COMPETITION RULES

1. The Event

• • Financial Modeling World Cup (hereinafter – FMWC) is a series of financial modeling competitions that are being held on a regular basis. During a calendar year, the overall FMWC Rankings are being calculated and updated, based on participant performance.
  • FMWC has 3 key goals:
    1. 1. Teach. Promote the educational aspect of financial modeling. Ensure that even the least experienced participants improve their financial modeling skills by solving case studies and reviewing the correct answers provided by the FMWC.
       2. Train. Promote the training aspect of financial modeling. Give candidates that are going to pass financial modeling certification exams a reasonable set of training exercises under time pressure to best prepare for taking the exams.
       3. Competition. Promote the sporting aspect of financial modeling. Provide a venue for the world’s top financial modelers to determine the best specialists in the industry.

2. Participants and Age Groups

• • FMWC is open to any participant regardless of age, gender, race, place of living or any other limiting factor.
  • The participants will be divided into groups determined by age: U-25 and Open.
  • For the FMWC Season 2023 the groups are as follows:
    1. 1. U-25: (born in 1998 and later)
       2. Open: (born in 1997 and earlier)
  • Participants will be assigned a Group for the Season which will not change regardless of any change in age.

3. Financial Modeling World Cup Competition: Case Studies

• • The Competition consists of Case Studies (“Case(s)”) consisting of a range of real-life problem-solving questions solvable through the use of financial modeling techniques.
  • Each Stage will normally include 3 (three) Cases, with the possibility of additional Cases or alternative relevant activities.
  • Cases shall be structured as 1 (one) to 5 (five) pages per Case.
    1. 1. Each Case will include a number of Questions, typically between 4 (four) and 20 (twenty).
       2. The complexity of the Questions will vary, with more complex questions awarding more points if answered correctly.
       3. The Question format is not standardized and could potentially be multiple-choice, number type-in or other.
       4. No answers will be in the form of an essay.
  • Cases will be varied, including but not limited to:
    1. 1. Conventional cases.
       2. Testing various financial Modeling aspects (e.g., company valuation, M&A Modeling, debt Modeling, etc.).
       3. “Freestyle” cases – modeling tasks that require no specific financial knowledge (i.e., modeling a harvest on a field in a fictitious world).
       4. Testing participant abilities to use financial modeling techniques to solve out-of-the-box cases.
  • In order to correctly answer Cases, Participants will need to answer the Questions, produce and submit financial models.
    1. 1. Participants may be provided a basis for the financial model or financial models will be required to be produced from scratch.
  • Definitions of industry-specific terms and country-specific terms and ratios will be provided as required.
  • Financial Model formatting and style will not be judged in FMWC. FMWC reserves the right to introduce points for model formatting in one or several stages during the season.
  • After a Stage is complete and the results have been published, possible solutions to the Cases will become available within a reasonable time.
    1. 1. Cases and solutions from previous Stages will be provided for free only to Participants who took part in the relevant round.
       2. For non-participants, Cases and solutions may be sold separately on the FMWC website.
  • Sample Cases are available on the FMWC website.

4. FMWC Format

• • Each stage of FMWC takes place online at a flexible time, allowing the candidates to adjust to their time zones and work-life balance. Typically, stages will take place from Friday 00:01 AM (London time) till Monday 11:59 PM (London time) to allow maximum flexibility to participants.
    1. 1. Participants who after the previous Stage are ranked Top 30 in the world, Top 5 in each age group or Top 5 in each region, will have to complete the Stage during the first 2 days (e.g., Jan 27-28 for Stage 1).
       2. All other participants will have to complete the Stage during the last 2 days (e.g., Jan 29-30 for Stage 1).
  • The 2h Timeframe begins upon the Participant opting to begin the Competition on the examination platform.
  • The 2h Timeframe takes into account:
    1. 1. Downloading all relevant Cases,
       2. Reading and analyzing the Cases,
       3. Creation of financial models,
       4. Completing the relevant answers for Cases and,
       5. Submitting.

5. Points System

• • The total number of points available for correctly solving all the cases at each stage – 1,000 points per stage. Additional extra point bonuses could be introduced by the organizers with the goal to give extra interest to the competition (e.g., extra 100 points for answering an additional extra-hard question).
  • If a participant solves all the cases before the 2h deadline, a bonus mark of 10 points is awarded for each full minute saved. It is required that at least 90% of regular points are scored to get the bonus marks.
  • Before submitting Stage answers, the participants will have to upload their models. If this is not done upon completion of the participant’s work, the participant’s results might be annulated.
  • Stage point “normalization”. Different FMWC stages cover different topics and historically some stages turned out to be easier/harder than average. In order to make them comparable for the overall rankings, the normalization of points will be applied. Regardless of the actual number of points scored at the stage (be it 637 or 1,234), the stage winner’s points will always be set to 1,000. The other player results will be proportionally adjusted for the purpose of the overall rankings.
    1. 1. E.g., if the stage winner has scored 800 points and another player has scored 600 points, then the stage winner’s result will be adjusted to 1,000 points towards the seasonal rankings and the other player’s result will be proportionally adjusted to 750 points.
       2. E.g., if the stage winner has scored 1,500 points and another player has scored 750 points, then the stage winner’s result will be adjusted to 1,000 points towards the seasonal rankings and the other player’s result will be proportionally adjusted to 500 points.

6. Case Design Team

• • The Case Design Team is responsible for the Case content creation throughout the season and consists of leading FMWC participants.
  • The process of how the Case Design Team members will participate in the competition:
    1. 1. Each member can create no more than 1 case per stage,
       2. Each member can submit a maximum of 3 cases per year,
       3. The case author will not be solving his/her own case during the stage,
       4. The case author will have proportionally less time to complete the stage and will receive proportionally more points for completing other cases,
          • If the Case Design Team member creates a case that is worth 250 points (out of a total of 1000 points per stage), they will have 1 hour and 30 minutes (90 minutes) instead of 2 hours to solve the cases that were created by other authors. If the person scores 450 points during these 90 minutes, they will be awarded 450 / 90 = 5 points per minute for the remaining 30 minutes that they did not have to complete the stage. In this scenario they would be compensated 5 pts * 30 minutes = 150 points, and their score for the stage would be 450 + 150 = 600 points.
       5. Time bonus points will be increased proportionally as well. In the above-mentioned example, 10 points would be awarded for every 45 seconds saved. However, the Time bonus points can only be applied if they score 900 regular points for the stage. 600 points would not be enough to qualify for the Time bonus points.
          • A case author will not be able to score more time bonus points than any of the players playing full-time.
       6. The full stage result of a case author (including the adjustments above) will not be higher than the score of the best player playing full-time.

7. FMWC Dates

• • The Financial Modeling World Cup 2023 will take place on the following dates (Friday to Monday):
    1. 1. Stage 1: January 27-30, 2023
       2. Stage 2: March 10-13, 2023
       3. Stage 3: April 21-24, 2023
       4. Stage 4: June 9-12, 2023
       5. Stage 5: July 21-24, 2023
       6. Stage 6: September 1-4, 2023
       7. Stage 7: October 13-16, 2023
       8. Stage 8: November 17-20, 2023
  • The competition organizers reserve the right to change the dates of Stages at their sole discretion (to accommodate for international holidays, etc.)
    1. 1. If a date of Stage changes, a Notice shall be provided on the FMWC Website and/or social media channels.

8. World Rankings

• • The Competition utilizes an internal Ranking System which is based on the Participants’ performance.
  • The Ranking System is unbiasedly handled, calculated and updated on the Website by the organizers, based upon defined criteria.
  • All rankings and decisions relating to rankings are strictly at the discretion of the organizers, who are under no obligation to disclose any decision-making processes.
  • Participants will be ranked globally based on the total number of points accumulated during the current Season. The rankings will be based on the total amount of points scored by each participant on his/her best 6 stages (2 worst performances of each participant will not be counted). Therefore, the maximum amount of points that is possible to score during the 2023 season is 6,000.
  • Additional subsets of World Ratings will be published, e.g., Top U-25, Top Newcomer, etc.
  • Regional subsets of World Ratings will be published, e.g., Top Europe Modelers, Top Africa Modelers, Top Asia/Pacific Modelers, etc.
  • Upon completion of each Stage, updated World Ratings will be published.
    1. 1. The World Ratings will be updated on a regular and reasonable basis.
       2. The information which will be published includes:
          • • The full list of participants,
            • World Ranking,
            • Company,
            • Age Group,
            • Region of the participant,
            • Country of the participant,
            • The number of points scored,
            • Recent Photograph (only for the top performers)
  • The World Rankings will be also used for Microsoft Excel World Championship 2023 to determine the seeded players and the players that are exempt from the qualification round. For details see MEWC competition rules.
  • The Participants outside the Top 100 World Ratings can opt for their names not to be shown.
    1. 1. These Participants can opt to only have their FMWC ID number shown.
       2. This can be done by contacting the competition organizers at info@fmworldcup.com
       3. Participants who become prize money recipients cannot opt for their name not to be shown.
       4. Participants who are currently ranked Top 5 in each age group or region cannot opt for their name not to be shown.

9. Regional Rankings

• • The Regional Rankings follow the same procedure and rules as the World Rankings.
  • The following 5 Regions will receive individual recognition and awards:
    1. 1. Africa,
       2. Asia/Pacific (including Australia),
       3. Europe,
       4. Latin America,
       5. North America (US & Canada).

10. FMWC Long-Term Rating

• • In addition to the current season’s World Rankings, FMWC updates and publishes the long-term rating. This rating could be used to compare the professional strength of financial modelers, even those who don’t regularly take part in FMWC stages.
  • FMWC Long-Term Rating takes the average normalized score of a player for the last 5 stages he/she took part in over the last 2 years.
  • To ensure that the stages are comparable between themselves for the purpose of the rating, the stage results are normalized twice.
    
    1. 1. First, the winner’s score in each stage is adjusted to be exactly 1,000 points and all the other player scores are adjusted proportionally.
       2. Then, the average player’s score in this stage is adjusted to be exactly 500 points. All the other player scores are being adjusted proportionally.
  • If a player did not take part in at least 5 stages during the last 2 years, the official rating is not calculated.
  • Financial modelers all over the world are awarded the following titles based on their long-term rating:
    
    1. 1. Financial Modeling Super Grand Master – long-term rating of 800+ points.
       2. Financial Modeling Grand Master – long-term rating of 700+ points.
       3. Financial Modeling Master – long-term rating of 600+ points.
       4. Financial Modeling Candidate Master – long-term rating of 500+ points.

11. Financial Modeling World Cup Competition: Tie-Breakers & Draws

• • In the event 2 (two) or more Participants have an equal number of points in the Rankings, in determining the higher-ranked Participant, the following is taken into consideration:
    1. 1. Less Incorrect Answers: Taking into account the Participant with the lowest total point value of incorrect answers during the Season (i.e., fewer guess attempts).
       2. More Time Saved: Taking into account the Participant with the highest amount of Time Saved Bonus during the Season.
       3. Best Current Form. Taking into account the Participant with the best result and/or highest Rank on the most recent Stage.
          • • If the most recent Stage results are identical, then the Participant with the best result and/or highest Rank on the second-to-the-last stage will be taken into consideration.
              1. 1. If the results are still identical, then the previous Stage results shall be evaluated in a similar fashion going backward.
  • If still the Participants remain tied, then a Draw is announced and the Participants shall split any title and prize money equally between themselves.
  • The Tie-Breaker procedure will be made only at the end of the season.
    1. 1. Tie-Breaker procedure will not be calculated for interim world rankings during the Season.
       2. Tie-Breaker procedure will be calculated only for the positions qualifying for the prize money.

12. Participation Price

• • The Participation Price at each stage is $20 for the Open age group and $15 for the U-25 age group.
  • A seasonal pass for the FMWC 2023 is available at a discounted price.
  • The organizers reserve the right to change any Participation Price.
  • The organizers reserve the right to decline all or part of any Participation in any Competition entry requested.

13. Prize Money

• • The total prize fund for the 2023 Season is $25,000 (United States Dollars) and divided as follows:
    1. Annual Prizes – for the winners of the FMWC Season
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 1st Place: $7,000 + Cup + Champion’s Ring
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 2nd Place: $4,000 + Cup
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 3rd Place: $2,000 + Cup
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 4th Place: $1,000
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 5th Place: $800
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 6th Place: $750
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 7th Place: $700
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 8th Place: $650
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 9th Place: $600
       • Financial Modeling World Cup 10th Place: $550
       • Top Under-25 Participant: $500
       • Regional Champion of Africa: $500
       • Regional Champion of Asia/Pacific: $500
       • Regional Champion of Europe: $500
       • Regional Champion of South/Latin America: $500
       • Regional Champion of North America: $500
    2. Stage Prizes – for stage winners
       1. Stage Winner: $250 x 8 stages
       2. Top U-25: $150 x 8 stages
       3. Top Newcomer: $100 x 5 stages
       4. Top Newcomer (U-25): $50 x 5 stages
  • A participant is considered to be a newcomer and is eligible for the Top newcomer prize during his first three stages at FMWC. The top newcomer award will be awarded starting from Stage 4 to give an incentive for the newcomers to participate at FMWC while they have lower chances to compete for the main seasonal prize. A player is not eligible to winning the Top Newcomer prize if this player has already won this prize previously (including previous seasons of FMWC).
  • If a participant is eligible for several prizes (i.e., the FMWC Winner will by default be the Regional Champion of a continent), only the largest prize is awarded (the $7,000 for the FMWC win in this example). The smaller prize then is awarded to the runner-up in the category (the $500 Regional Champion prize is then awarded to the second-best participant from the same continent).
  • The Top 3 players will be awarded the cups and the Champion’s Ring during the in-person awards ceremony in Las Vegas, USA. The ceremony will be a part of the in-person finals of the Microsoft Excel World Championship 2023, another event organized by FMWC.
  • The organizers reserve the right to refuse the Prize Money payout if the Participant cannot confirm their identity by submitting a photograph of a valid government-issued ID document (only Prize Money recipients can be asked to confirm their identity).

14. Team Rankings

• • In addition to regular individual rankings, team rankings are also being calculated.
  • Participants from the same company or business school are automatically assigned to the corresponding team.
  • Team rankings are automatically calculated after every stage as a total of the top 3 scorers from the team. These top scorers are determined at every stage and could be different people from stage to stage.
  • Seasonal team rankings are calculated based on 8 stage results. Maximum regular points available for teams during the season are therefore 24,000 points.
  • The minimum number of participants for a team to be ranked in the team rankings is 2.
  • A team can have an unlimited maximum number of members. Still, only the results of the best 3 members in each stage are counted.

15. Changes in the Rules

• • The Organizers have the right to change these Rules at their sole discretion.