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How to Use this Manual

How to Use This Manual

The first Discover Your Mad Skills Masterclass introduced a systematic approach to solving business cases. It focused on understanding the problem, analysing the situation, developing alternatives, making recommendations, and creating implementation plans.

The second manual shifted the focus to communication. It explored how to transform strong analysis into persuasive presentations through effective slide design, storytelling, confident speaking, and successful question-and-answer sessions. 

The third manual introduces the "Mad Skills Toolkit," beginning with thinking skills and situational understanding. It guides you through the process of moving from understanding to gaining insights and building a solution. Next, it explains how to turn that strategy into action and, finally, how to engage your audience and win the room effectively.

This manual focuses on another critical part of case solving: Financial analysis.

Strong case solutions need more than a good strategy. They need to demonstrate that the recommendation makes financial sense, that the assumptions are reasonable, and that the organisation has the capacity to execute the proposed solution.

This manual is designed to help you developbecome thatmore confident using financial thinking.analysis and Excel in business cases and case competitions. 

  • It is not intended to turn you into an accountantaccountant, investment banker, or financial analyst.modeller.
    • Nor
  • It is itdesigned simplyto anhelp Excelyou instructionanswer manual.a Instead,much itmore focusespractical onquestion:

What do the financialnumbers skillstell thatus caseabout competitorsthe decision we need to make?

In case competitions, financial analysis should never exist simply because the case contains numbers. Your calculations should help you understand the situation, compare alternatives, test assumptions, evaluate risk, and demonstrate that your recommendation makes business sense. The strongest teams do not necessarily build the most complicated financial models. They build the models that help them make better decisions and to communicate those decisions credibly.

Think of this manual as your Case Finance & Excel Mastery Toolkit.decisions.

NumbersStart AreWith Tools,the Decision, Not Answersthe Spreadsheet

One of the biggesteasiest mistakes teamsto make within financiala analysiscase competition is assumingopening thatExcel morebefore calculationsdeciding automaticallywhat produceyou are trying to understand. Before building a stronger case. They don't. A spreadsheet can contain dozens of calculations and still fail to answer the most important question:

So what?

The purpose of financial analysis is not to produce impressive numbers. It is to use numbers to understand the situation, test assumptions, evaluate alternatives, and strengthen the recommendation. Throughout this manual, you will repeatedly encounter one central principle:

Numbers don't win cases. Numbers that strengthen a decision do.

  • A ratio is useful only if it helps you understand the organisation.
  • A budget is useful only if it helps determine whether an initiative is feasible.
  • An ROI calculation is useful only if it helps compare an investment.
  • An NPV calculation is useful only if it helps determine whether an investment creates value.
  • A sensitivity analysis is useful only if it helps you understand whether the recommendation remains viable when assumptions change.
  • Excel is useful only when it helps you perform these tasks more accurately, efficiently, and clearly.

Start With the Question

Financial analysis should begin with the business question, not the spreadsheet. Before calculating anything,model, ask:

  • What decision are we trying to make?

  • What financial question needs to be answered?

  • WhatWhich informationnumbers doactually we already have?matter?

  • What assumptions arewill missing?we need to make?

  • WhichWhat calculationscalculation will actuallywould help us decide?compare our options?

  • What evidence would make our recommendation more credible?

Only then should you open Excel. Excel is a tool for thinking, not a substitute for thinking.

You Do Not Need Every Tool in Every Case

This preventsmanual onecontains a range of thefinancial mosttools, commoncalculations, case-solvingmodelling mistakes:techniques, calculatingand becauseExcel youskills. canYou ratherwill than because yourarely need to.all Theof goal is not to use every financial tool in this manual. The goal is to select the tools that help answer the specific questions raised by the case.

From Numbers to Insights

Throughout the manual, we will distinguish between numbers, analysis, and insight.them.

  • A numbermarket-entry tellscase youmight whatrequire happened.market sizing, revenue projections, investment requirements, and break-even analysis.
  • AnalysisA helpscapital explaininvestment whatcase themight numberrequire means.cash-flow forecasting, NPV, IRR, and sensitivity analysis.
  • AnA insightgrowth explainsstrategy whymight itrequire matterspricing toassumptions, thecustomer decision.
    • projections,
margins,

Forand example:

  • Number: Revenue increased by 12%.ROI.
  • Analysis:A Revenuevaluation hascase grownmay atrequire an averageentirely annualdifferent rateset of 10% over the past three years.
  • Insight: The company has demonstrated sustained demand growth, suggesting the proposed expansion builds on an established trend rather than creating demand from scratch.

The third statement is the one that helps the decision-maker. This distinction is central to financial analysis in case competitions.

The Financial Story

The financial section of a case should not exist independently from the rest of the solution. It should support the strategic story. A strong financial analysis often follows a progression:

Understand → Compare → Estimate → Model → Evaluate → Test → Explain → Recommend

First, understand the organisation's current financial position. Then compare performance across time and against relevant benchmarks, and estimate when exact information is unavailable. Model the financial impact of the proposed solution. Evaluate investments and alternatives using appropriate financial measures. Test the assumptions through sensitivity and scenario analysis. Explain what the numbers mean. Then use those insights to strengthen the recommendation. This progression helps prevent the financial analysis from becoming a collection of disconnected calculations.

Use the Right Tool for the Question

Different financial tools answer different questions.

  • Ratio analysis can help answer the question: How financially healthy is the organisation?
  • Comparative analysis can help answer the question: How is the organisation performing relative to its history and competitors?
  • Market sizing can help answer the question: How large is the opportunity?
  • Budgeting can help answer the question: What will the recommendation cost?
  • Estimation can help answer the question: Is our assumption or calculation realistic?
  • ROI can help answer the question: What return does the investment generate relative to its cost?
  • NPV can help answer the question: Does the investment create value today?
  • IRR can help answer the question: What rate of return does the investment generate?
  • Valuation can help answer the question: What is the company, project, or opportunity worth?
  • Sensitivity and scenario analyses can help answer the question: How robust is the decision when our assumptions change?tools.

The objective is not to masterdemonstrate everyhow calculationmany independently.financial techniques you know. The objective is to knowidentify when each tool is useful and what decision it can help you make.

Excel Is the Engine, Not the Destination

Excel plays an important role throughout this manual because it enables teams to quickly calculate, model, test, and visualise financial information. But the spreadsheet is not the final product. The judges rarely care how complicated your spreadsheet is. They care whether you understand what the spreadsheet is telling you.

  • A sophisticated model with poor assumptions is still a poor model.
  • A simple model built on sound assumptions can be extremely powerful.
  • As you work through the Excel components of this manual, continually ask:
  • What does this calculation tell us?
  • Why does it matter?
  • How does it affect our decision?

A Practical Approach to Each Chapter

Each chapter is designed to help you develop both the technical skill and the decision-making judgment behind it. As you work through a topic, consider four questions:

  • What question does this tool answer? Understand the business purpose before focusing on the formula.
  • When should I use it? Not every case requires every financial technique.
  • What insight should it produce? A calculation is only useful if it produces information that changes or strengthens your understanding.
  • How does it improve the recommendation? Ultimately, financialwhich analysis shouldwill help you make athe better decision.
decision.

Build the Skill in Layers

You do not need to master everything in this manual at once. A useful progression is:

  • Level 1 — Understand: Know what the financial tool does and what question it answers.
  • Level 2 — Calculate: Be able to perform the calculation accurately.
  • Level 3 — Interpret: Understand what the result means.
  • Level 4 — Apply: Use the result to evaluate a case decision.
  • Level 5 — Communicate: Explain the financial insight clearly to a decision-maker or judge.
  • Level 6 — Stress-Test: Understand how the conclusion changes when important assumptions change.

The goal is to move beyond simply knowing the formula. You want to reach the point where you can look at a financial problem in a case and quickly determine: What do I need to know, how can I calculate it, and what does it mean for our recommendation?

  • How to Use the Manual Duringin PracticeThree
      Ways
    • There
      1. areLearn severalthe waysFundamentals
      to

      Work use this manual.

  • Before a Competition
    • Usethrough the chapters to build your understanding of the financial toolkit.concepts and Excel techniques commonly used in business cases. Do not focus only on memorising formulas. Make sure you understand:

      • what the calculation measures;

      • Practice

        why it matters;

      • when you should use it;

      • what assumptions it depends on; and

      • how the calculationsresult inmight Excel.influence a business decision.

      • Create
      your

      Understanding ownthe templates.

      • logic behind the calculation is more valuable than simply knowing which Excel function to use.

      2. Use It as a Case-Solving Reference

      During practice cases, return to the relevant chapters when you encounter a financial question. Ask yourself: What am I trying to understand? Then select the tool that helps answer that question.  Over time, you should become increasingly comfortable recognising which financial analysis fits different types of business decisions.

      3. Use It to Build Your Excel Skills

      Excel becomes much easier when you use it regularly.

      • Work throughRebuild the examples.
      • MostChange importantly,the practiceassumptions.
        • interpreting
      • Test different scenarios.
      • Break the model and figure out why it broke.
      • Then build it again.

      The objective is not simply to learn where the buttons are. It is to become comfortable enough with Excel that the software does not slow down your thinking when the pressure of a case competition begins.

      Build From Simple to Sophisticated

      Case teams sometimes assume that more complicated financial analysis will impress judges. That is rarely true. A simple model that clearly explains the economics of your recommendation is usually more valuable than a sophisticated model that nobody can explain. Start with the simplest calculation that answers the question. Then add complexity only when it improves the quality of the decision. For example:

      Estimate → Calculate → Compare → Test → Interpret

      You might begin with an estimate of market demand, calculate potential revenue and costs, compare several alternatives, test the most important assumptions, and then determine what the results rathermean thanfor simplyyour calculatingrecommendation. them.The

    sophistication
    • comes
  • Duringfrom Casethe Practicequality
      of
    • Dothe thinking, not automaticallythe worknumber throughof everyformulas.

      chapter.

      • Treat
    • Instead,Assumptions identifyas Part of the financialAnalysis

      • questions raised by the

      Most case andfinancials selectrequire theassumptions. appropriateThat tools.is

    • Asknormal. your team: What financial evidence would make our recommendation more credible? Then build the analysis required to answer that question.
  • During a Competition
    • Use the manual as a mental checklist.
    • You may not have time to build a sophisticated model.
    • You may need to estimate.estimate:

      • market growth;

      • You may

        customer needadoption;

        to make assumptions.
      • You may

        pricing;

        need to simplify.
      • The objective

        implementation iscosts;

        not financial perfection.
      • The objective

        margins;

        is financial credibility.
      • A reasonable

        staffing estimaterequirements;

        with clearly stated assumptions is often more useful than a highly detailed calculation based on questionable assumptions.

    • conversion rates; or

    • future cash flows.

    Learn

    Do not hide these assumptions. Make them visible. Ask whether they are reasonable, explain where they came from, and test what happens when they change. A strong financial model does not pretend that the future is certain. It helps you understand what needs to Thinkbe Liketrue the Decision-Maker

    Throughout this manual, imagine that you are presentingfor your recommendation to work.

    Always Interpret the Number

    Never allow a CEO, CFO, investor, or board of directors. They are unlikelycalculation to ask:become "Didthe conclusion. Suppose your analysis produces: ROI = 24%. That is a calculation. The analysis begins when you calculateask: enoughSo ratios?"what? They are more likely to ask:

    • "Is 24% attractive?
    • Compared with what?
    • How quickly is the investment recovered?
    • How sensitive is the return to your assumptions?
    • What risks could reduce it?
    • Does the return justify the resources required?
    • What does this tell us about the recommendation?

    The same principle applies throughout this manual:

    Calculate → Interpret → Decide

    Your job is not simply to produce numbers. Your job is to explain what those numbers mean for the business decision.

    Connect the Financials to the Recommendation

    Financial analysis should not become a separate section of your case solution that has little connection to the strategy. The numbers should support the story you are telling. Your analysis might demonstrate that:

    • the opportunity is large enough to pursue;

    • one alternative creates more value than another;

    • the organisation can afford the investment;

    • the recommendation can become profitable;

    • the implementation timeline is financially realistic;

    • the downside risk is manageable; or

    • the strategy remains attractive even if key assumptions change.

    When the financial analysis and strategic recommendation reinforce one another, your argument becomes much more persuasive.

    Practise Under Time Pressure

    Knowing how to build a model and being able to build one during a case competition are different skills. Once you understand the techniques in this manual, practise them under increasingly realistic time constraints. You should eventually be able to:

    • organise case data quickly;

    • identify the financial question;

    • select the appropriate analysis;

    • build a clean model;

    • identify and test important assumptions;

    • recognise unreasonable outputs;

    • extract the key insight; and

    • communicate that insight clearly to your team.

    Speed should come from familiarity and structure, not from rushing.

    Remember Who the Financials Are For

    Ultimately, the financial analysis is not for Excel. It is not even primarily for you. It is for the decision makers across the table. Judges rarely need to see every formula you created. They need to understand the financial logic behind your recommendation. They should be able to answer:

    • What will this cost?"
    • "What could it generate?
    • How long will weit get in return?"take?
    • "When will we see the impact?"
    • "What assumptions are drivingwe your model?"making?
    • "What happens if those assumptions are wrong?"
    • "Why should we chooseIs this option?"
      • financially
    • "Whatworth happens if we do nothing?"doing?

    ThoseIf your analysis allows the judges to answer those questions, the financials are thedoing questionstheir your financial analysis should help you answer.job.

    Use the Manual Alongside the Masterclass

    This manual is designed to work alongside the instructional Masterclass videos available on the Mad Skills Masterclass YouTube channel. The videos provide demonstrations, explanations, and practical examples that complement the material in the manual. For those in regions where YouTube is unavailable, the videos are also available through Innovatank TV.

    The complete series of Deciphering Cases posts is also available through Discover Your MadMAD Skills on Patreon, providing additional insights, examples, and perspectives that can help you develop your case-solving and financial analysis skills.

    • Use the videos to see the tools demonstrated.
    • Use the manual to understand the concepts.
    • Use Excel to practise the calculations.
    • Then use cases to develop your judgment.

    The Goal of This ManualMindset

    By the end ofThroughout this manual, youremember shouldone beprinciple:

    able to look at the financial information in a case and move confidently from:

    Numbers → Analysis → Insight → Decision

    You should be able to build a financial analysis that is:

    • Accurate enough to be trusted

    • Relevant to the decision

    • Realistic in its assumptions

    • Robust under changing conditions

    • Clear enough for a judge to understand

    • Useful enough to strengthen the recommendation

    The ultimate objectivegoal is not to becomeprove that you can do the personmath. onThe the team who "does the finance." Itgoal is to becomeuse the person who can use financial informationmath to help the entire team make a better decision.

    • Numbers provide evidence. Excel helps you organise and test that evidence. But neither replaces judgment. The strongest case solvers know when to calculate, what to calculate, how much precision is reasonable, and most importantly, Go beyond calculatingwhat the numbers.result means

      • .
    • UnderstandThat whatis theythe mean.
      • skill
    • Usethis themmanual is designed to makehelp betteryou decisions.
    • Turn your numbers into insights.
    develop.

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