Claude AI in Excel for Finance

Name: Claude AI in Excel for Finance
Rating: 4.6 (300 reviews)

Claude AI, Excel, Finance Workflows, Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Budgeting, FP&A, Sensitivity Analysis, Monte Carlo

Bestseller

Role Play

Created byCarlos Martínez, PhD • Instructor with 20+ Best-Selling Courses, Mercedes Chávez

Last updated 6/2026

English

Czech [Auto],German [Auto],

What you'll learn

Build financial models in Excel with Claude using a structured workflow that is faster, auditable, and easier to defend.
Create, compare, and validate sales forecasts using holdout testing, error metrics, and evidence-based model selection.
Analyze financial statements with Claude, interpret key ratios, and translate the numbers into clear business insights.
Evaluate investment projects in Excel with Claude, including sensitivity analysis, scenario thinking, and Monte Carlo support.
Build an integrated master budget in Excel, including sales, cash, income statement, and budgeted balance sheet.
Review AI-generated models for assumptions, timing logic, consistency, and financial risks before presenting them.
Adapt proven reference models and reusable prompts to build financial workflows more efficiently and with less guesswork.

Course content

5 sections • 28 lectures • 4h 20m total length

Welcome to the Course!2:29
Accelerate financial modeling in cloud in excel for finance with structure, rigor, and judgment across portfolio optimization, financial statement analysis, and master budgeting.
Preview Lesson: Claude in Excel for Finance11:01
Learn to use cloud in Excel for finance with a rigorous, auditable method that speeds work while producing defendable analyses, guided by portfolio optimization and the master budget.
For Your Convenience: Download the Course Slide Decks and Prompt PDFs2:23
Getting Started: Claude Plans and Excel Add-In Setup4:22
Explore cloud plans and install the cloud add-in in Excel, then sign in to access the pro plan for tools like auditing, cleaning data, and DCF model.
Getting Started with Claude in Excel Interface and First Demo10:25
Explore the cloud interface inside Excel, set up Claude, and run a first demo building a structured discounted cash flow model with bear, base, and bull scenarios.
LLMs and Prompt Engineering13:18
Explore using Claude in Excel for finance, focusing on prompt context and fidelity, with five-part prompts—role, task, inputs, constraints, output format—to build, review, and forecast auditable models.

Section Overview: Portfolio Optimization1:31
Learn to optimize investment portfolios in Excel by measuring return and risk, building the covariance matrix, and applying constraints with Clo.
Portfolio Optimization Case: Understanding the Workbook with Claude9:27
Explore a portfolio optimization workbook with etfs, learn how prices become returns, and optimize the portfolio using cloud to maximize the Sharpe ratio.
Portfolio Optimization with Claude — Rebuilding the Model with Fresh Data12:20
Rebuild the portfolio model with a fresh data set, deriving a fully formula-driven variance-covariance matrix, returns, and a solver-ready and Python-optimized workflow, plus documentation.
Portfolio Optimization with Claude - Technical QA Review12:20
Claude performs a technical QA review of the portfolio workbook, assessing data flow from prices to returns and solver vs python alignment, noting minor price rounding and missing risk-free rate.
Optional Assignment: Build Your Own Devil’s Advocate Prompt
Solution: Portfolio Optimization — Devil’s Advocate Review10:29
Explore a devil’s advocate review of a portfolio optimization model, identifying weak assumptions, dominant drivers, and limits of interpretation to improve robustness and presentation to management.
Presenting a Portfolio Optimization Model to an Investment Manager

Section Overview: Financial Statement Analysis1:20
Analyze financial statements with cloud and Excel, performing ratio analysis, visualization, and an executive summary. Interpret numbers, spot red flags, and connect findings to the business story to communicate conclusions.
Financial Statement Analysis — Understanding the Reference Model9:16
Map the reference financial model by analyzing workbook architecture, sheet roles, inputs, calculations, and outputs. Apply this architecture to adapt to a new Caterpillar case using the Atlantic bottling reference.
Financial Statement Analysis with Claude: Adapting the Reference Model to CAT8:46
Cloud applies the reference model to build Caterpillar's analytical structure, creating income statement and balance sheet bases, a ratios suite, DuPont analysis, the cash conversion cycle, and an executive summary.
QA Review and Corrections with Claude in Excel9:30
Perform a QA review and corrections of the Caterpillar model in Excel, improving dashboard visuals and the executive summary while documenting changes for an audit trail.
Financial Statement Analysis with Claude - Devil’s Advocate Review
Financial Statement Analysis with Claude - Devil’s Advocate Review9:04
Learn how Claude performs a devil's advocate review of the Caterpillar financial model, identifying fragile interpretations, key assumptions, and practical recommendations for management.
Presenting the Caterpillar Analysis to a Senior Investment Manager

Section Overview: Capital Budgeting and Investment Analysis1:34
Master capital budgeting and investment analysis with debt present value, internal rate of return analysis, risk analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation, using cloud tools for sensitivity analysis and npv/irr insights.
Understanding and Reviewing the Deterministic Model with Claude in Excel9:06
Review a deterministic 1,000 hectare teak plantation model in excel, including outputs like npv and irr and the capm-based cost of equity, while Claude detects and fixes a critical error.
Designing the Sensitivity Analysis Before Monte Carlos with Claude in Excel10:14
Claude identifies the key drivers before Monte Carlo, showing how price growth and year 10 volume affect net present value and internal rate of return, and recommends two sensitivity tables.
Designing a First Monte Carlo Simulation with Claude in Excel10:00
Designs a Monte Carlo simulation in Excel from the deterministic model, selecting price growth, a volume factor, adjusted inflation, and keeping cost of equity fixed while estimating NPV and IRR.
Devil’s Advocate Review of the Monte Carlos Simulation
Solution to the Assigment: Devil’s Advocate Review of the Model8:32
Practice a devil’s advocate review of a financial model in Excel, examining Monte Carlo results, NPV robustness, dominant risk drivers, and necessary disclosures.
Presenting a Monte Carlo Investment Model to a Senior Investment Director

Section Overview: Master Budgeting and Financial Projections1:20
Master budgeting and financial projections in excel cloud, build a full system covering sales, cash, financing, and taxes, producing a budgeted income statement and balanced projected balance sheet.
Forecasting Sales with Holdout Validation for the Master Budget with Claude9:32
Forecast sales with holdout validation to build a robust master budget and liquidity plan. Compare forecasting methods, rank them by error, and recommend multiplicative hold winters for seasonal growth.
Building the Master Budget from a Reference Model with Claude in Excel11:08
Translate the defensible sales forecast into a full master budget with schedules and cash budget. Claude learns the Maple and Market architecture to build Bright Path Learning budget, including validation.
Financial QA Review of the BrightPath Master Budget with Claude in Excel11:08
Perform a financial QA review of a master budget in Excel, validating structure, timing, and links for cash and financing. Also examine inventory timing and accrual vs cash mismatches.
Senior Review of the Model: Challenging Assumptions and Risks
Senior Review of the Model: Challenging Assumptions and Risks9:14
Review the model from a senior lens by challenging assumptions, identifying dominant drivers, exploring breakdown scenarios, and improving documentation to emphasize liquidity over profitability.
Senior Review Meeting: Defending the AI-Assisted Budget Model
Best Practices and Limitations when Using Claude in Excel for Finance11:40
Apply five principles for Claude in Excel for finance. Use high impact checks, auditability, validation, teach with a reference model, and use Cloud as a senior reviewer.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps2:09
Claude in Excel for finance shows how to use AI-powered cloud tools across portfolio analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and financial statement projections with strong financial fundamentals and professional judgment.

Requirements

Basic Excel skills are recommended, including formulas, cell references, and navigating worksheets.
A Claude Pro subscription is strongly recommended if you want to fully replicate the workflows shown in the course.
If you do not have Claude Pro, you can still learn a great deal from the videos, prompts, slide decks, and course structure.
No programming background is required, but some familiarity with finance or Excel-based analysis will be helpful.
A computer with Excel access is recommended, since this is a hands-on course built around practical financial work.

Description

AI already has huge potential in business and finance, but real usage is still far behind. That gap creates an opportunity for professionals who learn to use these tools well, before that becomes standard. The problem is that AI can produce work that looks polished very quickly, and when something looks professional, people tend to question it less. That is exactly why this course is not about flashy prompts. It is about using Claude in Excel for finance with speed, yes, but also with structure, rigor, and judgment.

My name is Carlos Martínez. I hold a PhD in Management from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, I have written 25 teaching cases, including some in Harvard and University of Michigan case libraries, and I have spent more than five years building finance and analytics courses on Udemy. I designed this course so you do not just generate output. I want you to understand the financial logic, ask better questions, and know how to validate what Claude gives you.

Inside the course, we work through a practical progression. We start with portfolio optimization, then move into financial statement analysis, dashboards, and executive summaries. After that, we go into capital budgeting and investment analysis, including sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo support. And we close with one of the most valuable areas in real financial work: financial planning, the master budget, and projected financial statements.

You will not only get video lessons. You will also get downloadable Excel files, PDFs of the presentations, reusable prompts, assignments with suggested solutions, access to the Q&A forum, and AI-powered roleplays so you can practice defending your models, assumptions, and conclusions in realistic business conversations.

If you want to work faster without sacrificing quality, and you want a practical framework for using Claude in Excel for real financial work, this course is for you. Take a look at the free lessons, review the details, and if the approach makes sense to you, I would be glad to have you inside the course.

Who this course is for:

Finance professionals, analysts, and Excel users who already have basic to intermediate finance knowledge.
Learners who want to use Claude in Excel to build, review, and accelerate real financial models.
FP&A professionals, finance students, consultants, and business users who want practical AI workflows.
Professionals who want to work faster without sacrificing validation, auditability, and financial judgment.
Best suited for learners who want practical application, not a theory-first introduction to finance.
This course is built for end users applying Claude in Excel in real work, not primarily for instructor reuse or curriculum design.

Claude AI in Excel for Finance

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction6 lectures • 44min

Portfolio Optimization with Claude in Excel6 lectures • 46min

Financial Statement Analysis6 lectures • 38min

Capital Budgeting and Investment Analysis6 lectures • 39min

Master Budgeting and Financial Projections8 lectures • 56min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: