Financial Catalogue

IPhone app helps the blind identify US bank notes

2011-03-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

US software vendor Ipplex has launched an iPhone application that helps blind and visually impaired Americans identify bank notes.

Available through Apple's App Store for $1.99, the LookTel Money Reader uses the iPhone camera to identify $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills before 'speaking' the value out loud.

The vendor says its app uses patented and proprietary object recognition technology to recognise any bill denomination in real time without the need to hold the camera still or take a photo.

American bank notes are all the same size, posing a problem for the visually impaired. In 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a district court opinion finding that "the Treasury Department's failure to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to the visually impaired violates section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act". However, no changes to the currency have yet been made.

LookTel developed its technology under sponsorship from the National Institutes of Health and was awarded two research grants from the National Eye Institute and the National Institute of Aging.

Gary Kelly, executive director of Blind Wisdom and Ipplex advisor, says: "The LookTel Money Reader is fantastic because it reads money quickly at any location - even if there is no Internet connection available. One can use it and sort money as quickly as a sighted person can, and do this with total independence."

World in 2021

2011-03-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

Niall Ferguson: In 2021 we'll be amazed how much the world has changed

Niall Ferguson, historian and author of Civilization, tells Robert Miller his projections for the next decade, including the future of Europe, the MIddle East and the US.

Become a Financial Expert

2010-07-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Free Excel Spreadsheets
Capital Budgeting Analysis (xls) - Basic program for doing capital budgeting analysis with inclusion of opportunity costs, working capital requirements, etc. - Aswath Damodaran

Rating Calculation (xls) - Estimates a rating and cost of debt based on the coverage of debt by an organization - Aswath Damodaran

LBO Valuation (xls) - Analyzes the value of equity in a leverage buyout (LBO) - Aswath Damodaran

Synergy (xls) - Estimates the value of synergy in a merger and acquisition - Aswath Damodaran

Valuation Models (xls) - Rough calculation for choosing the correct valuation model - Aswath Damodaran

Risk Premium (xls) - Calculates the implied risk premium in a market. (uses macro's) - Aswath Damodaran

FCFE Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran

FCFE Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran

FCFE Valuation 3 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with three stages of growth, high growth initially, decline in growth, and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran

FCFF Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran

FCFF Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran

Time Value (xls) - Introduction to time value concepts, such as present value, internal rate of return, etc.

Lease or Buy a Car (xls) - Basic spreadsheet for deciding to buy or lease a car.

NPV & IRR (xls) - Explains Internal Rate of Return, compares projects, etc.

Real Rates (xls) - Demonstrates inflation and real rates of return.

Template (xls) - Template spreadsheet for project evaluation & capital budgeting.

Free Cash Flow (xls) - Cash flow worksheets - subsidized and unsubsidized.

Capital Structure (xls) - Spreadsheet for calculating optimal capital structures using different percents of debt.

WACC (xls) - Calculation of Weighted Average Cost of Capital using beta's for equity.

Statements (xls) - Generate a set of financial statements using two input sheets - operational data and financial data.

Bond Valuation (zip) - Calculates the value or price of a 25 year bond with semi-annual interest payments.

Buyout (zip) - Analyzes the effects of combining two companies.

Cash Flow Valuation (zip) - Walks through a valuation of cash flows under three models- capital cash flows, equity cash flows, and free cash flows.

Financial Projections (zip) - Spreadsheet model for generating projected financials along with valuation based on WACC.

Leverage (zip) - Shows the effects on Net Income from using debt (leverage).

Ratio Calculator (zip) - Calculates a standard set of ratios based on input of financial data.

Stock Value (zip) - Calculates expected return on stock and value based on no growth, growth, and variable growth.

CFROI (xls) - Simplified Cash Flow Return on Investment Model.

Financial Charting (zip) - Add on tool for Excel 97, consists of 6 files.

Risk Analysis (exe) - Analysis and simulation add on for excel, self extracting exe file.

Black Scholes Option Pricing (zip) - Excel add on for the pricing of options.

Cash Flow Matrix - Basic cash flow model.

Business Financial Analysis Template for start-up businesses from Small Business Technology Center

Forex (zip) - Foreign market exchange simulation for Excel

Hamlin (zip) - Financial function add-on's for Excel

Tanly (zip) - Suite of technical analysis models for Excel

Financial History Pivot Table - Microsoft Financials

Income Statement What If Analysis

Breakeven Analysis (zip) - Pricing and breakeven analysis for optimal pricing - Biz Pep.

SLG Ratio Master (exe) - Excel workbook for creating 25 key performance ratios.

DCF - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Discounted Cash Flow Analysis from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management

History - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Historical Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management

Proforma - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Pro-forma Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management

Business Valuation Model (zip) - Set of tabbed worksheets for generating forecast / valuation outputs. Includes instruction sheet. Bizpep

LBO Model - Excel model for leveraged buy-outs

Comparable Companies - Excel valuation model comparing companies

Combination Model - Excel valuation model for combining companies

Balanced Scorecard - Set of templates for building a balanced scorecard.

Cash Model - Template for calculating projected financials from CFO Connection

Techniques of Financial Analysis - Workbook of 11 templates (breakeven, valuation, forecasting, etc.) from ModernSoft

Ratio Reminder (zip) - Simple worksheet of comparative financials and corresponding ratios

Risk Analysis IT - Template for assessing risk of Information Technology - Audit Net

Risk Analysis DW - Template for assessing risk of Data Warehousing - Audit Net

Excel Workbook 1-2 - Set of worksheets for evaluating financial performance and forecasting - Supplemental Material for Short Course 1 and 2 on this website.

Rule Maker Essentials - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering financial data - The Motley Fool

Rule Maker Ranker - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering comparable data - The Motley Fool

IPO Timeline - Excel program for Initial Public Offerings (must enable macros)

Assessment Templates - Set of templates for assessing an organization based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Model.

Cash Gap in Days - Spreadsheet for calculating number of days required for short-term financing.

Cash Flow Template - Simple cash flow model with explanations of each cash flow component - Arkansas Small Business Development Center.

Six Solver Workbook (zip) - Set of various spreadsheets for solving different business problems (inventory ordering, labor scheduling, working capital, etc.).

Free Cash Flow Valuation - Basic Spreadsheet Valuation Model

Finance Examples - Seven examples in Business Finance - Solver

Capital Budgeting Workbook - Several examples of capital budgeting analysis, including the use of Solver to select optimal projects.

Present Value Tables (rtf) - Set of present value tables written in rich text format, compatible with most word processors. Includes examples of how to use present value tables.

Investment Valuation Model (zip) - Valuation model of companies (30 Day Trial Model) from Business Spreadsheets | Additional Trial Models from Business Spreadsheets > Real Option Valuation | Portfolio Optimization | Optimal Hedging Strategy

Cash Flow Sensitivity (xlt) - Sensitivity analysis spreadsheet - Small Business Store

What If Analysis - Set of templates for sensitivity analysis using financial inputs.

Risk Return Optimization - Optimal project selection (must enable macro's) - Metin Kilic

CI - Basics #1 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.

CI - Basics #2 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.

External Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).

Internal Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).

Formal Scorecard - Formal Balanced Scorecard Spreadsheet Model (3.65 MB / must enable macros) - Madison Area Quality Improvement Network.

Project Plan - Project Scheduling Template currently setup for a Balanced Scorecard Project.

Gantt Chart - Gantt chart for project management with work plan - Jim Chapman's Web Site | Simplified Version - Barnard of Fong's Eng & Manf

E O Q Model - Simple Inventory Models for calculating Economic Order Quantity.

Inventory Simulation Control Model - Formal model for simulating inventory shortages, delivery times, costs, backorders, and optimal inventory levels - John McClain

Financial Projections Model - A comprehensive financial model for forecasting a complete set of financials with breakeven and valuation tabs developed by Frank Moyes and Stephen Lawrence at Leeds School of Business.

Option Trading Workbook - Educational toolkit for using Excel for Options - Option Trading Tips

Financial Model - A nice clean financial model driven by different calculators (such as Company, Market, Subscribers, etc.) developed by Bill Snow.

Forecasting Model - Step by step financial model for forecasting financials created by Sam Gui

Economic Evaluation - Step by step workbook for evaluating the economics of a system investment - Automated Concepts

Project Management Templates - A collection of templates (charter, budget, risk register, issues log, etc.) for managing a project - International Association of Project and Program Management

Project Cost Estimating Workbook - A workbook model for developing a cost estimate on a software development project - ProTrain China

Risk Assessment Register - A workbook for establishing a risk management register - Emergency Preparedness Capacity Builders

Simple ABC Model - A simple model that illustrates Activity Based Costing

Six Sigma Tool Kit - A large collection of templates for doing six sigma tasks - Fara Vesh

Project Management Tool Kit - Collection of useful templates for managing projects - Michael D. Taylor

Intellectual Property Valuation Model - A simple and easy to use model to help assign value to intellectual assets such as patents, copyrights and trademarks - My Patent

IT Infrastructure Maturity Assessment - Maturity model for evaluating different segments of IT infrastructure

EVA Model - Template worksheets for calculating Economic Value Added (EVA) - Zachary Scott

EVA Tree Model - Economic Value Added drill-down model with charts - Manfred Grotheer

Personal Finance Model - A simple and clean model to track personal wealth - ROI Team

Financial Startup Model - A six parameter model to help organize financials for startup companies - ROI Team

Master Budget Model - A multi-period multi-product budget model for a fictional bicycle manufacturing company - Jason Porter, PhD at University of Idaho and Teresa Stephenson, PhD at University of Wyoming. Click Here for the corresponding article that explains the model.

Performance Leadership Assessment - Simple and straight-forward tool for assessing leadership across five important categories - People Positive

Due Diligence Assessment Model - Assessment of new business ventures across ten different dimensions - Affiliate Tips

Management Diamond Assessment - A useful tool for developing human capital and teams - Geir Fuglaas | Management Diamond Overview | Management Diamond Book

Performance Solution Tool Kit - Evaluation of performance issues related to knowledge gaps - Brent Norton

Ratio Tree - A simple yet comprehensive tree of ratios for most businesses - Strategy Expert

Politicians' salaries: Leaders of the fee world | The Economist

2010-07-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Politicians' salaries: Leaders of the fee world | The Economist

How to create the sample function Called SpellNumber

2010-07-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

How to create the sample function Called SpellNumber

1. Start Microsoft Excel.

2. Press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.

3. On the Insert menu, click Module.

4. Type the following code into the module sheet.

Option Explicit

'Main Function

Function SpellNumber(ByVal MyNumber)

Dim Dollars, Cents, Temp

Dim DecimalPlace, Count

ReDim Place(9) As String

Place(2) = " Thousand "

Place(3) = " Million "

Place(4) = " Billion "

Place(5) = " Trillion "

' String representation of amount.

MyNumber = Trim(Str(MyNumber))

' Position of decimal place 0 if none.

DecimalPlace = InStr(MyNumber, ".")

' Convert cents and set MyNumber to dollar amount.

If DecimalPlace > 0 Then

Cents = GetTens(Left(Mid(MyNumber, DecimalPlace + 1) & _

"00", 2))

MyNumber = Trim(Left(MyNumber, DecimalPlace - 1))

End If

Count = 1

Do While MyNumber <> ""

Temp = GetHundreds(Right(MyNumber, 3))

If Temp <> "" Then Dollars = Temp & Place(Count) & Dollars

If Len(MyNumber) > 3 Then

MyNumber = Left(MyNumber, Len(MyNumber) - 3)

Else

MyNumber = ""

End If

Count = Count + 1

Loop

Select Case Dollars

Case ""

Dollars = "No Dollars"

Case "One"

Dollars = "One Dollar"

Case Else

Dollars = Dollars & " Dollars"

End Select

Select Case Cents

Case ""

Cents = " and No Cents"

Case "One"

Cents = " and One Cent"

Case Else

Cents = " and " & Cents & " Cents"

End Select

SpellNumber = Dollars & Cents

End Function

' Converts a number from 100-999 into text

Function GetHundreds(ByVal MyNumber)

Dim Result As String

If Val(MyNumber) = 0 Then Exit Function

MyNumber = Right("000" & MyNumber, 3)

' Convert the hundreds place.

If Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1) <> "0" Then

Result = GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1)) & " Hundred "

End If

' Convert the tens and ones place.

If Mid(MyNumber, 2, 1) <> "0" Then

Result = Result & GetTens(Mid(MyNumber, 2))

Else

Result = Result & GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 3))

End If

GetHundreds = Result

End Function

' Converts a number from 10 to 99 into text.

Function GetTens(TensText)

Dim Result As String

Result = "" ' Null out the temporary function value.

If Val(Left(TensText, 1)) = 1 Then ' If value between 10-19...

Select Case Val(TensText)

Case 10: Result = "Ten"

Case 11: Result = "Eleven"

Case 12: Result = "Twelve"

Case 13: Result = "Thirteen"

Case 14: Result = "Fourteen"

Case 15: Result = "Fifteen"

Case 16: Result = "Sixteen"

Case 17: Result = "Seventeen"

Case 18: Result = "Eighteen"

Case 19: Result = "Nineteen"

Case Else

End Select

Else ' If value between 20-99...

Select Case Val(Left(TensText, 1))

Case 2: Result = "Twenty "

Case 3: Result = "Thirty "

Case 4: Result = "Forty "

Case 5: Result = "Fifty "

Case 6: Result = "Sixty "

Case 7: Result = "Seventy "

Case 8: Result = "Eighty "

Case 9: Result = "Ninety "

Case Else

End Select

Result = Result & GetDigit _

(Right(TensText, 1)) ' Retrieve ones place.

End If

GetTens = Result

End Function

' Converts a number from 1 to 9 into text.

Function GetDigit(Digit)

Select Case Val(Digit)

Case 1: GetDigit = "One"

Case 2: GetDigit = "Two"

Case 3: GetDigit = "Three"

Case 4: GetDigit = "Four"

Case 5: GetDigit = "Five"

Case 6: GetDigit = "Six"

Case 7: GetDigit = "Seven"

Case 8: GetDigit = "Eight"

Case 9: GetDigit = "Nine"

Case Else: GetDigit = ""

End Select

End Function

Back to the top

How to use the SpellNumber sample function

To use the sample functions to change a number to written text, use one of the methods demonstrated in the following examples:

Back to the top

Method 1: Direct Entry

You can change 32.50 into "Thirty Two Dollars and Fifty Cents" by entering the following formula into a cell:

=SpellNumber(32.50)

Back to the top

Method 2: Cell reference

You can refer to other cells in the workbook. For example, enter the number 32.50 into cell A1, and type the following formula into another cell:

=SpellNumber(A1)

Back to the top

Method 3: Paste Function or Insert Function

To enter a custom function into a worksheet, you can use Paste Function in Excel 2000, or you can use Insert Function in Excel 2002 and in Excel 2003.

Excel 2000

To use Paste Function, follow these steps:

Select the cell that you want.
Click Paste Function on the Standard toolbar.
Under Function category, click User Defined.
Under Function name, click SpellNumber, and then click OK.
Enter the number or cell reference that you want, and then click OK.

Excel 2002 and Excel 2003

To use Insert Function, follow these steps:

Select the cell that you want.
Click Insert Function on the Standard toolbar.
Under Or select a category, click User Defined.
In the Select a function list, click SpellNumber, and then click OK.
Enter the number or cell reference that you want, and then click OK.

2010-07-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

File of various MS Excel Key Board Shortcuts, if used increase effeciency of working in Excel. Hope you will find the same of use for you.

KEY BOARD SHORTCUTS IN EXCEL

International Accounting Standerds

2010-01-13T01:04:00.000-08:00

The IASB is the independent standard-setting body of the IASC Foundation. Its members (currently 15 full-time members) are responsible for the development and publication of IFRSs, including the IFRS for SMEs and for approving Interpretations of IFRSs as developed by the IFRIC. All meetings of the IASB are held in public and webcast. In fulfilling its standard-setting duties the IASB follows a thorough, open and transparent due process of which the publication of consultative documents, such as discussion papers and exposure drafts, for public comment is an important component. The IASB engages closely with stakeholders around the world, including investors, analysts, regulators, business leaders, accounting standard-setters and the accountancy profession.

IAS1 l IAS2 l IAS7 l IAS8 l IAS10 l IAS11 l IAS12 l IAS14 l IAS16 l IAS17 l IAS18 l IAS19 l IAS20 l IAS21 l IAS23 l IAS24 l IAS26 l IAS27 l IAS28 l IAS32 l IAS33 l IAS37 l IAS38 l IAS39 l IAS39 Implementation

Financial Ratio Analysis

2009-12-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

This excellent Financial Ratio Analysis template helps executive management, finance analysis, and accounting teams calculate, analyze and compare a set of business & financial ratios to assess & measure the operating performance of your own business or businesses / stocks that you intend to invest in.

After you calculate the financial ratios (quarterly and annually), you can compare them within an industry and track them over time to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the business.

Attachments: Financial Ratio Analysis Template.xls, 117 KB

2009-12-23T23:48:00.000-08:00

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