In a model, what font color should hard-coded numbers (inputs) be?

In a model, what font color should hard-coded numbers (inputs) be?

• A. Blue
• B. Red
• C. Black
• D. Green

Answer: (A)

A common practice in financial modeling is to format hard-coded inputs in blue. This color-coding makes assumptions easy to spot, so you can adjust inputs without risking accidental changes to formulas. Keeping the calculated cells in black reinforces that those cells contain formulas producing results. Using blue for inputs also speeds up what-if analyses and auditing, since anyone reviewing the model can quickly see which values are inputs versus computed outputs. Other colors are often reserved for different signals (for example, red or green may denote links, references, or special statuses), so blue for inputs provides a clear, widely-recognized convention.

A common practice in financial modeling is to format hard-coded inputs in blue. This color-coding makes assumptions easy to spot, so you can adjust inputs without risking accidental changes to formulas. Keeping the calculated cells in black reinforces that those cells contain formulas producing results. Using blue for inputs also speeds up what-if analyses and auditing, since anyone reviewing the model can quickly see which values are inputs versus computed outputs. Other colors are often reserved for different signals (for example, red or green may denote links, references, or special statuses), so blue for inputs provides a clear, widely-recognized convention.