WallStreetMojo

WallStreetMojo

WallStreetMojo

MENUMENU
  • Free Tutorials
  • Certification Courses
  • 250+ Courses All In One Bundle
  • Login
Home » Financial Modeling Tutorials » Financial Modeling Guides » Financial Modeling Color Formatting

Financial Modeling Color Formatting

Color Formatting in Financial Models

Color Formatting in the financial model refers to the display of format or display of information that assist the reader or user in identifying certain pairs of information & in correlating the things easily. The most important parameters for color formatting are consistency, efficiency & clarity. Lack of any of these may not serve the purpose of providing the financial model.

Financial Modeling Color Formatting

Color formatting is done to the cells & data within each financial model. The most commonly used color formatting is as follow:

Popular Course in this category
Sale
Financial Modeling Course (with 15+ Projects)
4.9 (927 ratings)
16 Courses | 15+ Projects | 90+ Hours | Full Lifetime Access | Certificate of Completion
View Course
  1. Blue: For hardcoded (i.e. typed) inputs. It can be some historical information or something which you assume or the key driver (such as rate of interest, rate of tax, output, etc.) used in the model.
  2. Black: For calculation & cell references within the same sheet (i.e. all formulae are in black font)
  3. Green: For references made to other sheets. However, one may keep the color format here as black & may avoid this color.
  4. Red: For external links outside the working file.

Thus, color the cell & contents within each cell helps the readers. This also helps in linking the flow of different pieces of data within different sheets & files.

Financial Modeling Color Formatting Template

You can download this Financial Modeling Color Formatting Excel Template here – Financial Modeling Color Formatting Excel Template

Let’s take a classic template for understanding:
Financial Modeling Color Formatting Template 0.1

Projected Financials:

Template 0.2

Financial Modeling Color Formatting Template 0.3

Template 0.4

Financial Modeling Color Formatting Template 0.5

Explanation:

  • We have used the color codes as defined in the topic.
  • The flow is maintained for assumption, calculations & summary.

Shading Color Formatting

  • Shading color formatting means to apply a similar texture to each heading, or each sub-heading, or each featured line item. Choose one color format for each of these & make sure you maintain the same format for each working sheet within the file.
  • Heading means name of the company & name of the working sheet. For Example, the Name of the company is “ABC Inc” & the name of the working sheet is “Balance Sheet” or “Profitability Statement” or “Discounted Cash Flow”. Heading can be just bold & different font types with underline & a little higher font size. One may prefer to keep a certain color in the background.
  • Sub-heading means the reference cell for the columns, i.e. particulars, years, etc. The subheading should ideally be light grey with the black font for the cell. One may prefer a light blue color with black font.
  • The featured line item means the important area or important line item in the file. It can be a total of assets or total of liabilities or profits or final answer, etc. One may keep any color with bold font.

Importance of Financial Modeling Color Formatting

  • Color formatting helps easy identification of cells.
  • A standard is set for readers for the identification of information.
  • It gets the reader involved in the working of the model.
  • The woking file becomes more attractive & appealing.
  • A consistent flow can be maintained for enhancing the understandability of the model.

Recommended Articles

This has been a guide to Financial Modeling Color Formatting. Here we discuss the best color schemes for financial modeling along with its importance and downloadable excel template. You may find more about finance from the following articles –

  • What is Financial Modeling?
  • Software for Financial Modeling
  • Banking Financial Modeling Course
  • Financial Modeling Course
0 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Primary Sidebar
Footer
COMPANY
About
Reviews
Contact
Privacy
Terms of Service
RESOURCES
Blog
Free Courses
Free Tutorials
Investment Banking Tutorials
Financial Modeling Tutorials
Excel Tutorials
Accounting Tutorials
Financial Statement Analysis
COURSES
All Courses
Financial Analyst All in One Course
Investment Banking Course
Financial Modeling Course
Private Equity Course
Venture Capital Course
Excel All in One Course

Copyright © 2021. CFA Institute Does Not Endorse, Promote, Or Warrant The Accuracy Or Quality Of WallStreetMojo. CFA® And Chartered Financial Analyst® Are Registered Trademarks Owned By CFA Institute.
Return to top

WallStreetMojo

Free Investment Banking Course

IB Excel Templates, Accounting, Valuation, Financial Modeling, Video Tutorials

* Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

Book Your One Instructor : One Learner Free Class
WallStreetMojo

Free Investment Banking Course

IB Excel Templates, Accounting, Valuation, Financial Modeling, Video Tutorials

* Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

Let’s Get Started
Please select the batch
Saturday - Sunday 9 am IST to 5 pm IST
Saturday - Sunday 9 am IST to 5 pm IST

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Login

Forgot Password?

WallStreetMojo

Download Financial Modeling Color Formatting Excel Template

New Year Offer - All in One Financial Analyst Bundle (250+ Courses, 40+ Projects) View More