Project examples – Financial Analytics

Cash flow model

A manufacturing company faced challenges in managing its day-to-day cash flow. The company had a large number of suppliers, customers and other stakeholders (employees, tax agencies etc) which either paid cash to or received cash from the company. In addition, many different credit terms and payment schedules existed. This made it difficult to accurately predict the cash holdings on any given day to ensure sufficient cash would be available.

A student team developed a dynamic Excel-based cash flow model capable of modelling the company’s daily cash holdings for a three-month period. The model used data inputs from the company’s accounting system, extrapolated future trends from historical data and allowed for additional manual inputs. It included a visual dashboard providing insights on cash holdings and major expected inflows and outflows.

The model provided the company’s management with a much more accurate view of the company’s cash flow position and reduced the chance of cash shortfalls and excessive cash holdings.

Investment return simulation

An investment advisor wanted to produce an online tool allowing individuals to estimate their potential retirement savings under different scenarios. The scenarios were based on factors including age, salary, percentage saved, asset classes invested in and drawings over time.

A student team assisted the investment advisor by developing a Python model to forecast the potential value of retirement savings, based on the input factors described above. This included developing assumptions for expected market returns for different asset classes based on historical data and other methods.

The model developed by the student team was used by the advisor during the development and coding of the online tool, including to cross-check results.