Formula Audit XL: a Training The Street (TTS) add-in alternative
Training The Street (TTS) is one of the best-known names in financial-modeling and valuation training for investment banks, corporates, and universities. Its Excel add-in is a companion to that training — it speeds up modeling and applies the TTS house formatting style, reinforcing the methodology analysts learn in the courses. If your team is going through TTS training, that alignment is genuinely useful.
Formula Audit XL is a different kind of tool. It is not a course and it is not a formatting suite — it is a focused auditing add-in. Its job is to find what is wrong in a model that already exists: tracing precedents and dependents across every sheet, flagging hardcoded inputs and hidden external links, catching inconsistent formulas, and running a one-click whole-workbook health report. For FP&A, corporate finance, audit, and consulting teams whose primary need is catching errors before a model is relied on — not learning a modeling house style — that narrower scope means a simpler tool, transparent self-serve pricing, and free browser tools you can try on a real model in minutes.
Formula Audit XL vs Training The Street (TTS)
| Formula Audit XL | Training The Street (TTS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Model audit and integrity: trace precedents/dependents, hardcode and external-link detection, formula-consistency checks, whole-workbook health report | Modeling productivity and formatting, paired with Training The Street's financial-modeling courses (the add-in is a companion to the training) |
| Company's core business | A standalone, self-serve auditing add-in | Instructor-led financial-modeling and valuation training for banks and universities; the Excel add-in supports that curriculum |
| Target users | FP&A, corporate finance, audit, consulting, and investment banking | Investment-banking and finance trainees and analysts following the TTS methodology |
| Pricing model | Publicly listed: free 7-day trial + $36/year ($3/mo, billed yearly) + $129 lifetime | Typically bundled with TTS training programs or licensed to institutions; individual add-in pricing is not publicly self-serve |
| Audit & integrity checks | Core purpose: inconsistent-formula, hardcode, external-link, error and circular-reference detection, plus a one-click Model Check report | Formatting and modeling shortcuts are the emphasis; dedicated audit/integrity scanning is not the focus |
| Formatting tools | Not included (audit/integrity scope only) | Formatting and styling shortcuts aligned with the TTS house style |
| Free tools | Free browser-based circular-reference, inconsistent-formula and named-range checkers — no install, runs locally | No equivalent free, self-serve web tools |
| Platforms | Excel for Windows only (2016, 2019, 2021 and 365) | Excel for Windows (add-in) |
| How you get it | Download and start a 7-day trial in minutes; buy online when ready | Most commonly obtained through a TTS course or an institutional license |
When Training The Street (TTS) is the better choice
- If your team is going through Training The Street's courses, the TTS add-in is built to match that exact methodology and house formatting style, so it reinforces what people are being taught. For trainees, that alignment is the point.
- If your main need is faster modeling and consistent formatting in the TTS style rather than auditing existing models, the TTS add-in is purpose-built for that workflow.
- Institutions that already license TTS training firm-wide get the add-in as part of a familiar, supported package, which lowers friction for large analyst classes.
Why teams switch to Formula Audit XL
- Formula Audit XL is built specifically to find what is wrong in a model — broken formulas, hidden external links, hardcoded inputs, inconsistencies and circular references — rather than to format or teach modeling. If auditing is the job, it is the focused tool.
- Transparent, self-serve pricing: a free trial and free browser tools let you evaluate it against your own models with no course enrollment, sales call, or institutional license.
- It is designed for FP&A and corporate-finance review work, not only for investment-banking trainees following one house methodology.
- The free, no-install web tools give anyone a way to spot circular references and inconsistent formulas immediately, before deciding whether to download the add-in.
Frequently asked questions
Is Formula Audit XL a training product like Training The Street?
No. Training The Street is primarily a financial-modeling and valuation training company, and its Excel add-in supports that curriculum. Formula Audit XL is a standalone auditing add-in — it does not teach modeling; it checks existing models for errors, inconsistencies, hardcodes and hidden links.
Does Formula Audit XL do formatting like the TTS add-in?
No. Formula Audit XL is scoped to audit and integrity only and does not include formatting or styling tools. If you need TTS-style formatting, the TTS add-in covers that; some teams use a formatting tool for styling and Formula Audit XL for the audit pass.
Can I just try Formula Audit XL without a course or sales call?
Yes. The browser-based web tools are free to use right now, and the add-in has a free 7-day trial with every feature unlocked. Pricing is public: $36/year ($3/month billed yearly) or $129 lifetime.
Can I use both together?
Yes. They are independent Excel add-ins and do not conflict. A common pattern is to use a formatting/modeling add-in for building and styling, and Formula Audit XL specifically for the integrity check before a model goes out.
Stop eyeballing models. Start auditing them.
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