investment decisions. In this podcast, we'll explore the world of alternative data with expert John Farrall. Join us as we delve into the world of alternative data in financial modelling and discover how this new frontier of data is reshaping the way we invest and analyze the markets.

How can real-time data be utilised to update financial models in a complicated enterprise environment? How can we prevent organisations from making decisions based on obsolete projections? Dhanusha Muthukumarana, CEO of POTENZA and a member of the Forbes Technology Council, joins the Financial Modelling Podcast to discuss how data engineering enables accurate and comprehensive financial models. Season 5 of the Financial Modelling Podcast is sponsored by Model Citizn, a consulting, advisory, and training organisation specialising in financial modelling.

Brian Egger, Global Head of Financial Modeling at Bloomberg Intelligence at Bloomberg LP, joins the Financial Modelling Podcast to discuss the Bloomberg Interactive Calculator. As a leader at Bloomberg LP, Brian is at the forefront of innovation in financial data curation and visualisation. We speak about how Bloomberg has excelled at data visualisation for financial decision-making.

Learn how to partner with businesses effectively as a financial modeller (or anyone else!). In this episode, live from the Financial Modelling Summit, Andi Lonnen explains the 9 Cs for effective partnering, including: Connect and Collaborate Communicate Effectively Clear Strategic Thinking Commercial Acumen Change Agent and Challenging the Status Quo Curiosity & Creativity Andi Lonnen is the Founder & CEO of the Finance Training Academy & Finance Business Partner Academy.

Live from the Financial Modelling Summit, Danielle Stein Fairhurst chats to the Financial Modelling Podcast. Danielle is an accomplished author, trainer, consultant, and the 2022 Financial Modelling Lifetime Achievement Award winner. This award recognises somebody who has consistently served to move the profession forward whilst raising the profile of financial modelling. In this podcast, we discuss lessons for entrepreneurs and how to succeed in the creator economy.

Bill Jelen joined us for a chat during the 2022 Financial Modelling Summit. Hear his thoughts on the future of automation, Microsoft Excel and which talk impressed him most. The Financial Modelling Summit is the world's largest gathering of financial modellers. From experts, deal makers and executives to those just starting their financial modelling journey.

Andrew is the Founder and CEO of the Financial Modeling World Cup, Excel Esports battles, the Microsoft Excel World Championship, and the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge. With eight stages during the year, competitors in the Financial Modeling World Cup model their way to a $25,000 prize. In this podcast, Andrew talks about how Excel became an ESPN broadcast e-sport and provides some tips on how to win the Financial Modeling World Cup

Gopal Krishnamurthy from Lumel and Inforiver joins us to discuss the development of Low and No-Code tools for Financial Modellers. From reporting and visualisation to simulations and analysis, Gopal discusses adopting these tools and how financial modellers can elevate their skills and efficiency. Season 5 is sponsored by Model Citizn. Model Citizn helps clients make better decisions that are relevant, informed and purposeful using tools beyond just Excel.

In this special re-release of Episode 2 of the Financial Modelling Podcast, Dario Musso, Co-Head: Infrastructure Sector Solutions at Rand Merchant Bank, talks about Project Finance Models. The discount code for Project Finance Overview - From Inception to Financial Close is FMP9999. You can also click here.

This year the Financial Modelling Summit is taking the journey from Numbers to Insights. Bill Jelen joins the Financial Modelling Podcast, summit host, to share what he is most looking forward to at this year's event. The Financial Modelling Summit is the world's largest gathering of financial modellers. Buy your tickets here: https://www.financialmodellingsummit.com/.

In this special episode, Matthew Bernath from the Financial Modelling Podcast and Paul Barnhurst from The FP&A Guy sit down to chat about where these two worlds collide.

Is Microsoft Excel Dead? Lance Rubin from Financial Modelling Podcast sponsor Model Citizn, and Christopher Argent from Generation CFO resume their debate of whether this 35-year-old tool is the pocket knife for all tasks or past its prime.

Mark Vigors is no stranger to data analytics and financial modelling. In fact, he argues that these two skills are intertwined. In this episode, we discuss how data scientists can get budget allocation for their projects, why dashboards need to enable decision making and even what energy source could potentially solve our energy needs.

Can Microsoft Excel and Python play together nicely? Could Python be the next frontier of financial modelling? In this episode, Felix Zumstein, Creator of xlwings, author of "Python for Excel", and CEO at xltrail joins the Financial Modelling Podcast to discuss Python integrations and how Excel users can perform advanced modelling in Python with ease.

Eloquens' tagline is "Don't Reinvent the Wheel!". When it comes to financial modelling, many modellers start their models from scratch instead of using best-practice templates. Eloquens seeks to solve this by providing a financial model marketplace whereby model templates can be bought and sold - whether you're financing a project finance deal or a startup! In this episode, Tim Demoures, Managing Director at Eloquens, talks us through why you should never reinvent the wheel again. Learn more about our sponsors at https://www.modelcitizn.com/ and https://fmwiki.glideapp.io/.