About Us

 

ExcelCodex is run by James Buist who has been building advanced Excel Applications since the early 1990s. When I build in Excel, I resort to techniques that help create robust dynamic models that are very hard to break. Most traditionally built models are prone to #Ref errors and incorrect references when the model is restructured. By concentrating on dynamic referencing and key Best Practices, models can be robust and error free even after major restructuring.

I also resort to using advanced VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) to enhance productivity and turn the solution into an easy-to-use application.

About Me

I am British, currently living in Oxford with my wife and three children and have been here since 2016. This was after 22 years in Hong Kong.

  • I have BSc Hons in Mechanical & Electrical Engineering from Edinburgh University.
  • I was awarded the CFA designation in 1998.
  • In 1990, I ran an Apple Computer dealership in Edinburgh, Scotland. I used Excel extensively for payroll, marketing and invoicing and also became an Authorised Apple Computer Trainer.
  • In 1995, I moved to HK where I worked for BZW Securities as a financial analyst building a Standardised Company Valuation Model in Excel (Excel 95). This project was started in the Bangkok office and then rolled out across most Asian regional offices.
  • I then joined Peregrine Brokerage as part of the Regional Research Team and built a regional Company Valuation System in Excel (Excel 95/97). This was rolled out across 15 Asian offices and used by over 70 research analysts covering hundreds of Asia companies. Each company spreadsheet fed into a standardised valuation engine that included traditional multiples such as PE and EBITDA as well as a full DCF analysis. This enabled easy pricing comparisons to be made across peer group companies, industry sectors and countries. The most interesting part of this was that it went into use in early 1997 and highlighted massive overvaluations in many countries due to Fixed Exchange Rates. In mid 1997, the Asian Currency Crisis hit and Peregrine collapsed under the weight of worthless Indonesian bonds.
  • In 2002 I founded Codex and spent a number of years building financial solutions and other applications using Microsoft Dotnet with a team of programmers in the Philippines.
  • In 2008 I worked with a Hong Kong hedge fund helping to rationalise their reporting, analytics and middle office processes using Excel 2007. This led to working with more Funds and building more solutions as well as developing my IT skills and offering IT consultancy services
  • In 2016 I relocated to Oxford and but worked mostly in London on hedge fund technology. During COVID I started working mostly from home and returned to developing Excel solutions which I love to do. I usually spend one to two days a week in London and work from home the rest of the time
  • I currently offer Excel consultancy, development and advanced training.