Range names are a powerful tool for referencing cell ranges in Excel and are an important technical aspect of our best practice financial modelling methodology - Alpha Spreadsheet Engineering. Range names, when combined with formula construction rules, enable longer, multi-layered, powerful formula which reduces the number of lines in a worksheet and maintains transparency. This post introduces the essentials of how we name ranges to enable more sophisticated, easier to read and powerful formulae.

This post is a primer on how to construct transparent formula, without oversimplifying the underlying logic and in doing so build more concise financial models which are readily checked, understood and communicated. The approach, part of the Alpha Spreadsheet Engineering methodology, relies on simple rules of Syntax, hierarchy and range names.