RE: How to I automate blue and black cells for inputs/outputs?
You cannot automate the color changing as you type a number/formula without building a macro to specifically do so. What you can do is to have excel highlight the cells on the current worksheet and then change the colors blue (if you selected "constants") and black (if you selected "formulas"). This... You cannot automate the color changing as you type a number/formula without building a macro to specifically do so. What you can do is to have excel highlight the cells on the current worksheet and then change the colors blue (if you selected "constants") and black (if you selected "formulas"). This doesn't require the use of a macro, although you can build a macro so you don't have to keep hitting the various options. As you build additional analysis or worksheets in your model, you would do the same - follow the instructions on our Excel shortcut sheet under our FREE RESOURCES section or download and install our WST Macro Add-Ins. Read More

Footing my accretion/dilution model with reported numbers
Full Question:
Why is it that in attempting to replicate a merger analysis of an announced deal, an accretion/dilution merger model does not foot to companies' presentation materials even after including all relevant data items?

RE: Modeling out pension expenses on the cash flow statement
Recall that pension expense is technically included in Compensation (usually part of SG&A). That does not necessarily mean they physically paid cash for that expense in that time period (matching principle of expenses, subset of accrual accounting). Therefore, the contribution to pension would b... Recall that pension expense is technically included in Compensation (usually part of SG&A). That does not necessarily mean they physically paid cash for that expense in that time period (matching principle of expenses, subset of accrual accounting). Therefore, the contribution to pension would be a working capital figure. Thus, if you were to include payments to Company Pension Fund as a negative item in CFO, that would imply that they paid MORE than the accrual expense amount recognized on the Income Statement. However, keep in mind that the CFO figures are partly derived also from the BS figures - that is, if there is an actuarial change in pension assets, then that change is reflected in CFO and possibly further distorting the true cash changes to pension. In short, you need to figure out exactly what is going on with the company and then model that out as close to reality as you can. Read More

RE: Footing my accretion/dilution model with reported numbers
Remember, an accretion/dilution model is a back-of-the-envelope analysis that encapsulates the *major* components and drivers of value in a deal. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible to replicate a real deal's numbers since the bankers would be building a super complex, fully integrated merger m... Remember, an accretion/dilution model is a back-of-the-envelope analysis that encapsulates the *major* components and drivers of value in a deal. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible to replicate a real deal's numbers since the bankers would be building a super complex, fully integrated merger model (well they should be anyway!). Such a model incorporates the true cash flow projections of debt paydowns, balance sheet synergies (completely unrelated to announced synergies) and a multitude of additional assumptions. The accretion/dilution model typically would serve as a quick and dirty analysis to determine if it's feasible to pursue down the path of additional and further complication of blowing out the model for much more precision. Read More

Pesky Technical Question
I continue to work daily with the WST macros, and have run into a few quirks I was hoping you could help with. I am using Excel 2002, SP3. It ain't broke....except: 1. I enter data. Cells that have calculations dependant on that data sometimes self-fill, and other times I have to copy and paste.... I continue to work daily with the WST macros, and have run into a few quirks I was hoping you could help with. I am using Excel 2002, SP3. It ain't broke....except:

1. I enter data. Cells that have calculations dependant on that data sometimes self-fill, and other times I have to copy and paste. (Yes, I love <c>R, <c>D.) I'm not sure what is making the distinction. C = A + B. Sometimes C fills itself, sometimes I copy the cell above to continue the series in a column of C's.

2. I have one spreadsheet in particular that has a lot of macro-econ data, and the formats keep slipping off. I will format the whole column and save. Two days later I enter more data and have to do it again. Although the data from the prior session holds the format, unfilled cells do not. Seems like some sort of corruption, but each column needs varying format (index scaled numbers vs. percentages). I'm getting tired of re-setting them. Is this hopelessly corrupted and I have to reload into a clean, new workbook? Which leads me to.....

3. Is there any way to make sure that the default format for each entire new workbook is customized? Or does one really have to start each tab with setting that default format? I can't seem to find via Help any references to such a global setting. Read More