The best financial analysts don’t simply build spreadsheets—they build confidence in business decisions.

In this highly interactive workshop, you will receive financial statements from a publicly traded company and develop a complete forecasting model using the same analytical framework employed by leading FP&A teams and investment professionals. Beginning with horizontal and vertical financial statement analysis, you will identify operational trends, isolate key business drivers, and build a forecast that reflects the underlying economics of the business—not simply historical averages.

Participants will manually develop the analysis and forecasting model in Excel before using Microsoft’s AI capabilities to challenge assumptions, identify risks, validate conclusions, and strengthen executive recommendations. The session concludes where most financial modeling courses end.

You will learn how to perform executive-level variance analysis, define the operational drivers behind every forecast, anticipate difficult questions from senior leadership, and communicate financial results as a compelling business story that drives action.

By the end of the session, you won’t simply have a forecasting model—you’ll have the confidence to defend it in front of a CFO, CEO, Board of Directors, or investment committee.