Advanced Certificate in Financial Modeling

Skills You
Will Gain

Demonstrate fast, efficient and accurate Excel skills

Design and construct functional and robust financial modeling applications

Apply efficient financial forecasting modeling techniques

Create a basic 3-statement financial model

Optimize the use of Excel for modeling

Construct professional 3-statement operating models

Understand and apply best practice modeling techniques

Create robust, integrated forecast models suitable for analysis in a wide range of areas

Understanding the sensitivity of key drivers

Understand more complex revenue and operating cost modeling in different industries

Perform scenario analysis

Extend your modeling to incorporate more sophisticated Capex schedules

Model debt effectively, find capacity, optimize the structure, and repay debt

Add flexibility to models through the use of switches and flexible lookups

Approach modeling for tax with confidence

Build flexible charts and sensitivity analysis to aid the presentation of results

Understand how to account for seasonality in monthly forecasts and consolidate them into yearly financials

Efficiently review and audit financial models using various auditing technique

Demonstrate fast, efficient and accurate Excel skills

Design and construct functional and robust financial modeling applications

Apply efficient financial forecasting modeling techniques

Create a basic 3-statement financial model

Optimize the use of Excel for modeling

Construct professional 3-statement operating models

Who
Should Attend

Professionals in corporates and financial institutions who need to create useful and robust financial models. Attendees should be able to use the basic facilities of Microsoft Excel and have basic accounting knowledge.

Starting your modeling journey? Begin with our Certificate in Financial Modeling

Course
Content

Download Overview

Module

Excel Skills for Modeling

This session converts participants to using Excel in best practice modeling methods to create repeatable, consistent, flexible, and robust formulae and structures.

Excel set-up for financial modeling
Effective use of keyboard shortcuts
Dynamic referencing

Module

Introduction to Modeling

How to effectively plan and construct your model, using best practice methods.

Effective construction of a model
Objective and structure
Initial preparation

Module

3-Statement Model

Learn how to construct a complete 3-statement financial model.

Income statement

Revenue
Cost of sales, distribution costs, and administrative costs
Interest expense, taxation

Balance sheet

Property, plant, and equipment:
Capex
Depreciation
Working capital:
Inventories
Trade receiveables
Trade payables
Debt
Equity

Cash flow statement

Creating a cash flow statement using the indirect method
Operating, investing, and financing items
Modeling net cash flow and ending cash balance

Module

Abridged Cash Flow Modeling

A full 3 statement model is not always necessary. Delegates will learn how to build an abridge cash flow model

Key inputs required for cash flow modeling
Building Cash Flow for Debt Service and Repayments
Building Cash Flow to Equity

Module

3-statement financial modeling

A review of core components of 3-statement financial modeling

Understanding the structure of a model – inputs, workings, outputs
Scope limitations – output requirements vs. input source
Using group edit tools to quickly set up a robust, consistent, and printable financial model
Input sheets – creating underlying assumptions/forecasts
Setting up date flexibility throughout the model – using EDATE and similar functions

Delegates will also build a simple three-statement financial model from a template to refresh and consolidate their understanding of critical components of modeling, including:

The structure of a matrix model and how to build formulae effectively
The links between the financial statements
Constructing a cash flow statement from scratch

Module

Build the Financials of a Listed Company

Using an example annual report, we will build upon the financials by constructing integrated historical financial statements suitable for flexible forecasting. If we forecast financials, there are knock-on effects on other model elements. Are these interlinkages understood, and can they be consistently applied in order to maintain the model’s integrity? This session ensures that these connections are understood.

Extracting the relevant historical financials by defining the key numbers, e.g.
- Revenues
- EBITDA and net income
- Operating cash flows
- Debt, net debt, and capital structure
Other line items needed to calculate the key numbers, e.g., operating costs, interest, tax, etc.
Building the critical balance sheet items:
- Intangibles
- Property, plant, and equipment (PPE)
- Checking the calculations using Capex/deprecation ratio
- Working capital assumptions
- Inventories
- Trade receivables
- Operating cash
- Trade payables
- Equity and retained income
Integrating/linking the financials
- Income statement to cash flows
- Income statement to balance sheet
- Cash flows to the balance sheet
Building consistent checks

Module

Forecasting

Having created the perfect structure for projecting the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow numbers by combining Excel analytical tools with commercial knowledge, we will now develop and apply forecast drivers to calculate integrated forecasts.

Step-by-step forecasting/integration – a modular approach to forecasting
Identifying and forecasting the value drivers, e.g.
- Sales growth, margins, Capex / depreciation, effective tax rates, working capital days
- Applying the concept of “fade”
Forecasting techniques
- Harnessing Excel’s forecasting tools
- Forecasting for consistency
Integrating the forecasts in the financial statements
Approaches to ensure the avoidance of unintentional circular references

Building a fully flexible scenario manager

We are rarely content with a unitary outcome. What happens if a product fails, the currency strengthens, the business opens a new division, etc.? This session focuses on adding that flexibility to the model.

Base, Bear, Bull
Building switches
- Data validation
- Visual basic tools to enable the efficient switching between different scenarios
- Key Functions: CHOOSE, INDEX, OFFSET

Module

Building a more detailed Operating Model

Delegates will be taught how to analyse the key operating drivers of a business in more detail, including:

Revenues = Price x Volume. How is this modeled across different industries
Operating costs – understanding fixed, variable and semi-variable costs and the concept of breakeven analysis
Case Study: Delegates will then apply this knowledge to build a more detailed operating model for a real company

Module

Auditing a Model

During this session delegates will learn the tips and tricks needed when checking models and, importantly, how to fix it if something goes wrong.

Sanity checking: historic inputs, ratios & drivers, forecast drivers and financials
Auditing tools within Excel for checking models
Checking for common errors in models: sum, sign and matrix errors
Case Study – auditing and debugging a model

Module

Debt Modeling and Structuring

Develop an understanding of the flow of debt modeling logic, and apply a standardized approach.

Finding the debt capacity and optimizing debt structure
Overview of debt repayment: understanding the basics of debt repayment
Types of debt repayment: exploring different types of debt repayment methods, such as bullet, amortization, and balloon structures
Debt repayment schedules and payment calculation methods, including cash sweep, revolver drawdowns, and waterfall analysis
Interest calculations and their impact on cash sweep
Planning to avoid circularity
Best practices for cash sweep repayment modeling, including financial modeling best practices, data management, and modeling automation techniques
Once the techniques have been learned, delegates will build out a debt schedule within a 3 statement financial model and learn how to integrate the debt and interest into the 3 financial statements

Module

Monthly Modeling and Period Consolidation

Often, we need to be able to build a more detailed period model looking at movements in key items intra-year. In this session, delegates will learn how to build a dynamic monthly model, incorporating:

Set up date and period structure – the use of flags and date functions
Eomonth, Edate, etc., for date functionality
Changing the start/transaction date; changing the length of forecast periods
Monthly models pose unique challenges, such as fluctuations in revenue, expenses, and working capital that must be accounted for to generate accurate forecasts
Seasonality: how to consider these fluctuations in forecasting to ensure accurate predictions
Consolidating monthly into yearly financial models
Building a monthly cash flow model
How to change the model for different periods (e.g. quarterly)

Module

Tax Modeling

In this section, delegates learn how to create accurate, comprehensive, and flexible models to accommodate changing tax laws and regulations.

Overview of tax modeling concepts; understanding the tax code and tax regulations
The concept and principles of deferred taxes and their accounting treatment
Developing detailed accounting and tax depreciation schedules
Modeling tax losses (NOLs), their significance, recovery through carry forward, and their impact on future tax liabilities
Interest deduction modeling, limitations on interest expense deductions under the tax code
Best practices for modeling taxes, NOLs, interest deduction, depreciation impact on tax, and deferred taxes

Module

Additional Modeling Tools

Advanced Scenario Management and Data Retrieval
This section will introduce data retrieval functions in Excel to address scenario management. Participants will learn to evaluate and identify the best possible method for their specific scenario.

The Lookup school compared: CHOOSE vs. VLOOKUP vs. HLOOKUP vs. INDEX vs. OFFSET
The advantages and disadvantages of each
Types of switches: data validation lists, versus VBA forms (e.g., ComboBox, ListBox, Radio Buttons)
Building a fully flexible output sheet: select the scenarios and required output(s), and the model does the rest

Dynamic Charting
Turn data into meaningful insight and facilitate decision-making.

Quick fixes: use charting to identify and correct errors or discrepancies in data
Dynamic charts: accommodate changes in input sources, start and end dates, titles, and labels
Dynamic value bridges: we can use dynamic value bridges to help identify relationships and trends that might not be otherwise apparent

Sensitivity Analysis
In financial modeling, one- and two-dimensional data tables are tools we can use to analyze the sensitivity of model outputs to input assumptions.

Basic data tables: use one and two-dimensional data tables to perform sensitivity analysis on model outputs based on a range of inputs
Self-centering data tables: adjust to coincide with the model’s drivers and outputs, ensuring that analysis is always relevant
Tips for troubleshooting and resolving common issues when creating and working with data tables, such as circular references and slow model performance
Using the Goal Seek function to set targets, such as calculating the number of units to produce to achieve a specific profit margin, or calculating break-even points, such as determining the number of units that need to be sold to cover fixed costs

Upcoming
Dates

Date	Delivery options	Location / Time Zone	Price
22 - 26 Jun 20265 Days	In-person Classroom	Singapore	4195 USD
07 - 11 Dec 20265 Days	Virtual Classroom	SGT	3595 USD
26 - 30 Oct 20265 Days	Virtual Classroom	Dubai	2995 GBP
18 - 22 May 20265 Days	In-person Classroom	London	3595 GBP
06 - 10 Jul 20265 Days	In-person Classroom	London	3595 GBP
26 - 30 Oct 20265 Days	Virtual Classroom	BST	2995 GBP
20 - 24 Jul 20265 Days	In-person Classroom	New York	4195 USD
30 Nov - 04 Dec 20265 Days	Virtual Classroom	EDT	3595 USD

Date 22 Jun 2026 - 26 Jun 2026

Delivery options In-person classroom

Location / Time Zone Singapore

Price USD4195

Date 7 Dec 2026 - 11 Dec 2026

Delivery options Virtual Classroom

Location / Time Zone SGT

Price USD3595

Date 26 Oct 2026 - 30 Oct 2026

Delivery options In-person classroom

Location / Time Zone Dubai

Price GBP2995

Date 18 May 2026 - 22 May 2026

Delivery options In-person classroom

Location / Time Zone London

Price GBP3595

Date 6 Jul 2026 - 10 Jul 2026

Delivery options In-person classroom

Location / Time Zone London

Price GBP3595

Date 26 Oct 2026 - 30 Oct 2026

Delivery options Virtual Classroom

Location / Time Zone BST

Price GBP2995

Date 20 Jul 2026 - 24 Jul 2026

Delivery options In-person classroom

Location / Time Zone New York

Price USD4195

Date 30 Nov 2026 - 4 Dec 2026

Delivery options Virtual Classroom

Location / Time Zone EDT

Price USD3595

Frequently
Asked Questions

All courses start at 9am and end at 5pm.

Our courses are designed to be both engaging and flexible, offering a mix of classroom and virtual options to accommodate different preferences. Virtual classroom courses are via Zoom. The courses range from 1 to 5 days in duration, providing an immersive learning experience that is both interactive and case study-based. This approach ensures that participants can apply practical insights to real-world scenarios. The sessions are conducted by experienced trainers who were previously industry practitioners, bringing a wealth of knowledge and firsthand expertise to the training environment.

Most delegates who attend our courses in the UK are able to claim back their VAT once it has been paid. The below information details why we need to charge VAT and how you can claim it back. Why does Fitch Learning charge VAT? The EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) article 53 says that for the right of entry to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events in exchange for a ticket or payment, the place of supply is where the event physically takes place. Since, the event is held in the UK, the place of supply is the UK and therefore UK VAT has to be charged. How can you claim back the VAT you paid for a course? The most efficient way to claim back VAT is directly through the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by completing the required forms and sending back to HMRC. Please visit this link for more information. To claim back VAT or if you have any questions please contact HMRC; Telephone - 0044 (0) 3000 537 381 Email Overseas Repayment Unit - enq.oru.ni@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

You will receive joining instructions two weeks before the course start date, as long as we have received payment in advance of this. Is there pre-course reading? In order to optimize class time we ask participants to read some background information on the main illustration case(s) prior to attending the class. This also helps to ensure that all are able to participate in case discussions. In some cases additional background reading is provided. The length of pre-course reading is advised to participants in advance and typically ranges from 2-3 hours. You will need to bring a laptop or tablet to the course in order to access the course materials, as these will only be available electronically.

Can I pay via an invoice? Yes. We will issue you an invoice, if requested at the point of booking. When do I need to pay? If your company is paying your invoice for you, your company will have 30 days in which to process it. If you are paying for the course yourself, you will need to pay before attendance. What’s the accepted payment methods? We accept bank transfers or payments via Mastercard, Visa or Amex (except Euro payments).

The EU VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) article 53 says that for the right of entry to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events in exchange for a ticket or payment, the place of supply is where the event physically takes place. Based on this, we need to charge the appropriate Tax/VAT in each country we provide classroom based courses. The current rate of 20% VAT is added to courses taking place in London, 19% in Frankfurt, 9% in Singapore and 5% in Dubai. In other locations we may need to charge a sales tax although not currently for New York.

If I am unable to attend can I send a substitute? Absolutely and it is completely free of charge. We do however ask that we have at least 2 working days’ notice of this change before the course start date. Please email enquiry@fitchlearning.com with full contact details of the substitute and who they are replacing. Can I transfer my booked course to another date? Yes you can. If you email us your request to transfer to the next available course date and give us more than 30 days’ notice, there will be no charge. If you notify us within 30 days of the course start date, there will be an additional payment of 25% of the course fee, provided the original course fee has been paid in full. A transfer can only be made onto a course taking place within a period of 6 months of the original course date and only one transfer can be made in respect of any booking. Can I cancel my course booking? If you email us with your request more than 30 days before the course start date, there will be no charge. If you notify us within 30 days of the course start date you are liable for the full course fees. What happens if I do not attend my course? If you do not attend your course and you do not give us any prior notice you are liable for the full course fee and no refunds can be given. Notice contact details: Email: enquiry@fitchlearning.com.

We are unable to send anything more than our standard course communication. This communication will detail the course you are attending, the location and dates, so it will provide you with all of the information you require to submit a visa application.

No, we do not typically record a public course session. The only time we will record a session, is if a delegate is receiving funding and this is a requirement of the funding provider. In these cases, the recording is only shared with the funding provider and delegates do not receive a copy.

Got a question?

Contact your learning advisor

Complimentary
GICP Membership

Enrolling in a Fitch Learning course automatically includes complimentary membership to the Global Institute of Credit Professionals (GICP). This membership provides access to industry resources designed to accelerate your career growth and enhance your expertise. Connect with a global community of finance professionals, discover lifelong learning opportunities and gain the recognition that sets you apart. Elevate your professional development with the GICP, all as part of your course investment.