Excel Shortcuts for Financial Modeling
May 10, 2018
Why Learn Excel Shortcuts?
We know better than anyone that being in finance, whether that’s investment banking, wealth management, private equity or in the corporate sector, involves lengthy stints working solely in Excel. So, how can you make this process easier for yourself? Simple. Learn as many Excel shortcuts as you can. They’ll help you to navigate quickly around, and make the system actually work for you. This is why we believe mastering Excel is the first step to ‘excelling’ at financial modeling. Gone are the days of clicking the mouse and hoping for the best; it’s time to kick your keyboard into action and utilize specific key combinations to your advantage.
While you’ll find lots of shortcuts and cheats all over the internet, it can be hard to know what’s really worth learning – there’s a whole load of jargon out there, trust us. Who wants to learn 50 shortcuts off by heart, let alone “100 of the best”? This is why our industry experts have pulled together a definitive list of their favorites, guaranteed to increase your productivity and make for a fluid workflow.
15 Excel Shortcuts
| Copy and paste as an absolute reference |
Ctrl C > Ctrl V I
|
| Hide / unhide the menu ribbon |
Ctrl F1
|
| Flip through open Excel files |
Ctrl Tab
|
| Save as |
F12
|
| Insert row |
Alt > I > R
|
| Close file |
Ctrl W
|
| Format as strike through |
Ctrl %
|
| Select all cells with comments |
Ctrl Shift 0
|
| Copy formula from above exactly |
Ctrl ‘
|
| Turn on formula view |
Ctrl `
|
| Print preview |
Ctrl F2
|
| Hard return for text within a cell |
Alt Enter
|
| Select and calculate part of a formula | Press F2 select formula section using
Shift and the arrow keys and then press F9
|
| Trace precedents |
Ctrl [ press F5 Enter to get back
|
| Expand formula bar |
Ctrl Shift U
|