What 2025 Taught Us About Excel AI and Where Financial Modeling Is Heading in 2026
In this special episode of Financial Modeler’s Corner, host Paul Barnhurst recaps an exciting 2025 and outlines what's ahead for 2026. Paul reflects on the top five most downloaded episodes of the year, shares insights from key guests, and highlights major developments in financial modeling, including Excel's newest features and the growing role of AI.
Expect to Learn
Key trends in Excel and financial modeling from 2025
How AI is changing the way models are built, tested, and audited
The importance of simplicity, documentation, and user involvement in model design
Why communication and business understanding are becoming essential skills for modelers
Here are a few quotes from the episode:
“Complexity can backfire by making you indispensable in ways that hurt your career growth.” – Paul Barnhurst
“AI is a magnifier, it makes good modelers better and highlights weaknesses in those without a solid foundation.” – Paul Barnhurst
In today’s episode:
[00:00] – Trailer
[02:01] – Mod Squad Launch
[03:02] – AI and Modeling
[03:45] – Excel Feature Highlights
[06:28] – Excel Championship Recap
[10:12] – AI in Financial Modeling
[12:54] – Time-Saving Modeling Tips
[16:02] – Three-Statement Modeling
[17:38] – Strategic Thinking for Modelers
[20:30] – Final Thoughts and Certification Offer
Full Show Transcript
I'm your host Paul Barnhurst and I'm thrilled to be here with you for the special end of year slash 2026 kickoff episode. It's the end of the year. Today as I'm recording, this will be released in early 2026. 2025 has been an amazing year for Financial Modelers Corner, a lot of great episodes and a new series that we introduced. So first I just want to talk a little bit about the year. We did roughly 50 new episodes in 2025. We had many great guests on from all over the globe. We had many different countries. We had people that were specialists in Excel, specialists in Modeling , people talking, ai, three statements, real estate, all different areas of Modeling .
(02:01):
In addition to that, we introduced a new series called the Mod Squad. The Mod Squad is the series, it'll be ongoing by Ian Schnoor and Giles Male is the executive director of the Financial Modeling Institute and Giles runs full stack modellers, a Microsoft MVP and Excel eSports, and he's also a master financial modeller. So the two of them are both global experts in Modeling and we talked about and tested different AI tools to give you an idea of what they could do, where they were good, how to think about them. We'll continue to release monthly episodes of the ModSquad in 2026 as we continue to share our take and our learnings about financial Modeling and ai. The key takeaway from that series was vibe working as it's been coded. Like Vibe Coding is early. It's where Vibe Coding was 18 months ago and it can make you better in Excel.
(03:02):
It can help you be faster with your models, but more than anything, it's a magnifier. It's going to magnify if you don't know what you're doing. If you know what you're doing well, it's going to magnify that. So those who will benefit most from AI are those who know Excel and Modeling really well. That was our key takeaway from the series and we'll continue to test and learn and bring you additional tools. Next as we'll. Talk a little bit about Excel. Obviously when we talk financial Modeling , some of the most interesting episodes we had, in fact the number one episode from a Microsoft MVP, John where we talk quite a bit about Excel. So what are some of the new things in Excel? What do they mean for modellers? So I want to run through a few of 'em. The first is the copilot function.
(03:45):
What the copilot function is is the copilot function allows you to type the word copilot and then in parentheses tell it what you want it to find using generative AI and it'll return an answer. You can even mix it with data you have in your grid and have it run against that. So you could return the top 10 cities in the US or the top countries in the world or whatever it might be, or classify some data. Very unique function in that it's probabilistic and so you could get different answers every time. You have to be very careful where you use it. Something I wouldn't see much used in Modeling but unique. The next one, and I know it drives a lot of modellers crazy, is to copilot auto complete. And so what that is is you start typing a function, like you start typing an next lookup and it automatically assumes what you're wanting to look up and finishes the formula for you.
(04:39):
And you can scroll through different options of what it thinks you want, can be incredibly helpful in certain situations, can also be quite annoying and a lot of people that turn it off, but that's the next one. Then there's Excel's agent that came out this year and that's really been what I'll call kind of groundbreaking in that it now allows you to vibe work where you just type something and excel using generative AI will then build whatever you asked it to do. If you want more on this, then watch the Mod Squad. I talk about this in depth, but I'm very excited for Excel agent Clean Data. This is what we call intelligent data cleaning. It uses AI to clean up your data. You can see the first four are all AI mentioned, others that came out as focus cells and I'm sure there were some others, some may have been 2024.
(05:27):
It's been so rapid and so changing, but those are some I know of. So Microsoft continues to lean heavily into AI and bringing new AI functions for better or worse. It's a huge push and we will see a lot more of that as my guess in 2026 as Microsoft continues to develop Excel and it continues to be the premier spreadsheet in the world. Alright, so that's a little bit on Excel in 2025. Some other things, one big event was the Microsoft Excel World Championship. I went this year in Vegas in the beginning of December. Incredible event. Probably my favourite part and I think many people's was seeing DIM early der me at early win. So DIM Competes every year. He is one of the most generous competitors. He is always helping others, always sharing his knowledge. He's a Microsoft MVP. He's been competing for years and the last few years he's come up just short of winning it all.
(06:28):
This year he was at the top of his game all three rounds, the semi-final to get through to the final, the two final rounds. He scored a perfect score, a 1250. He finished early, so he had known he had won. Just amazing to watch. He performed at the top of his game. It was really cool to see and Microsoft has really leaned into the event. The number of people attending. The excitement continues to grow and so they're doing a better and better job of that event. One Giles Mel is one of the announcers for that. He does a great job there and I know he'll continue to be involved. So it's just a fabulous exciting year for that and for the event. And if you ever get a chance, highly encourage you to attend it if you want to meet a lot of Excel people and have fun.
(07:14):
So that was a fun event. Now what I want to do is I want to recap what were some of the top episodes we had in 2025 and then I'll talk a little bit about 2026 and we'll wrap this up. So this will be a relatively short episode, but the number one most listened episode audio that is so this doesn't include YouTube videos, but just talking audio. The number one most listened to episode was how finance professionals can Grow with Excel, avoid Automation Traps and build a brand with John an Korra. If anyone knows John an Kor, he's a fabulous Microsoft MVP shares a tonne of stuff about Excel through his website. And so he shared a few things and I just want to recap some of them. I really liked his thoughts on legacy thinking. He says, when building financial models, consider the legacy you are leaving behind.
(08:13):
Future users will inherit your work and either praise or curse your name depending on how complex and maintainable you make it. The less complex and the more maintainable, the more likely they are to praise your name. The more complex and less maintainable, more likely they are to curse your name. So we talk about legacy thinking and the legacy you're leaving. Then he said user involvement is critical. The more you involve end users in the model development process, the more likely they are to adopt and use the final product. Don't spend months building an isolation only to discover missing features. Not surprising. So this is so true with so many things, but in Modeling , especially if someone's going to inherit or use the model after, make sure you involve them. And then he emphasised again, simplicity over complexity. Well, my background is in fp and a.
(09:05):
I am also passionate about financial Modeling . Like many financial modellers, I was self-taught. Then I discovered the Financial Modeling Institute, the organisation that offers the advanced financial modeller programme. I'm a proud holder of the A FM. Preparing for the A FM exam made me a better Modeling . If you want to improve your Modeling skills, I recommend the A FM programme Podcast Listeners save 15% on the A FM programme. Just use code podcast. He says, complexity can backfire by making you indispensable in ways that hurt your career growth. Oh, we have to have this person here to maintain this VBA model or this complex formula. There often may be a simpler way. So he mentions that and then he talk about one of my favourite, the Power query revolution. So how companies are saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by learning power query. Many analyst spend 80% of their time cleaning G IT and Power Query can automate it if you have to update models regularly.
(10:12):
Learn Power query. And then he talked about building an online business and he mentioned something that is so often said, but I don't think often recognised success rarely happens overnight. John's journey from hobby blog to full-time business took six to seven years of consistent content creation and audience building. It was definitely not an overnight success and now he has a very successful business. So that was the most popular episode of the year. Number two, and this is not surprising, was about ai. So Kenny Whitelaw Jones early in the year did a survey about how financial modellers are using copilot and chat GPT. Now I think some of this is outdated now it just shows how quick financial Modeling and AI is moving. But we'll just share a few highlights from his. So we talk about AI and we talk a lot about project finance. So he runs grid lines, which is a project Modeling company.
(11:07):
When we did this at the beginning of the year, it says 75% of the modellers expect AI to significantly impact financial Modeling . This was one of the key takeaways, but only 10% are using it systematically. Now, among modellers, there's a higher use of copilot than chat GPT due to workflow integration. So no surprise there. Then we talked about dynamic array. He said they're great, but they're not always practical for complex project finance models, which is something we talked a lot about throughout the year. They're just not quite ready there for the average builder to build their full model dynamically. And then he says a few things he shared about ai. He thinks it can transform the model audit process by reading contracts, recommending Modeling approaches. I also know in Bennett talked about how it could help a lot with the early process of helping with scoping.
(11:52):
And then he shared how he's seeing that Modeling today requires a lot more of soft skills and business understanding. It goes well beyond technical expertise. He even said in project finance, typically only 10% of your time is spent building the model. 90% is on using them, using those models and what you've learned for commercial negotiations. And so modellers of the future, especially with AI coming will need to focus more on strategic thinking, interpretation and clear communication. So that was the second most listened episode with Kenny Whitelaw Jones. Number three was how to simplify complex financial models and save time with Scott Powell. Scott Powell is one of the founders of CF Institute and an instructor. And so one of the first key takeaways he shared was start with the end in mind. Don't jump into building models immediately. Think about stakeholders, deliverables, and outputs. First, draw out your model structure on paper before opening Excel.
(12:54):
Then we talked about one of my favourite subjects. I often say simple is hard, complex is easy, but he used the term simplify. Simplify, simplify over complication often doesn't impact decision-making, so don't do it. You can make a model look more precise by adding hundreds, rows and columns, but if it doesn't affect the decision, why do it? So focus on what's needed for the decision. He talked about the importance of documenting everything from colour code comments, clear documentation throughout, and then he said, which is a theme, we talk about it under Kenny, we'll talk about it again, soft skills set you apart. Technical skills are the baseline, but communication, storytelling and stakeholder management are what differentiate top performers in finance. He mentioned you should be careful, come back to the over complication with advanced features. Use them judiciously. Ask yourself if it's really needed or if there's a simple way you could do when it came to learning Excel.
(13:55):
And with all the changes making you said, focus your learning. Identify the areas that are going to help you most as a power query, as a Python, as a power bi. Is it dynamic array? And focus on learning them, not everything. And then learn incrementally. His favourite recommendation is, hey, take 15 minutes and learn one thing every day.
Bad financial models can lead to bad decisions or worse. If you want to learn to build better models, impress your boss and your clients, get the Advanced Financial Modeler accreditation. Podcast listeners save 15% on AFM registration. Just use the code Podcast at http://www.fminstitute.com/podcast.
(14:59):
If you want to impress your boss and your clients, get a FM accredited podcast listeners, save 15% on the A FM programme. Just use code podcast at fm institute.com/podcast. And then last, he talked about his love of teaching and he said the best teachers and the teacher he tries to be are those that are service oriented. When creating courses or training, put the leader's needs front and centre, not your desire to show off technical skills. All right, so that was a little bit of Scott Powell. You can re-listen to that episode. How to simplify Complex, find mutual Models and Save Time with Scott Powell. Number four, and this is one of my favourites and this was an episode I think we reran this episode. We had actually recorded it previously, but three statement Modeling for fp and a pros to avoid complex builds and forecast errors with Chris Riley.
(16:02):
Anyone knows Chris Riley knows I love the work he does. He's great with his financial Modeling education website. He talks a lot about understanding and building three statement models and we went deep on the whole cashflow and building a three statement model. He mentioned his preference for three statement models is a vertical model where they're stacked on top of each other versus horizontally. He likes it In one sheet he talked a lot about the importance of really understanding the courts drew or he called the base method where you have a beginning line and then you have your additions, your subtraction and your ending. And then the next column, your ending becomes the beginning and then you got your ending at the end. And then the next column again, it's the beginning. So you go basically go beginning, ending, ending to the next column, beginning ending to the next column beginning.
(16:48):
And that's why it's a corkscrew. It just rotates through like a corkscrew. You can see it spinning there. So we talked a lot about that, how great that is for Modeling working capital accounts. We talked about the importance of error checking simplicity once again we see that. And then we got a little bit into cashflow and something he said is the direct method can serve as a valuable double check for model integrity. So often you're going to do it indirect, but use the direct as well if you have the data. And then he talked about how when you're building financial models, most models should be really simple. You only need a few basic formulas. Maybe some more advanced like an index match for data aggregation. But really formulas you need for Modeling is pretty simple. Number five was Master the Secrets for Building Better Financial Models with the co-founder of CFI.
(17:38):
So Corporate Finance Institute, Tim the Pond, he first, we spent a lot of time talking about strategy and he mentioned how strategy is crucial for financial Modeling that modellers must align the model with the company strategy and objectives to be truly useful. So if you don't think about strategy and don't align what you're doing with strategy, you're going to miss. And then we talk about what strategy is. We talked about how strategy involves making trade-offs and closing doors. You can't pursue every opportunity. You have to pick and choose what makes the most sense for your business. Then we talked about career growth and Tim shared something he learned that I really liked. He called it skill stacking, how it can significantly advance your career. There's a lot of people that are really good at accounting, are really good at Excel or really good at Power bi.
(18:30):
But skills tacking says I'm going to become top five, 10% at Excel and data storytelling and then maybe business partnering. But you have two or three skills that you really have honed and stood out. So now you can stack a couple skills on top of each other. Now you might only be competing against a 1% in that area when people are looking for that combo of where you've skill stacked, you're going to stand out. So you've reduced the competition for those areas. And then you mentioned about don't take shortcuts even when it's two in the morning you're trying to finish. Don't do it. It's going to come back to bite you, it's going to backfire. And he shared some stories about how that happened for him. And then one thing I really like is scenarios. I'm a big believer of scenarios and saying, Hey, scenarios are about situations, not just a bunch of numbers.
(19:17):
And so she said scenarios and financial models should be grounded in strategy, not just arbitrary number changes. And then he gave a tip for one of the best ways to improve your Modeling skills. He said, reverse engineer other people's models can be one of the best ways to improve Modeling skills. So those were the top five episodes. I wanted to recap those. Next I just want to talk a little bit about what's coming in 2026. In 2026, we're going to continue to do the Mod Squad. It will be a monthly series with N and Giles where we continue to talk about ai. We'll continue to bring you guests. We may not do as many episodes as we did in 2025. We're looking to scale back a little bit. But we'll continue to bring you some of the best modellers in the world. And what I'd love to know is that they're a subject, a topic, an area you'd like me to cover, a guest you want me to have on.
(20:10):
If there is, then please reach out. And last but not least, just a reminder, financial Modeling Institute is a great organisation and if you want to level up your Modeling game, consider taking the advanced financial modeller. If you're taking the Advanced, consider the Chartered really is worth it. It's one of the best organisations out there. So on that note, I want to thank everybody for listening to the show. I'm really excited for the new year. Encourage you to go back and maybe listen to a couple episodes you didn't get a chance. It's in this top five or watch the Mod Squad. It's a great series about ai, an exciting time Modeling continues to grow and develop. What a great area to be in to work in to be able to build financial models. So I look forward to bringing you many more great interviews and guests in 2026.
Financial Modeler's Corner was brought to you by the Financial Modeling Institute. This year, I completed the Advanced Financial Modeler certification and it made me a better financial modeler. What are you waiting for? Visit FMI at www.FMInstitute.com/podcast and use Code Podcast to save 15% when you enroll in one of the accreditations today.