Core Financial Analysis

About this course

In this intermediate-level specialization, you will develop foundational financial analysis techniques using Excel, Power BI, and AI tools. You'll learn to evaluate budget variances, analyze financial ratios, decode financial statements, and calculate margins while leveraging AI tools to accelerate your workflow. Through hands-on exercises with real financial data, you'll build the analytical foundation needed for advanced FP&A work. This course is for financial analysts, FP&A professionals, and business analysts with 1–3 years of experience. By the end of this course, you will be able to apply variance analysis formulas for budget gap detection using Excel, evaluate financial ratios against industry benchmarks, assess financial statements using AI-powered insights, and investigate margin erosion and cost drivers using Power BI analytics. This course requires Power BI Desktop, which runs on Windows PCs or Macs with Parallels Desktop. Microsoft 365 online can be used as an alternative, though the desktop version is recommended for full feature access. Microsoft Copilot is optional but enhances several activities with AI-powered insights.