Financial Modeling for Analysts: Foundations and Practice
Programme Structure
Course Program
- Module 1 - Model Architecture
- Why structure matters before formulas
- Setting up assumptions tabs and input controls
- Naming conventions that prevent errors at scale
- Module 2 - The Three-Statement Model
- Income statement: revenue drivers and cost line logic
- Balance sheet: linking assets, liabilities, and equity correctly
- Cash flow statement: direct vs indirect method and when each applies
- Module 3 - Debt and Interest Schedules
- Building a revolving credit facility
- Handling circularity with iterative calculations
- Covenant tracking and headroom analysis
- Module 4 - Forecasting Techniques
- Top-down vs bottom-up revenue forecasting
- Working capital as a percentage of revenue vs days-based approach
- Capex schedules and depreciation methods
- Module 5 - Valuation
- DCF: free cash flow build and terminal value approaches
- Comparable company analysis and selecting the right multiples
- Sensitivity and scenario analysis with data tables
- Module 6 - Model Review and Audit
- Error-checking routines and balance checks
- Preparing a model for handover or client presentation
- Common mistakes and how to spot them in someone else's file
About This Programme
Most analysts learn modeling by copying someone else's spreadsheet without understanding why it was built that way.
This course starts from the structure itself. You will learn how a three-statement model connects, why assumptions flow the way they do, and what breaks a model under pressure. The focus is on building something you can defend in a meeting, not just something that balances. We cover income statement drivers, working capital schedules, debt waterfalls, and how small input errors compound into misleading outputs.
The course uses real company filings as source material throughout.
You will work through a manufacturing business case and a services business case, each with different revenue recognition patterns and cost structures. By the end, you have two completed models in your own files, built step by step, with annotation explaining every formula choice. That is more useful than a certificate alone.
Who this is for
Analysts in corporate finance, FP&A, or advisory roles who have basic Excel knowledge but have never built a full integrated model without a template. Also suitable for recent graduates preparing for analyst interviews where modeling tests are part of the process.
What you will be able to do after completing this
- Build a linked three-statement model from a blank sheet
- Construct a DCF with sensitivity tables and scenario toggles
- Identify and fix circular references in debt and interest schedules
- Present model assumptions clearly to a non-technical audience
Orlaith Devane, a second-year analyst at a Dublin-based advisory firm, said she used the working capital schedule framework from this course in a live client engagement within two weeks of finishing the module.
A note on software
All sessions use Microsoft Excel. No add-ins are required. A module on Google Sheets compatibility is included for teams working in shared environments.