What is the role of Custom Properties in financial modeling?

Custom Properties play a significant role in financial modeling by enabling users to apply additional attributes to dimensions. This means that you can enhance the information connected to various components within your model, such as accounts, departments, or any other dimension utilized in your planning process. By doing so, you create a more detailed and robust representation of your data, facilitating better analysis and reporting.

For instance, if you have a dimension representing different departments within your organization, Custom Properties allow you to define specific characteristics for each department, such as the department head, budget constraints, or region. This gives you the flexibility to tailor your financial model to better suit the specific needs of your organization and enhances the granularity of your data analysis.

In contrast, while categorizing accounts, performing calculations, or pulling data from other sheets are essential functions in a financial model, these tasks do not encapsulate the primary purpose of Custom Properties. Instead, Custom Properties are focused on enriching the dimensions with additional context, thereby improving the overall functionality and depth of the financial model.