In life, you'll never stop learning. Whether that's in your day-to-day experiences or in your career, you always stand something to gain from consistently 'levelling up.'
But learning new things can be terrifying—especially with new strategies and methods consistently popping up. How can you keep track of everything? One of my favorite go-to methods to keep me both inspired and up-to-date on market changes are financial analysis courses.
Not only are they a fantastic way to build expertise in evaluating businesses, investments, and markets, but they can also help you increase your overall competitive edge in the job market.
Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, I promise that my top financial analysis courses will offer you an ideal blend of practical tools and knowledge to further enhance your financial decision-making while continuing to win at work.
Overview of the Best Financial Analysis Courses
1. Financial Analysis Fundamentals (Corporate Finance Institute)
This course introduces practical techniques to evaluate an organization’s financial health using financial ratios and analysis. It includes hands-on exercises to compare company performance and trends using industry benchmarks and the DuPont Pyramid.
- Who It’s For: Aspiring financial analysts in corporate finance roles
- Topics Covered:
- Ratio analysis for profitability, leverage, and liquidity
- Vertical and horizontal analysis techniques
- Use of the DuPont Pyramid for performance evaluation
- Benchmarking and trend analysis
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 2 hours and 4 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price:
- Self Study: $298.20/year (discounted)
- Full-Immersion: $508.20/year (discounted)
- Take The Course: Corporate Finance Institute
2. Introduction to Financial Analysis (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
This course explores the principles behind financial analysis, focusing on the purpose and impact of evaluating financial information. It combines accounting and finance fundamentals to build an analytical framework for various organizational contexts.
- Who It’s For: Beginners interested in financial analysis
- Topics Covered:
- Foundations of financial analysis
- Importance of financial perspectives
- Accounting principles and their application
- Fundamentals of finance for decision-making
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 12 hours total
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free of charge
- Take The Course: Coursera
3. Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company's Budget (365 Careers)
This finance course focuses on building a company’s budget through case studies and interactive challenges. It uses real-world examples and practical exercises to teach financial planning and budgeting techniques.
- Who It’s For: Professionals or students aiming to excel in financial planning and budgeting
- Topics Covered:
- Revenue forecasting
- Cost and working capital planning
- Fixed asset roll-forward
- Cash flow calculation
- Budgeted income statements and balance sheets
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 4 hours and 31 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Microsoft Excel 2010, 2013, or 2016 needed
- Price: $14
- Take The Course: Udemy
4. Corporate Finance: Financial Analysis and Decision-Making (Udemy)
This online course offers an in-depth exploration of corporate finance, focusing on financial analysis and decision-making. It provides practical tools to evaluate financial performance, optimize capital structures, and assess investment opportunities.
- Who It’s For: Finance professionals, business owners, and students in accounting, finance, or business administration
- Topics Covered:
- Financial statement analysis and ratios
- Forecasting, budgeting, and valuation techniques
- Time value of money and capital budgeting
- Risk management and investment banking basics
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 163 hours and 29 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Basic math and algebra knowledge
- Familiarity with Excel or spreadsheet software
- Price: $89.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
5. Financial Analysis for Startups (Yonsei University)
This course examines the use of financial ratios to assess startups' fiscal health and future potential. It includes practical methods for analyzing profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and liability through ratio-based evaluations.
- Who It’s For: Entrepreneurs, startup founders, and financial professionals interested in analyzing startup performance
- Topics Covered:
- Profitability, liquidity, and leverage ratios
- Efficiency and growth metrics
- Pro forma financial statements
- Valuation methods for startups
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 3 weeks
- Hours Of Instruction: 3 hours a week (self-paced)
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free of charge
- Take The Course: Coursera
6. Financial Data Analysis for Leaders Program (UC Berkeley Executive Education)
This course equips leaders with advanced financial analysis skills to interpret and apply financial data in strategic decision-making. It includes hands-on exercises, live sessions, and a capstone project to enhance leadership impact through financial literacy.
- Who It’s For: Non-finance professionals and senior executives
- Topics Covered:
- Financial statement analysis
- Cost management strategies
- Profitability and growth analysis
- Data mining for financial insights
- Linking financial performance to strategy
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Both
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 5 days
- Hours Of Instruction:
- Online: 8 hours and 30 minutes per day
- In-Person: 9 hours per day
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price:
- Online: $5,750
- In-person: $7,500
- Take The Course: UC Berkeley Executive Education
7. Financial Analysis and Financial Modeling using MS Excel (Start-Tech Academy)
This course focuses on using Excel for essential corporate finance and financial planning. It includes practical exercises for automating financial metrics, creating dashboards, and applying predictive techniques for real-world scenarios.
- Who It’s For: Financial analysts, managers, and students looking to improve their financial analysis skills with Excel
- Topics Covered:
- Essential Excel formulas for financial metrics
- Financial data visualization and dashboards
- Data summarization with pivot tables
- Basics of machine learning in financial analysis
- Linear regression models for predictions
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 10 hours and 51 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $84.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
8. Financial Accounting (Harvard Business School)
This course provides a detailed understanding of financial accounting by exploring how financial statements are constructed and analyzed. It uses multimedia case studies to demonstrate real-world applications of accounting principles and decision-making.
- Who It’s For: Beginners and intermediates
- Topics Covered:
- Balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements
- US GAAP and IFRS standards
- Financial forecasting and valuation
- Sensitivity analysis for decision-making
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Hours Of Instruction: 6 to 8 hours per week
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $1,850
- Take The Course: Harvard University
9. Financial Management (eCornell)
This certificate program focuses on equipping learners with financial analysis frameworks to guide business decisions. It integrates practical tools like ratio analysis and financial calculators to interpret financial data and evaluate project performance.
- Who It’s For: Managers, directors, and business leaders
- Topics Covered:
- Time value of money
- Capital investment decisions
- Risk and return in budgeting
- Ratio analysis for performance evaluation
- Debt-equity analysis in capital structuring
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 3 months
- Hours Of Instruction: 4 to 6 hours per week
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Financial calculator required (HP 12C or TI BA II Plus)
- Price: $3,999
- Take The Course: eCornell
10. Introduction to Finance and Financial Analysis (Professional Academy)
This free course introduces the foundations of finance and financial analysis, focusing on interpreting financial statements and ratios. It includes an assessment to solidify understanding and practical applications of financial forecasting and modeling.
- Who It’s For: Individuals seeking foundational knowledge in finance and financial analysis
- Topics Covered:
- Financial statements and ratios
- Stock and bond characteristics
- Financial forecasting techniques
- Pro forma financial modeling
- Tax implications on firms
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 6 to 10 hours
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free of charge
- Take The Course: Alison
11. Financial Statement Analysis (Intuit)
This course focuses on analyzing financial statements using reconciliation and quantitative methods to assess business health. It includes practical exercises to troubleshoot errors and apply analytical techniques for decision-making.
- Who It’s For: Beginners interested in business essentials
- Topics Covered:
- Bank reconciliation techniques
- Analytical methods for financial statements
- Accuracy checks and error troubleshooting
- Quantitative evaluation of business performance
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 18 hours
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Courses 1–3 in the Intuit Bookkeeping Professional Certificate or equivalent knowledge recommended
- Price: $39.99/month
- Take The Course: Coursera
12. Excel Crash Course: Master Excel for Financial Analysis (Udemy)
This course is designed to teach Excel techniques specifically for financial modeling and analysis. It progresses from foundational skills to advanced functions and shortcuts, using industry best practices to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
- Who It’s For: Finance professionals and students aiming to master Excel for financial analysis and modeling
- Topics Covered:
- Excel formulas and functions for finance
- Time-saving shortcuts and tricks
- Financial modeling techniques
- Best practices from investment banking
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 3 hours and 38 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $94.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
13. Valuation and Financial Analysis For Startups Specialization (Yonsei University)
This course on Coursera consists of five courses designed to equip learners with practical skills in startup valuation and financial analysis. Participants will learn to estimate startup value, analyze financial statements, and make informed investment decisions.
- Who It’s For: Beginners interested in startup valuation and financial analysis
- Topics Covered:
- Startup valuation methods
- Financial statement analysis
- Discounted cash flow
- Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- Time value of money
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 1 month
- Hours Of Instruction: 10 hours a week (self-paced)
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $39.99/month
- Take The Course: Coursera
14. Financial Modeling for Startups & Small Businesses (Udemy)
This course focuses on building financial models tailored for startups and small businesses. It uses practical case studies, including real-world examples from mergers and venture capital, to teach key modeling techniques.
- Who It’s For: Entrepreneurs and small business owners aiming to build financial models for better decision-making
- Topics Covered:
- Financial modeling fundamentals
- Key business drivers for startups
- Scenario analysis and forecasting
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Online
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration: 11 hours and 31 minutes
- Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Microsoft Excel 2011 or newer
- Basic knowledge of Excel/spreadsheet functionality
- Familiarity with Excel formulas and cell references
- Understanding of basic algebra
- Price: $99.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
15. Financial Analysis and Valuation (Columbia Business School | Executive Education)
This course provides advanced training in financial analysis and valuation techniques, focusing on evaluating business decisions and estimating the value of companies and investments. It includes practical financial modeling exercises to analyze performance, risk, and growth.
- Who It’s For: Upper-level executives, financial analysts, and portfolio managers seeking advanced financial analysis expertise
- Topics Covered:
- Financial statement analysis and reformulation
- Valuation of equity, debt, and investments
- Mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances
- Risk assessment and cost of capital estimation
- Scenario and sensitivity analyses
- Online, In-Person, or Both?: Both
- Exam Required?: No
- Duration:
- Online: 5 days
- In-person: 3 days
- Hours Of Instruction:
- Online: 5 hours
- In-person: Request information for program agenda
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Upper- and senior-level executives
- Basic understanding of financial reporting and analysis
- Knowledge of financial statements, key accounting principles, and present value techniques
- Price: $7,950
- Take The Course: Columbia Business School Executive Education
What’s Next?
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