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For many sectors, financial modeling is an essential tool for making smart business decisions, including minimizing the risks from new ideas and business moves.
Delivering such a large impact on future success, financial modeling is, by no means, easy to master. If you’re aiming for a career in business modeling or looking to pick up skills to benefit your current position, you need to be continuously updating your knowledge.
Whether you’re an aspiring analyst or an experienced one, there’s a variety of online courses that allow you to expand your understanding and experience with financial modeling. We’ve compiled some of the best courses that you can take online right now, making advancements in your financial modeling knowledge more accessible than ever before.
Before we jump into our picks, let’s take a look at what a high-quality course needs to have, and how we determined our top choices.
Quick Look: The Best Financial Modeling Courses You Can Take Right Now
- Financial Model Basics: Build A Model From Start to Finish from Udemy - Get it now
- Introduction to Financial Modeling for Beginners from Udemy - Get it now
- Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses - Get it now
- The Essentials of Corporate Valuation - Get it now
- Financial Modeling for Business Analysts and Consultants - Get it now
- Financial Modeling for Professionals in 1 Day! - Get it now
- Wall Street Prep Premium Package - Get it now
- Advanced Financial Modeling & Valuation - Get it now
Featured Courses:
Your time, and the benefits from financial modeling, are too valuable for you to waste by learning from a subpar course. So, what should you factor into your decision when looking for the best course?
First of all, you need to think about all the skills you want to master. Depending on the scope of the course, the areas of financial modeling you can learn about include:
- DFC modeling
- Project finance
- Qualitative analysis
- Venture capital
- Revenue driver
Once you’ve decided with, if not all, to target, make sure to find a reputable learning resource. Not every course will be up-to-date with the latest trends and methods in financial modeling, and you wouldn’t want to waste your money on ineffective tools. Always check out the creator and instructor’s credentials before you enroll. If there aren’t any, you might want to skip the course.
The last thing to consider is price. More money doesn’t always equate to better knowledge. Doing your research into what the course will offer you, reading reviews, and performing an evaluation of your own needs will go farther than simply comparing price. With this all in mind, we’ve gathered some of the top courses on financial modeling based on our criteria above.
Among our varied courses, we’ve worked to account for every skill level. You don’t have to be a master adding to your knowledge to benefit from a financial modeling course. Consider your current knowledge before deciding which course to enroll in.
Best Beginner Financial Modeling Courses
Considering learning financial modeling but don't have any prior experience? Consider one of these top ranked beginner finance courses.
Financial Model Basics: Build a Model from Start to Finish from Udemy
Financial Model Basics is a great, entry-level course suitable for those who haven’t had a chance to build financial models before. It aims to teach you the essential steps for building basic financial models, so there’s no prior knowledge needed. You should come prepared with an understanding of the basics of Excel and major financial concepts.
You’ll get a chance to explore basic Excel formulas used in building financial models, as well as how to follow the right structure from start to finish. As a result, you’ll be able to create accurate models for different types of financial forecasts.
Introduction to Financial Modeling for Beginners from Udemy
Introduction to Financial Modeling for Beginners is more of a comprehensive beginners’ course focused on teaching the most commonly-used techniques for building financial forecast and decision-making models. Even if you have no prior experience, the course will arm you with the power of accounting and finance in terms of modeling concepts. The same goes for Excel since the course assumes you have no knowledge of either.
Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses from Udemy
If you plan on starting or working at a startup and are willing to commit fully to financial modeling, the Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses course should be on your radar. All you need is basic knowledge of core Excel functions and the course will help you build your modeling knowledge based on this.
With Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses, you’ll learn to create a variety of models, including revenue, expenses, attrition, and user growth. You can also choose a business model based on actionable information, identify main business drivers, and make a variety of important calculations for supporting business growth.
Best Intermediate Financial Modeling Courses
Interested in expanding your knowledge on financial modeling? Try one of these highly rated intermediate level financial modeling courses brought to you by Udemy.
The Essentials of Corporate Valuation from Udemy
If you possess some knowledge of financial modeling, The Essentials of Corporate Valuation can be the valuable upgrade you’ve been looking for. This course ties together financial models and business valuation, making it suitable for a variety of analysts looking to properly estimate a company’s value.
Upon completion, you will be able to create and interpret valuation models based on core financial statements and concepts. Some of the main valuation models you’ll learn include:
- Free cash flow model
- Dividend discount model
- Terminal value calculation
- EBITDA multiples
Paired with the right finance books, you should be able to take your knowledge of financial modeling to at least an intermediate, or higher, level.
Financial Modeling for Business Analysts and Consultants from Udemy
Financial Modeling for Business Analysts and Consultants is a comprehensive course that focuses on the creation and analysis of financial models at the analyst and consultant levels. If you’re in need of in-depth training to build on your basic understanding of financial models, this is a good step forward.
The course relies on the 80/20 concept to deliver the most relevant information about financial modeling, allowing you to continue building upon the knowledge you have in various fields. You’ll cover everything from creating financial statements to using them for building models that allow you to draw actionable information.
Currently, there are 10 different topics available for discussion, and the course will likely be updated in the future.
Financial Modeling for Professionals in 1 Day! from Udemy
Financial Modeling for Professionals in 1 Day! is comprised of 29 lectures which cover a multitude of topics related to financial modeling for different industries and purposes. The focus is on five specific areas, including venture capital, private equity, and consulting.
All you need is a basic understanding of Excel formulas, data manipulation, and how to read financial statements. The course will offer valuable resources required for building professional-grade financial models. Per the “in 1 Day” tagline, over the course of four and a half hours, you’ll learn some of the best practices in financial modeling. Upon completion, you should be able to create representative and valuable financial models from scratch.
Best Advanced Financial Modeling Courses
Are you well seasoned in financial modeling but interested in looking to acquire even more knowledge and foundational skills? Try one of these advanced level financial modeling courses.
Wall Street Prep Premium Package
Who’s it for? Advanced
Price: $499
Wall Street Prep Premium Package covers the widest scope of advanced modeling used by modeling and valuation professionals. If you’re willing to make the slightly premium investment, you’ll learn high-end techniques for building different models, including:
- Financial statement modeling
- DCF modeling
- Transaction comps modeling
- Accretion dilution (M&A) modeling
Some of the world’s most reputable analysists and consultants are known to have enrolled in this program and benefited from the resources. If you need to fine-tune your models to extreme details, this might be the best course for you.
If you’re serious about a career in financial modeling, this means you understand that the complex subject requires a great deal of knowledge in how a company’s main value drivers work. Also, if you have some field experience, you know how crucial it is to stay up-to-date with the latest techniques and methods.
The above courses offer resources for all interested in financial modeling, from beginner to advanced. Learn how to build various models relevant to your company’s needs by taking the step to advance your education. Evaluate your specific needs, compare those to the course offerings, and start fine-tuning your model-creation skills.
Advanced Financial Modeling & Valuation from CFI
Who’s it for? Advanced
Price: $497 for the course bundle—billed annually
If you’re already a professional consultant or analyst and want to go into the fine details of financial modeling, Advanced Financial Modeling & Valuation might be for you. Using an Amazon case study, you’ll learn to structure advanced financial models and interpret information on complex concepts such as:
- Stock-based compensation
- Capital leases
- Segmented revenue
This course is similar to professional investment courses since one of its main goals is creating detailed models for evaluating investment opportunities. The course gets into advanced valuation methods so you can perform a proper analysis and create forecasts for up to 10 years.
Southern New Hampshire University Online
SNHU Online Offers:
- Flexible schedules
- Affordable tuition
- Online tutoring
- Access to electronic research materials
- Specialized academic advising
- Supportive online community
About Sarah Horvath
Sarah is an expert in the insurance, investing for retirement and cryptocurrency space.