FAST 4.03-01 Do not use Excel Names
FAST 4.03-02 Use Excel Names for external references
FAST 4.03-03 Use Excel Names for non-local formula precedents
The FAST Modelling Standard advocates very limited use of Names, that is adherents to the Standard are generally against Names. Adherents of the FAST Modelling Standard believe that Names positively harm flexibility and transparency; benefits they may provide are often achievable through simpler techniques and design. In fact, Names are better (or only) suited to simple spreadsheets with limited complexity, where reading a simple natural language formula such as = Price * Quantity is a real possibility.
Excellent website! It’s great that excel modelling will become more standardised.
The only thing question I have is what is the reasoning behind advocating Names, how about dynamic named ranges and also names for tables. I’m really interested in why this is so (because most books and websites advocate the use of Names).
Valentina – thank you for your excellent question and I’m glad you share our enthusiasm for standardisation in financial modelling.
My colleague John recently wrote a piece entitled are excel names a good idea? on the Financial Mechanics blog – and there was some good follow on debate.
Would be interested in your thoughts.
Kenny – Thanks for the link. I posted a comment on the Financial Mechanics blog, with some points about the research article.