Financial Modeling Training & Classes for Employees: Review Corporate Training Options

Financial modeling is a tool by which businesses can forecast how their company will perform in the future. These models are valuable to organizations in that they can help guide them toward positive financial outcomes. Both basic as well as more complex financial models are typically built into spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. Employees who have the training and knowledge to create sound financial models are an asset to their organization because they can provide an understanding of how the organization is currently performing financially, as well as what may transpire in the future.Read on to learn about what to consider when looking for corporate financial modeling training opportunities and the options that are available for onsite and online training.

What is Financial Modeling?

Financial modeling is the process of evaluating a company’s past performance to predict the likelihood of various financial outcomes. Those who create financial models rely on financial forecasts to do so. The assumptions in a forecast are played out using the organization’s financial statements to predict how various statements may look in the future. Since these models are based on financial statements, they are typically generated monthly, quarterly, or yearly. It’s common for financial models to be constructed using manual data entry in an Excel spreadsheet. 

Read more about what financial modeling is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Financial Modeling Skills?

Financial modeling provides a way to perform a detailed analysis of all possible financial outcomes of a business decision. It helps an organization budget for the future and analyze the company’s performance against goals and targets, as well as determine the organization’s current value. Financial models allow individuals to compare one company’s performance against its competitors. These models can analyze financial statements, ratios, and capital structure, as well as estimate financial metrics for new projects. They can help professionals estimate a company’s projected growth, organize its budget, evaluate investments, decide between acquisition or merger, and determine which projects to prioritize.

Benefits of Financial Modeling Corporate Training

Employees who know how to create financial models are an asset to their organization. The ability to create sound financial models and share them with others is an in-demand skill across organizations of all sizes and types. In an increasingly competitive job market, it’s essential for businesses to know where they currently stand financially. They must also be able to draw from past financial information to learn from it. Ultimately, the more an organization knows about its past and current financial performance, the better prepared it will be to anticipate future financial performance.

Training your employees to create financial models ensures that they will have a range of useful skills that will contribute to your organization, such as an understanding of financial statements like income statements, balance sheets, schedules, and cash flow statements. Financial models have a range of applications for a business. They provide a way to determine the value of a company. These models are also useful in situations where it’s important for an Investment Banker to ascertain at what price they should sell company shares. For organizations interested in raising capital using financing avenues like loans or venture funding, financial models help them figure out how much they must raise.

Employees with the skills to create financial models also help their organization perform a range of budgeting and forecasting tasks. By providing useful financial data, a financial model is often integral in informing how a company budgets. When creating a financial model, an employee inputs numbers pertaining to different aspects of the business so future needs can be anticipated. This allows the organization to work now to address these needs by taking measures like generating capital. Financial modeling gives organizations insights into the best places to allocate capital to provide the best returns. Modeling helps guarantee the company will have sufficient funds for future endeavors. If no financial model were in place, an organization could be blindsided by unexpected and potentially catastrophic costs that they are not prepared to handle.

Another benefit of corporate training in financial modeling is that it makes management accounting a much easier task. Management accounting involves evaluating how an organization’s books are affected by various management decisions. Financial models provide vital information to company executives so they can see the impact their decision has on the company. This, in turn, leads to better decisions. If your organization is involved with the lending process, financial models are useful for helping to determine how credit-worthy a business is. By using financial models, lenders have insights into whether they stand to receive funds or make a profit. 

Who Benefits Most from Financial Modeling Corporate Training?

Corporate financial modeling training provides your employees with a set of skills that will help them contribute to your organization while at the same time expanding their own professional skill set. A recent LinkedIn Learning survey noted that 94% of employees appreciate working for an employer willing to invest in their training and continuous professional development. Any employee who receives corporate financial modeling training will be able to evaluate your organization’s prior financial performance, as well as its current financial standing. They can then project how the organization can be expected to perform financially in the months and years ahead. Once these insights are shared with decision-makers, the organization as a whole can make more sound budgeting and investing decisions, which can lead to lower costs and higher profit margins. In addition, financial modeling is a skill set that will help any employee become a more well-rounded, well-versed financial professional within your organization and beyond.

New Skills or Upskilling?

If you’ve decided your employees would benefit from corporate financial modeling training, you may wonder how many employees should receive this training. If your organization is a financial institution like an investment bank or venture capital firm, it’s likely that all your employees would benefit from financial modeling skills. In this case, a large seminar training setup in which an expert instructor teaches all those at your workplace how to create financial models may be a good option.

If most employees at your business don’t work with financial tasks, you may wish to train only select employees to create financial models. Since this skill set is usually reserved for finance endeavors, it would make sense to train only those who work in the finance department to create financial models. Another option is to provide one or several employees who work in finance with corporate financial modeling training and allow them to share their acquired knowledge with other team members as needed. Regardless of whether you are upskilling or reskilling employees, the more training these individuals receive in creating financial models, the better equipped they will be to contribute to your organization in meaningful ways.

Onsite or Online?

Another important factor to consider when providing corporate training to your employees is whether they’d benefit most from learning financial modeling in the in-person environment or studying this skill set online. Onsite training involves an expert instructor who has real-world experience creating financial models, coming directly to your company’s location for training. These sessions typically take place in a computer lab or similar location in which your employees can easily access computers with the tools they’ll need to create models, such as Microsoft Excel. The instructor leads the discussion and is available throughout to answer questions, offer clarification, and ensure comprehension. The in-person training format is an engaging, interactive way for those at your workplace to learn how to create effective and useful financial models.

Virtual study options are also available for corporate financial modeling training. Online training takes place using Zoom or Teams, or a similar teleconferencing platform. Similar to in-person study, an instructor leads the training session and provides real-time instruction, support, and guidance. This means that your employees can ask any questions they have in the moment and receive an immediate answer. Regardless of the profession or industry, e-learning is growing in popularity as a way to train employees. Since a computer is generally needed to create financial models, this topic is a natural choice for live online training since the training can take place on the same computer. As more employers see the value in corporate e-learning, this training format is projected to expand by 250% by the year 2026. Live online training ensures that your employees who don’t live near a major city or institution of higher education can still learn to create financial models. Another benefit of virtual training is that it requires no commuting, which eliminates the need to spend money on travel or parking.

Training Options for Employees

For employers that are interested in offering their employees financial modeling training, Noble Desktop has several options for onsite and corporate financial modeling training. Noble’s schedule has a current listing of available classes. Options are available in the in-person and live online format. In addition, Noble can design a customized curriculum that allows employers to choose which type of training would be most relevant and useful to those at their workplace. Tailored training options help ensure employees aren’t receiving redundant instruction on skills they already possess, and that those new to working with Excel or creating financial models won’t be overwhelmed with advanced information.

Since most financial models are created in Microsoft Excel, you may wish to offer Excel training to those employees who will be creating financial models. Noble Desktop’s Excel Levels 1, 2, and 3 are currently offered for those new to working with Excel, intermediate students, and advanced users, respectively. Employees can take one of these short courses, or you can choose to enroll them in multiple Excel classes to ensure they have the training they need. Since each of these classes can be completed in just one day, they provide a convenient and manageable timeframe for acquiring relevant spreadsheet skills.

Supplemental Training Options

Alternative financial modeling training options are also available from Noble Desktop. If you’re interested in supplemental financial modeling training for your employees, vouchers are available for Noble’s bulk enrollment classes. This training format ensures those at your workplace can study financial modeling as their schedule permits at a time that’s most convenient. Training sessions can even be provided outside of normal business hours so that employees who juggle multiple personal and professional commitments can still receive hands-on instruction. 

To learn more about the options Noble Desktop can provide for corporate financial modeling training for those at your workplace, don’t hesitate to contact Noble.

Key Takeaways

• If you’re an employer interested in providing corporate training for your employees in financial modeling, this skill set will not only benefit the employees who learn it but will also contribute to your organization as a whole. Financial modeling allows organizations to learn from past financial data, have a better understanding of their current financial status, and anticipate potentially impactful financial events that may transpire in the upcoming months or years.
• Both in-person and online corporate training options are available for financial modeling. If you think your employees would benefit the most from in-person training, this entails an expert instructor coming directly to your workplace to provide instruction. Live online training takes place in real-time using a teleconferencing platform like Zoom.
• If the employees at your workplace have busy schedules, you can opt for customized training options that are scheduled around their professional and personal commitments.
• Noble Desktop offers a range of corporate financial modeling training options so you can ensure those at your workplace receive the training that will most benefit them and your entire organization.