Excel plugin: Big Picture

We have developed our plug-in for MS Excel so that analysts can remain in their natural environment – with a spreadsheet and a PDF viewer in front of them. The plugin does not change anything in the way analysts do their analysis. Analysts can manipulate their spreadsheet in original company reports, including all notes and disclosures, exactly the way they usually do. The enhancements in the process include the following.

1. Analysts can just click on any number in the original company report to input that number in the highlighted cell

2. The plugin inserts a customised ‘Exrc()’ formula that returns the required number and links the cell to the Exerica system. The formula is a function of the three variables: company name, date, and parameter ID. The latter is not intended to be amended by the user. It identifies the data point within company accounts and represents Exerica’s internal ID.

3.  Analysts can see the relevant place in the original financial report by selecting the cell with Exrc() formula in it.

4. Exrc() formulas can be manipulated (spread, copied, pasted etc) like any other Excel formulae. Analysts can merely change the second parameter in the formula to get the relevant number for another date or period.

5. A prepared financial model can be linked to Exerica with the help of the ‘Recognise Selection’ button in the Exerica ribbon at the top of the Excel window. This function replaces the numbers with relevant Exrc() formulas in highlighted cells.