Excel for Finance: Modeling, Analysis & Optimization

Name: Excel for Finance: Modeling, Analysis & Optimization
Rating: 5.0 (2 reviews)

Apply Excel to real world finance: 3-statement modeling, Solver optimization, data analysis, loan and bond modeling

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Created byMB Finance

Last updated 8/2026

English

What you'll learn

Analyze the P&L and Balance Sheet, model the Cash Flow Statement, and bring it all together in a complete company financial analysis
Solve investment, allocation and production optimization problems with Excel Solver using linear programming
Analyze debt instruments across loans and bonds: model loan cash flows and leverage sensitivity, and explore bond cash flows, valuation, yields and duration.
Solve further real-world financial problems in Excel using Goal Seek, Solver, PivotTables, Data Tables and other advanced tools

Course content

8 sections • 59 lectures • 6h 29m total length

Introduction4:49

Introduction: What is Solver and Why is it Useful?1:15
EBIT Explained1:14
Maximizing EBIT with Solver: Production Under Constraints - PT I.7:41
Maximizing EBIT with Solver: Production Under Constraints - PT II.4:09
Optimize Investment Allocation using Solver - PT I.4:54
Optimize Investment Allocation using Solver - PT II.6:47
Maximizing Bank Profit with Solver: Loan Allocation Under Compliance Constraints7:59
What is GDP?1:19
Optimizing Capital Allocation with Solver: Maximizing GDP Impact9:20
Optimizing Workforce Capacity with Solver: An Accounting Firm Case - PT I.5:13
Optimizing Workforce Capacity with Solver: An Accounting Firm Case - PT II.13:01

What is the Balance Sheet and P&L Statement?1:10
Using Goal Seek to Optimize Profit Level5:29
Using Goal Seek to Maximize Export Sales in P&L Statement3:27
Optimizing EBITDA margin in P&L Statement5:58
Calculating and Optimizing ROE6:05
Calculating and Optimizing ROA2:58
What is Cash Flow and How to Calculate it8:06
Optimizing the Operative Cash Flow with Goal Seek3:58
Optimizing the Financing Cash Flow with Goal Seek2:56

Introduction: Loan Interest Rates0:56
Interest Rate Modeling with Excel13:19
Credit Cash Flow Modeling with Excel13:19
Net Debt to EBITDA Explained0:58
Computing Net Debt to EBITDA6:22
Computing Net Debt to EBITDA - A Different Approach5:00
Net Debt / EBITDA Sensitivity Analysis with Excel Data Tables7:48
Turning Sensitivity Results into Credit Risk Signals with VLOOKUP5:47
Visualizing Credit Risk with Conditional Formatting4:15

Introduction to Bonds1:22
Bond Fundamentals: Key Features & Terminology7:06
How to Evaluate Bonds?3:02
Bond Valuation with Present Value Approach6:02
How I Explained Bond Yields to a Development Bank CEO — A Practical Example12:16
Understanding Bond Duration (Macaulay Duration, Modified Duration)14:23
Case Study (Part I.): Modeling the Cash Flows & Monthly PV of a Bond15:32
Case Study (Part II.): Modeling the Cash Flows & Monthly PV of a Bond4:39
Using Goal Seek to Find the Yield for a Lower Target Bond Price5:43
Using Goal Seek to Find Yield for a Higher Target Bond Price3:58
Bonus Lecture: How Economic Expectations and Central Bank Decisions Move Yields17:57

Company Analytics, Operations and Industry Risks13:17
Understanding Corporate Profit and Loss Statement8:23
P&L Analysis: EBITDA margin, Profit Margin and Many More9:01
Understanding Corporate Balance Sheet7:47
Balance Sheet Analysis (focus on Liquidity and Leverage)9:07
Understanding Cash Flow: Direct vs. Indirect Method8:08
Calculating Operating Cash Flow Step by Step10:40
Calculating Investment Cash Flow Step by Step3:04
Calculating Financing Cash Flow Step by Step7:49
Analysing Key Cash Flow KPI-s: CF Margin and OCF Ratio5:03
Bringing It All Together: Complete Financial Analysis17:34

Requirements

General understanding of Excel formulas is helpful. No prior finance knowledge is required as everything is explained during the course.

Description

Solve Real-World Finance Problems with Excel!

Learn to use Excel to solve practical corporate finance problems — from targeted calculations and optimization tasks to complete financial models.

This is not a traditional Excel course. Each section starts with a financial problem and introduces the Excel tools needed to solve it. Techniques introduced earlier are then reused in more advanced cases, helping you practice and deepen your skills throughout the course.

You will build and solve practical finance cases, including:

Analysis of the P&L and Balance Sheet, followed by Cash Flow calculation and a comprehensive financial analysis of the company
Building financial models by calculating Cash Flow from the P&L and Balance Sheet, then optimizing key components such as Operating Cash Flow using Excel’s Goal Seek tool
Linear programming for finance optimization with Excel Solver, including investment, allocation and production problems
Loan cash flow modeling and repayment analysis
Net Debt / EBITDA analysis with Data Table sensitivity analysis
Bond cash flow modeling and valuation, including cash flows, yields, yield curves, bond prices and duration
Financial dataset analysis with PivotTables and product profitability analysis

Finance First, Excel Second.

Excel is the tool — financial problem-solving is the focus.

You will work with Goal Seek, Solver, Data Tables, PivotTables and increasingly advanced formulas and modeling techniques. Earlier methods are deliberately reused in more complex cases, giving you repeated practice and showing how the same tools apply to different finance problems.

By the end of the course, you will be able to structure financial problems, choose the right Excel tools, build models and analyze the results.

Basic familiarity with Excel formulas is an advantage but not required, and all finance concepts will be explained in detail throughout the course.

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Who this course is for:

Students, financial analysts, investment bankers, anyone who is interested in learning finance

Excel for Finance: Modeling, Analysis & Optimization

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 5min

From Financial Data to Management Insights with PivotTables6 lectures • 31min

Linear Programming for Financial Optimization with Excel Solver11 lectures • 1hr 3min

Introduction to Balance Sheet, P&L and Cash Flow & Their Goal Seek Optimization9 lectures • 40min

Loan Modeling & Credit Analytics: Cash Flows and Leverage Sensitivity9 lectures • 58min

Bond Valuation & Analytics: Cash Flows, Yields and Interest Rate Risk11 lectures • 1hr 32min

Complete Corporate Financial Analysis: An Industrial Company Case Study11 lectures • 1hr 40min

Course Wrap-Up and Key Takeaways1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: