What Will You Learn?

• Identify key items on the financial statements and describe the interrelationship between all the components
• Explain the fundamental accounting principles that underly detailed accounting standards
• Identify the key accounting standards commonly encountered by financial analysts and explain the impact on financial statements and financial models
• Utilize the keyboard shortcuts to save time and be more efficient in Excel
• Conduct data analysis using data tables, pivot tables, and other common functions
• Use advanced formulas and functions to enhance the functionality of financial models
• Explain key concepts around capital investments, the capital-raising process, different forms of financing, and the optimal capital structure
• Assess the profitability, efficiency, returns, and value of a business using common financial ratios and analytical tools
• Use key statistical measures to assess trends and relationships within sets of data
• Build a dynamic, logically designed, well structured 3-statement financial model
• Create multi-year forecasts for the income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet
• Perform scenario and sensitivity analyses to enhance the robustness of the financial model
• Identify the different valuation methodologies and discuss the pros and cons of each
• Perform a valuation analysis using comparable company and precedent transactions analysis
• Calculate the weighted-average cost of capital and construct a DCF model in Excel
• Apply various forecasting techniques to develop a robust financial forecast
• Track actual performance against budgeted amounts using variance analysis and other techniques
• Analyze the impact of a variance analysis on the financial statements and use the results to improve the budgeting process
• Create insightful dashboards and advance data visualization techniques to communicate the results of financial analysis
• Create aesthetically pleasing and insightful charts, graphs, and tables in Excel
• Design impactful presentations to communicate key messages to a wide variety of audiences
• Differentiate between the different levels of a company’s strategy
• Perform an analysis of external forces and internal competencies and assess the impact on a company’s competitive advantage
• Generate, evaluate and select optimal strategic alternatives and tie these to a company’s mission, vision, and goals