The regulatory regimes that govern the permitting and authorization processes that are required prior to initiation of major infrastructure projects in the United States are quite complex. It can take significant time and effort to obtain the necessary permits and authorizations. …

Traditional spreadsheet approach vs. web based approach — In this article we provide a brief overview of project finance modeling and compare the traditional spreadsheet based approach to using a web based tool. Full disclosure — we are the developers of the web based tool. …

Crop Insurance Overview and Loss Ratio Modeling — This article provides an overview of the crop insurance program in the US provided by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation via a network of private firms. We review the evolution of the program during the past two decades and suggest an approach to model the loss to liability ratio. …

Use MyFinModel to determine financial feasibility — I. Introduction Most start-ups in the software space are, naturally, founded by folks whose area of expertise is technical and not financial; they are more likely to be comfortable writing or debugging computer code than to think about income statements or balance sheets. …

Demystifying real estate financial models — This article provides an overview of real estate financial modeling. The article is geared towards investment properties (rental properties, commercial real estate such as apartment buildings, office buildings, shopping malls, etc.) The article is not intended for complex transactions. I. Introduction Real estate development and investing is one of the most important…

Analyzing a program without easily downloadable data — I. Introduction This article provides an introduction to the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) Program. …

Not the same as insuring vehicles with drivers — In this brief note, we discuss some of the issues that insurance firms will face in the coming years as more and more vehicles adopt driverless features. Such features are being deployed at an increasing rate in regular vehicles to assist drivers in situations like parallel parking, getting out of…

There’s lot more data out in the public domain — This article provides an introduction to the various public data sources that exist at the Federal, State, County and local levels that can help enhance the typical data analysis assignment. I. Introduction The various agencies of the US government at different levels (Federal, State, County, and local) collect vast quantities of data…