1.1 Introduction
Time: ~15 minutes
What You'll Learn
- How the interactive course format works
- The financial context you'll be working with throughout the module
- Key terminology and concepts that come up repeatedly
- What to expect from each upcoming lesson
Key Concepts
This course teaches financial modeling and budget analysis through hands-on practice with realistic data. Instead of memorizing formulas, you'll work through actual financial scenarios with AI as your co-analyst.
The approach is simple:
- Read a brief explanation of the concept
- Examine real financial data
- Build something with it
- Get feedback and refine
Your Financial Context
Throughout this module, you'll work with a realistic set of financial data for a growing company. You'll see:
- Income statements — Revenue, expenses, and the bottom line
- Cash flow data — Where money comes from and where it goes
- Budget templates — Frameworks for projecting future performance
- Historical actuals — Real numbers to compare against plans
Don't worry if these terms are unfamiliar. Each lesson introduces concepts gradually, and you can always ask your AI assistant to clarify.
What's Coming
| Lesson | You'll Build |
|---|---|
| 1.2 | A clear understanding of the company's financial health |
| 1.3 | A 12-month budget projection |
| 1.4 | Multi-scenario models with sensitivity analysis |
| 1.5 | A variance report explaining plan vs. actuals |
| 1.6 | Executive summaries for different audiences |
| 1.7 | Your personal financial analysis toolkit |
How to Start
Open your AI assistant with the course folder loaded and say:
start lesson 1.1Your AI will walk you through the financial context, introduce the data sets, and prepare you for the work ahead.
Skills You'll Use Later
- Navigating financial data files (used throughout)
- Understanding the company context (essential for every analysis)
- Getting comfortable asking your AI to explain financial concepts