Enroll in Financial Modeling & Business Finance

Role of Finance in a Business

Explore how finance teams support strategy, budgeting and growth. Understand the difference between accounting, finance and treasury functions.

Business Structures and Ownership

Compare sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs and companies in India. See how structure affects funding, tax and reporting.

Sources of Business Funding

Study equity, debt, venture capital and internal accruals as funding options. Evaluate which source suits a startup versus an established firm in INR terms.

Time Value of Money Basics

Learn why a rupee today is worth more than a rupee tomorrow. Calculate present value and future value using simple examples in INR.

Accounting Concepts and Standards

Understand accrual versus cash accounting, going concern and matching principles. Get an overview of Ind AS and IFRS.

Double Entry System

Learn debits and credits through real business transactions in INR. Practice recording entries for sales, purchases and expenses.

Ledgers and Trial Balance

Post journal entries to ledgers and prepare a trial balance. Identify and correct common errors.

Adjusting Entries and Accruals

Record prepaid expenses, accrued income, outstanding liabilities and provisions. See how adjustments affect reported profit.

Income Statement Structure

Break down revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, EBITDA and net profit. Build a simple income statement in INR.

Balance Sheet Structure

Understand assets, liabilities and equity and how they balance. Classify items as current or non-current.

Cash Flow Statement Structure

Learn operating, investing and financing cash flows. Compare the direct and indirect methods.

Linking the Three Statements

See how net profit, retained earnings and cash connect across statements. Trace a single transaction through all three.

Profitability Ratios

Calculate gross margin, operating margin, ROE and ROCE. Interpret what they say about business quality.

Liquidity Ratios

Measure short term solvency using current ratio and quick ratio. Assess whether a firm can meet near term obligations.

Leverage and Solvency Ratios

Analyze debt to equity, interest coverage and debt service coverage. Judge how risky a capital structure is.

Efficiency and Working Capital Ratios

Compute inventory days, receivable days and payable days. Understand the cash conversion cycle.

Fixed and Variable Costs

Classify costs by behavior and see how they change with volume. Use examples priced in INR.

Break Even Analysis

Calculate the break even point in units and INR revenue. Examine margin of safety and sensitivity to price changes.

Unit Economics

Analyze customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and payback period. Apply these to subscription and retail businesses.

Budgeting and Variance Analysis

Prepare a simple operating budget and compare it with actual results. Investigate favorable and adverse variances.

Model Layout and Structure Standards

Learn how to organize inputs, calculations and outputs across sheets so any reviewer can follow the model. Apply colour coding and consistent column timelines.

Keyboard Shortcuts and Fast Navigation

Practice the shortcuts that cut modeling time dramatically. Work through navigation, selection and formula editing drills.

Cell References and Named Ranges

Understand relative, absolute and mixed references and when each one prevents errors. Use named ranges to make formulas readable.

Number Formats and Custom Formatting

Display figures in INR lakhs and crores using custom number formats without altering underlying values. Build clear presentation of negatives and units.

Logical Functions and Nested Conditions

Combine IF, AND, OR and IFS to build decision rules inside models. Learn to keep nested logic readable and testable.

Lookup Functions with XLOOKUP and INDEX MATCH

Pull data from tables reliably using XLOOKUP and INDEX MATCH. Compare their strengths and handle missing values.

SUMIFS COUNTIFS and Conditional Aggregation

Summarize transaction data by multiple criteria such as period, region and product. Build quick reconciliations of INR revenue by segment.

Date and Time Functions for Timelines

Use EDATE, EOMONTH and YEARFRAC to drive monthly, quarterly and fiscal year timelines. Align Indian April to March fiscal years correctly.

PV FV and Compounding in Excel

Compute present and future values for lump sums and annuities. Test how compounding frequency changes outcomes on INR investments.

Loan Schedules with PMT IPMT and PPMT

Build a full EMI amortization schedule splitting interest and principal. Model prepayments on an INR term loan.

NPV and IRR for Project Evaluation

Evaluate capital projects using NPV and IRR with sensible discount rates. Interpret results and recognize their limitations.

XNPV and XIRR for Irregular Cash Flows

Handle cash flows that occur on specific dates rather than at even intervals. Apply to investments and project payments in INR.

Building an Assumptions Dashboard

Centralize key drivers such as growth, margin and tax rate in one control panel. Make the model respond cleanly to every change.

Scenario Switches with CHOOSE and OFFSET

Create base, best and worst case toggles that feed the whole model. Understand the trade-offs of volatile functions.

One and Two Variable Data Tables

Use data tables to see how valuation or profit moves when one or two inputs change. Present results as sensitivity grids in INR.

Goal Seek and Solver

Solve for break-even sales or optimal allocations under constraints. Document the settings so results are repeatable.

Error Checks and Model Integrity Tests

Build balance checks and reconciliation flags that reveal mistakes instantly. Use IFERROR carefully without hiding real problems.

Formula Auditing and Debugging

Trace precedents and dependents and evaluate formulas step by step. Find circular references and broken links in inherited models.

PivotTables for Financial Analysis

Summarize large datasets into management reports with PivotTables and slicers. Analyze INR sales and expenses across multiple dimensions.

Charts and Dashboards for Decision Makers

Design waterfall, combo and trend charts that communicate financial stories. Assemble them into a concise executive dashboard.

Model Planning and Layout Design

Learners map out the model flow from assumptions to statements and decide on sheet structure timelines and units. They create a reusable template for the rest of the section.

Sourcing and Cleaning Historical Financials

Learners extract annual report data for an Indian listed company and standardize it into a consistent format in INR crore. They resolve classification differences across years.

Formatting Standards and Color Coding

Learners apply industry formatting conventions for inputs formulas and links to make models readable. They practice consistent sign conventions and number formats.

Timeline and Period Flags

Learners build a flexible timeline with historical and forecast flags using date functions. They learn how flags drive conditional formulas across the model.

Revenue Forecasting Drivers

Learners forecast revenue using volume price and growth rate approaches. They compare top-down and bottom-up methods for an Indian manufacturing firm.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Margin

Learners model COGS as a percentage of sales and through unit economics. They analyze gross margin trends and sensitivity to input costs.

Operating Expenses and EBITDA

Learners forecast employee selling and administrative expenses using fixed and variable logic. They derive EBITDA and test it against historical margins.

Depreciation and Amortization Schedules

Learners build asset-wise depreciation schedules using straight line and written down value methods. They link the output to the income statement.

Working Capital Schedule

Learners forecast receivables inventory and payables using days-based drivers. They measure the cash impact of changes in working capital.

Fixed Asset and Capex Roll-Forward

Learners create a roll-forward of gross block additions and accumulated depreciation. They connect capital expenditure plans to the balance sheet.

Debt Schedule and Interest Calculation

Learners model term loans and repayments with scheduled amortization. They calculate interest on average balances and handle circularity safely.

Equity and Reserves Roll-Forward

Learners forecast share capital reserves dividends and retained earnings. They apply payout ratio assumptions and link net income to equity.

Indirect Method Cash Flow from Operations

Learners start from net income and adjust for non-cash items and working capital changes. They reconcile each adjustment to balance sheet movements.

Investing and Financing Cash Flows

Learners capture capex asset sales borrowings repayments and dividends. They tie each flow back to the relevant schedule.

Cash and Revolver Logic

Learners link closing cash to the balance sheet and build a revolver that funds shortfalls. They set minimum cash balances in INR crore.

Balancing the Balance Sheet

Learners test that assets equal liabilities plus equity across all periods. They trace and fix common linking errors that cause imbalances.

Error Checks and Audit Tools

Learners add integrity checks and use trace precedents and formula auditing tools. They build a summary check dashboard for the model.

Sensitivity Analysis with Data Tables

Learners test how key drivers such as growth and margin affect net income and cash. They present results in two-way data tables.

Scenario and Stress Testing

Learners run downside cases such as demand shocks and rate hikes through the full model. They assess covenant headroom and liquidity under stress.

Summary Dashboards and Charts

Learners build an output page with key metrics and charts for decision makers. They focus on clear visuals for revenue profit and cash trends.

Forecasting Methods and Approaches

Compare top-down and bottom-up forecasting and learn when each method suits a business. Practice choosing an approach for a mid-sized Indian company.

Identifying Key Value Drivers

Map operational metrics such as volume and price to financial outcomes. Build a driver tree for a business with revenue in INR crore.

Revenue Forecasting Models

Build revenue forecasts using volume price and market share assumptions. Model multiple product lines and regions in INR.

Cost and Margin Forecasting

Forecast fixed and variable costs and project gross and operating margins. Analyze operating leverage across growth scenarios.

Budgeting Frameworks and Cycles

Understand annual rolling and zero-based budgeting and the planning calendar. Learn how budgets connect to strategy and accountability.

Building the Operating Budget

Construct sales production and expense budgets that feed into the master budget. Build a departmental budget template in INR.

Capital Expenditure Budgeting

Plan capex and depreciation schedules and link them to the financial statements. Prioritize projects under a limited INR budget.

Headcount and Opex Planning

Model hiring plans salaries and overheads by department. Include Indian payroll components such as PF and gratuity.

Budget versus Actual Analysis

Build a template that compares actuals against budget and flags deviations. Calculate favorable and adverse variances in INR.

Price Volume and Mix Variances

Decompose revenue variance into price volume and mix effects. Interpret what each driver says about performance.

Cost Variance and Root Cause Analysis

Analyze material labor and overhead variances and trace them to root causes. Recommend corrective actions to management.

KPI Design and Dashboards

Select KPIs that reflect business health and display them in Excel dashboards. Apply charts and conditional formatting for clarity.

Working Capital Fundamentals

Understand net working capital components and why they matter for liquidity. Review typical working capital profiles across Indian industries.

Receivables and Credit Policy Modeling

Forecast receivables using days sales outstanding and model credit terms. Assess bad debt provisioning and collection scenarios.

Inventory Planning and Control

Model inventory using days inventory outstanding and reorder logic. Explore EOQ and the cost of carrying stock in INR.

Payables and Supplier Terms

Forecast payables using days payable outstanding and evaluate early payment discounts. Consider MSME payment rules in India.

Short-Term Cash Forecasting

Build a thirteen-week direct cash forecast from receipts and payments. Use it to anticipate funding gaps.

Linking Forecasts to the Three Statements

Connect forecast drivers budgets and working capital schedules to the integrated model. Check that the balance sheet balances across periods.

Revolver and Short-Term Funding Logic

Model revolving credit lines and overdrafts with automatic draw and repay. Handle interest and circularity safely.

Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis

Build base best and worst cases using scenario switches and data tables. Test the effect of changes in demand and input costs.

Intrinsic Value versus Market Value

Explains how intrinsic value differs from market price and when each approach is used. Learners frame a valuation question for an Indian listed company.

Time Value of Money in Valuation

Applies present value discounting and compounding to multi-year cash flows in INR. Learners build a reusable discounting template in Excel.

Free Cash Flow to Firm

Derives unlevered free cash flow from the three-statement model using EBIT, taxes, depreciation, capex and working capital changes.

Free Cash Flow to Equity

Builds equity cash flows after debt service and net borrowing. Learners compare FCFE and FCFF and decide when each is appropriate.

Cost of Equity and CAPM

Estimates cost of equity using the risk free rate, equity risk premium and beta. Learners source inputs from Indian government bond yields and market indices.

Beta Estimation and Adjustment

Runs regression betas in Excel and applies unlevering and relevering techniques. Learners select peer groups and justify the final beta.

Cost of Debt and Capital Structure

Determines pre-tax and post-tax cost of debt from yields, spreads and credit ratings. Learners set target capital structure weights.

Calculating WACC

Combines equity and debt costs into a weighted average cost of capital with a clean Excel build. Learners test how WACC shifts with leverage.

DCF Model Structure and Layout

Designs a clear DCF sheet with assumptions, cash flow build and valuation output. Learners apply modeling standards for readability and auditability.

Forecast Period and Explicit Cash Flows

Selects a sensible forecast horizon and links cash flows to operating drivers. Learners align the DCF with the earlier three-statement model.

Terminal Value with Perpetuity Growth

Calculates terminal value using the Gordon growth method and checks growth against long run Indian GDP and inflation.

Terminal Value with Exit Multiples

Estimates terminal value using EV/EBITDA exit multiples and reconciles it with implied growth rates. Learners cross check both methods.

Selecting Comparable Companies

Screens listed peers by sector, size, growth and profitability. Learners build a defensible comparable set from Indian exchange data.

Trading Multiples: EV/EBITDA and P/E

Calculates and interprets common equity and enterprise multiples. Learners normalize earnings and handle non-recurring items.

Sector Specific Multiples

Applies metrics such as EV/Sales, P/B, EV/EBIT and price per subscriber to suitable industries like banking, retail and technology.

Precedent Transaction Analysis

Analyzes past mergers and acquisitions in India to derive deal multiples and control premiums.

Sensitivity Tables for WACC and Growth

Builds two-way data tables to show how value per share responds to key assumptions. Learners interpret ranges rather than point estimates.

Scenario Analysis with Switches

Creates base, upside and downside cases controlled by a scenario selector. Learners link operating and valuation assumptions to each case.

Football Field Charts

Combines DCF, trading and transaction ranges into a football field chart in Excel. Learners present a consolidated valuation view.

Common Valuation Errors and Model Review

Identifies frequent pitfalls such as inconsistent growth, double counting and mismatched discount rates. Learners audit a flawed model and correct it.

M&A Deal Types and Strategic Rationale

Explore horizontal, vertical and conglomerate deals along with synergy drivers and common reasons deals succeed or fail. Review Indian deal examples to link strategy to financial outcomes.

Deal Process and Due Diligence

Walk through the stages of an acquisition from target screening to closing. Identify the financial due diligence checks that feed directly into the model.

Valuing the Target and Setting Offer Price

Use precedent transactions and DCF outputs to derive a valuation range for the target. Determine offer premium and implied multiples in INR crore.

Purchase Price Allocation and Goodwill

Allocate the purchase price across tangible assets, intangibles and goodwill. Understand how write-ups affect depreciation, amortization and deferred taxes.

Setting Up Acquirer and Target Projections

Prepare standalone three-statement forecasts for both companies on a consistent timeline. Align accounting policies and currency units before combining.

Combining Financial Statements Pro Forma

Merge the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow into a pro forma view after closing adjustments. Handle eliminations and new debt or equity entries.

Modeling Synergies and Integration Costs

Forecast revenue and cost synergies with phasing schedules and one-time restructuring costs. Test how realistic assumptions change deal value.

Accretion and Dilution Analysis

Calculate pro forma earnings per share and compare it with the acquirer standalone figure. Find breakeven synergies needed to avoid dilution.

LBO Structure and Private Equity Logic

Understand how sponsors use debt to amplify equity returns and what makes a good buyout candidate. Review typical fund return targets and holding periods.

Transaction Assumptions and Sources and Uses

Set entry multiple, leverage levels, fees and minimum cash for an INR denominated buyout. Build the sources and uses schedule that anchors the model.

Debt Schedules and Cash Sweep

Model senior loans, subordinated debt and interest calculations with mandatory repayments and optional cash sweep. Manage circularity using iterative settings or average balance switches.

Exit Assumptions and Returns Analysis

Project the exit value using exit multiples and compute IRR and money multiple for the sponsor. Break down value creation into growth, margin expansion and deleveraging.

Scenario Manager and Case Switches

Build base, upside and downside cases controlled by a single selector. Keep assumptions organized so outputs update cleanly.

Monte Carlo and Probability Thinking

Introduce simulation concepts to model uncertainty in growth, margins and exit values. Interpret result distributions rather than single point estimates.

Model Auditing and Error Checking

Apply checks for balance sheet integrity, cash reconciliation and formula consistency. Use auditing tools to trace and fix common errors.

Documentation and Best Practice Standards

Follow structured layouts, color coding, version control and notes so others can use the model. Review industry standards such as FAST principles.

Capstone Kickoff and Company Selection

Choose a listed Indian company or case study and define the project scope and deliverables. Gather financial data and set up the project plan.

Capstone Build: Integrated Model and Valuation

Construct the three-statement model with forecasts and complete DCF and relative valuation. Apply mentor feedback to refine assumptions.

Capstone Build: Transaction Analysis

Add a merger or LBO scenario to the capstone model and evaluate returns or accretion in INR. Document key risks and sensitivities.

Capstone Presentation and Peer Review

Present model findings and recommendations to a mock investment committee. Give and receive structured feedback from peers and mentors.