Development of financial model compliant with FAST modelling standard

The primary purpose of this work will be to rebuild the PR14 financial model in a way that is compliant with the FAST modelling standard. This will provide Ofwat with a flexible, easily adapted platform on which the PR19 financial model can be built, once Ofwat’s Water 2020 programme has determined the key elements of policy.

The rebuild does not need to mimic the exact structure of the PR14 Financial Model. For example, multiple input sheets could be consolidated into a single input sheet.

The PR14 financial model has nine phases and the functionality of these are required in the rebuilt financial model. However the nine phases include live calculations and financial statements for wholesale water, wholesale wastewater, total wholesale and appointee. Ofwat does not require all calculations to be live or for all of these statements to be rebuilt. The minimum scope of rebuilding the financial statements is two phases – phase one and nine.

Not all of the functionality relating to Non Household (NHH) Retail included in the financial model was used. A simplified approach to NHH in the rebuilt model is therefore all that is required.

The model shall be macro free and shall be free of named ranges, except for links to external workbooks. The PR14 financial model includes a user interface ribbon. This is not required in the rebuilt model.

The scope excludes drafting of new rulebooks or user guides.

The scope of work includes a reconciliation tool that will enable Ofwat to demonstrate that key model outputs, including allowed revenue building blocks, appointee nominal financial statements and executive summary outputs equal those of our PR14 populated FD financial models.

Skills and Experience

The Customer expects that the Contractor’s staff nominated for the Services will have the following skills and experience:

 In depth knowledge of the FAST modelling standard;

 Experience of rapidly rebuilding existing models;

 Experience of using multiple modellers to work in parallel to deliver a single model output.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

The Contractor will be required to produce the following Deliverables setting out the Contractor’s evidenced findings against the scope of work.

1. A completed financial model by 31 March 2016.
2. An excel-based reconciliation tool (for reconciling key outputs from the completed financial model to our PR14 FD financial model) by 31 March 2016.
3. Evidence that demonstrates that the completed financial model reconciles to key outputs from PR14 populated FD financial models by 31 March 2016.

All three Deliverables must be produced by 31 March 2016. The completed financial model and reconciliation tool shall be compliant with 32-bit Excel 2013. They shall be free from passwords.