Ask any knowledgeable modeller and they will tell you: This skill isn’t technical, as it is often portrayed to be, but rather, artistic. Creative!
Of course, at the heart of each model is its code. The code drives the model’s logic. It’s a set of invisible cogs running behind the scenes, the turning of which turns business problems, into business insights. But although a variety of different cogs can be used to perform the same task, not all of them are equally efficient. And so, running lean and efficient code, is a form of art for us modellers.
Art may be the efficient code writing, but it is also invisible and often hard to appreciate by most clients who only run moderate complexity models.
Another form of art included in financial models, more visible this time, is the formatting. All knowledgeable modellers know the basic structure and formatting rules of our profession, but over and above that, come our personal experiences in financial presentation skills.
Visible art may be some good formatting, but again, not all clients would be willing to pay for it.
So my advice to you, if you are new to this profession, would be to assess your clients when defining the way that you will go about developing your model – larger clients not only are traditionally more willing to pay for this kind of things, but they would also expect to receive them in the first place. Small clients on the other hand, will likely not notice anything missing and even if they do, they may not appreciate this kind of features in the end.
If you are a veteran of the profession, chances are that you won’t be needing my advice. We all know that after building a certain number of (professional – meaning modular) models, we can use plug-and-play techniques to quickly build professional models for (most) clients.
In this sense, financial modelling is perhaps one of the few professions that have a truly life-long learning curve. And as I am getting older, I aim to use my thus far accumulated experience to the fullest and keep those hungry youngsters that are entering the profession, away from my turf. I advise you to do the same!