We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Course image
EDUCBA

As the course advances, learners will compute valuation metrics such as Net Present Value (NPV), Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), and Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE), culminating in the creation of a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. They will then apply relative valuation techniques, including EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples, to compare peer companies, and interpret share prices under multiple forecast scenarios.

Read more

As the course advances, learners will compute valuation metrics such as Net Present Value (NPV), Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF), and Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE), culminating in the creation of a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. They will then apply relative valuation techniques, including EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples, to compare peer companies, and interpret share prices under multiple forecast scenarios.

This course not only builds technical modeling expertise using Excel, but also strengthens the learner’s ability to evaluate financial performance, interpret valuation outputs, and apply strategic thinking to real business contexts. By the end, learners will be able to confidently design, construct, and assess comprehensive valuation models used in investment banking, equity research, and corporate finance.

Enroll now

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction and Revenue Forecasting
This module introduces learners to the business structure of Big Books Corp and lays the foundation for constructing a robust financial model. It begins by examining the company's revenue streams and segment-wise performance over time. Learners will explore how to apply growth assumptions for forecasting sales and understand the fundamental purpose and strategic significance of financial models. The module then transitions into calculating total revenue across segments and preparing for cost-based modeling. By the end of this module, learners will be equipped to evaluate historical performance, forecast future revenues, and contextualize financial modeling in real-world investment analysis.
Read more

Save this course

Create your own learning path. Save this course to your list so you can find it easily later.
Save

Career center

Learners who complete Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Financial Analyst
A Financial Analyst provides crucial data-driven insights for strategic business decisions, examining financial performance, forecasting future outcomes, and assessing investment opportunities. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is exceptionally well-suited for aspiring Financial Analysts, building essential competencies. Learners master constructing and interpreting comprehensive financial models using Excel, a daily requirement. The course details analyzing historical data, calculating key financial drivers, and forecasting revenues, expenses, and cash flows. Modules covering income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and valuation metrics like Net Present Value and Discounted Cash Flow directly equip individuals to confidently assess financial performance and make recommendations. This course helps build analytical and modeling capabilities essential for success in this domain.
Investment Banking Analyst
An Investment Banking Analyst plays a pivotal role in financial transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises, requiring sophisticated financial modeling and valuation expertise. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is explicitly designed to prepare learners for this demanding career. Participants will gain practical construction and interpretation skills for financial models, a core function of an Investment Banking Analyst. The curriculum covers building detailed income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, alongside computing crucial valuation metrics like Net Present Value, Free Cash Flow to the Firm, and Free Cash Flow to Equity. Crucially, the course culminates in creating a Discounted Cash Flow model and applying relative valuation techniques using EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples, skills directly applicable and highly sought after in investment banking.
Equity Research Analyst
An Equity Research Analyst provides in-depth analysis and recommendations on public companies, often culminating in valuation reports and investment calls. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is highly relevant for individuals pursuing this analytical career. Learners will develop the strong technical modeling expertise using Excel necessary to dissect company financials and forecast performance. The course’s emphasis on analyzing historical data, forecasting segment-wise revenues and expenses, and constructing comprehensive financial statements directly aligns with the daily tasks of an Equity Research Analyst. Furthermore, mastering valuation metrics such as Net Present Value, Discounted Cash Flow, and relative valuation techniques (EV/Revenue, EV/EBITDA multiples) is fundamental for accurately interpreting share prices and formulating well-supported investment theses.
Financial Modeler
A Financial Modeler is a specialist dedicated to building intricate financial models that project a company's financial performance, evaluate investments, and inform strategic decisions. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is the ideal foundation for anyone aspiring to become a Financial Modeler. The entire curriculum is centered around developing comprehensive, step-by-step expertise in the practical construction and interpretation of financial models using Excel. Learners will master analyzing historical data, forecasting revenues, expenses, and cash flows, and meticulously building income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Crucially, the course culminates in creating Discounted Cash Flow models and applying relative valuation techniques, ensuring proficiency in designing, constructing, and assessing the advanced valuation models central to the role of a Financial Modeler.
Private Equity Associate
A Private Equity Associate is deeply involved in identifying, evaluating, and executing investment opportunities in private companies, requiring extensive financial modeling and valuation skills. This role typically requires an advanced degree, such as a Master of Business Administration, or significant prior experience. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is extremely pertinent for aspiring Private Equity Associates. It provides comprehensive training in constructing and assessing valuation models, including Discounted Cash Flow models and relative valuation techniques using various multiples. Learners will practice analyzing historical data, forecasting detailed financial statements, and understanding critical components like working capital and capital expenditures. These proficiencies in designing, constructing, and interpreting robust financial models are fundamental for due diligence and investment appraisal in private equity.
Mergers and Acquisitions Specialist
A Mergers and Acquisitions Specialist advises companies on buying, selling, or combining businesses, a role heavily dependent on rigorous financial modeling and valuation. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is exceptionally well-suited for this career path, as it provides the exact skills needed to excel. Learners will master constructing and interpreting comprehensive valuation models, including Discounted Cash Flow and relative valuation using EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples. The course guides participants through forecasting revenues, expenses, cash flows, and evaluating capital structures to assess business value. This technical modeling expertise using Excel, coupled with the ability to evaluate financial performance and interpret valuation outputs, is fundamental for structuring deals, advising clients, and performing due diligence in complex M&A scenarios.
Corporate Finance Specialist
A Corporate Finance Specialist manages a company's financial resources, focusing on capital allocation, financial planning, and strategic decision-making to maximize shareholder value. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course directly helps build the skills vital for a Corporate Finance Specialist. Learners will gain expertise in constructing and interpreting financial models, evaluating financial performance, and applying strategic thinking to real business contexts. The course's modules on forecasting revenues, expenses, cash flows, and managing capital expenditures, depreciation, and working capital cycles are central to corporate financial planning. Understanding valuation metrics like NPV and DCF, and interpreting valuation outputs, allows professionals to assess investment projects, M&A opportunities, and overall company value, driving informed internal financial strategies.
Financial Planning and Analysis Analyst
A Financial Planning and Analysis Analyst focuses on budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting to help guide a company's financial strategy. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is exceptionally well-suited for this career. Learners will gain comprehensive, step-by-step expertise in constructing and interpreting financial models, which is the cornerstone of FP&A. The course covers analyzing historical data, calculating key financial drivers, and forecasting segment-wise revenues, expenses, and cash flows. Furthermore, the detailed guidance on building income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, along with evaluating capital expenditures and working capital cycles, directly aligns with the core responsibilities of a Financial Planning and Analysis Analyst. This course helps build the strategic thinking and technical modeling skills essential for effective financial planning.
Restructuring Analyst
A Restructuring Analyst advises distressed companies on financial reorganization, requiring intensive financial modeling, valuation, and capital structure analysis under challenging circumstances. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is highly relevant for aspiring Restructuring Analysts. Learners will gain comprehensive expertise in constructing and interpreting financial models, which are critical for assessing viability and designing turnaround plans. The course's modules on forecasting revenues, expenses, and managing cash flows, working capital, and debt balances are directly applicable to understanding a company's distress and modeling potential recovery scenarios. Mastery of valuation metrics, including Discounted Cash Flow and understanding capital structure implications, is fundamental for determining enterprise value and negotiating with creditors in a restructuring process.
Portfolio Manager
A Portfolio Manager makes investment decisions for client portfolios, requiring a deep understanding of company valuation, financial health, and market dynamics. This role often requires an advanced degree or professional designations like the CFA. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course is invaluable for those aiming to become a Portfolio Manager. It equips learners with the ability to confidently design, construct, and assess comprehensive valuation models. Expertise in forecasting financial statements, calculating key financial drivers, and interpreting valuation metrics such as Net Present Value, Free Cash Flow to the Firm, and Free Cash Flow to Equity is paramount. The course’s emphasis on applying relative valuation techniques and interpreting share prices under multiple forecast scenarios directly supports making informed investment decisions and managing portfolio risk effectively.
Credit Analyst
A Credit Analyst assesses the creditworthiness of individuals or corporations, relying heavily on detailed financial statement analysis and projections to determine repayment capacity. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course may be useful for aspiring Credit Analysts. While the primary focus is on equity valuation, the course builds a strong foundation in analyzing historical data, calculating key financial drivers, and constructing income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. These skills are crucial for understanding a borrower's financial health and projecting future cash flows available for debt service. Learners gain expertise in evaluating capital expenditures, depreciation, and working capital cycles, which are critical components for assessing financial stability and forecasting liquidity, directly applicable to the responsibilities of a Credit Analyst.
Management Consultant
A Management Consultant provides strategic advice to organizations, often tackling complex business problems that require robust financial analysis and modeling capabilities. This role often requires an advanced degree, such as a Master of Business Administration. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course may be helpful for aspiring Management Consultants. It strengthens the learner’s ability to evaluate financial performance, interpret valuation outputs, and apply strategic thinking to real business contexts. While consulting encompasses broader strategic elements, the course's emphasis on analyzing historical data, forecasting financial statements, and understanding valuation metrics like DCF and relative multiples provides a strong foundation for developing data-driven recommendations and assessing the financial implications of strategic initiatives for clients.
Treasury Analyst
A Treasury Analyst manages an organization's liquidity, cash flow, and financial risk, which demands a strong grasp of financial forecasting and statement analysis. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course may be useful for individuals pursuing a career as a Treasury Analyst. The course provides detailed training in constructing cash flow statements using the indirect method and managing working capital, including understanding its components, historical linkages, and forecasting logic. These are core responsibilities for a Treasury Analyst. Learners will also gain expertise in forecasting revenues, expenses, and managing equity and debt-related components, which are essential for comprehensive cash flow forecasting, liquidity management, and understanding funding requirements crucial for the treasury function.
Commercial Real Estate Analyst
A Commercial Real Estate Analyst evaluates investment opportunities in properties, performing detailed financial analysis, market research, and valuation. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course may be helpful for aspiring Commercial Real Estate Analysts, particularly for its foundational valuation principles. Learners will engage with constructing and interpreting financial models, including the computation of Net Present Value and Discounted Cash Flow models. While real estate valuation has sector-specific nuances, the core skills of forecasting cash flows, understanding capital expenditures, and applying valuation metrics are highly transferable. The course strengthens the ability to evaluate financial performance and interpret valuation outputs, which can be adapted to assess property income streams and development projects, supporting investment decisions in commercial real estate.
Venture Capital Analyst
A Venture Capital Analyst supports investment decisions in early-stage, high-growth companies, often requiring a blend of market analysis, financial projections, and strategic insight. The Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast course may be helpful for aspiring Venture Capital Analysts. While venture capital valuation often uses unique methodologies for pre-revenue or early-stage companies, the course provides a robust foundation in understanding financial statements, analyzing historical data, and forecasting revenues and expenses. The skills in constructing comprehensive financial models and interpreting valuation outputs (especially cash flow forecasting) are transferable when assessing the future potential and financial health of maturing portfolio companies, or later-stage growth equity investments, enabling a VC Analyst to better understand the financial dynamics of their investments.

Reading list

We've selected 50 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast.
This classic textbook provides a comprehensive overview of corporate finance, covering topics such as capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy. It is an excellent resource for students and practitioners alike.
Wiley Corporate F&A's flagship handbook by James Sagner provides comprehensive case studies on optimizing the cash conversion cycle across receivables collection, inventory lean management, payables disbursement, and international cash pooling.
Universally acclaimed as the modern bible of applied time-series forecasting, Hyndman and Athanasopoulos cover exponential smoothing, ARIMA, dynamic harmonic regression, and hierarchical reconciliation for business and financial planning.
Revered in valuation courts and corporate boardrooms as the definitive treatise on WACC, Shannon Pratt and Roger Grabowski detail equity risk premia, size premia, build-up methods, and unlevering/relevering betas.
Another essential work by Aswath Damodaran, this book focuses specifically on security analysis and its application in investment and corporate finance. It is highly recommended by academicians and practitioners alike for its in-depth coverage of valuation theory and practical insights. serves as a crucial reference for those seeking a deeper understanding of valuation in these contexts.
Focusing exclusively on practical WACC estimation across industries and emerging markets, Ogier, Rugman, and Spicer walk practitioners through risk-free rate selection, debt tax shields, and country risk adjustments.
Combining accounting mechanics with commercial bank credit appraisal, Bhattacharya's fourth edition examines operating cycle estimation, trade credit equilibrium, factoring, and liquidity stress ratios.
Group CFO Michael Samonas guides corporate finance practitioners through building integrated three-statement pro forma projections, linking revenue drivers and working capital assumptions to Monte Carlo sensitivity simulations.
Is widely considered a foundational text in financial modeling, often used in university settings. It provides a comprehensive overview of financial modeling principles and applications using Excel. It is highly valuable for building a solid understanding of core concepts and is an excellent reference tool.
Save
Authored by experts from McKinsey & Company, this book offers a comprehensive framework for valuing companies, focusing on the connection between valuation and corporate strategy. It highly regarded resource in the professional world and is often used as a reference by practitioners. The book is excellent for solidifying understanding of how valuation fits into broader business decision-making.
Foundational text in corporate finance and provides a comprehensive overview of capital budgeting principles and techniques. It is widely used as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate programs. The book offers a solid theoretical understanding with practical examples, making it valuable for both students and professionals. The latest edition incorporates contemporary issues in corporate finance, including behavioral finance and the impact of technology.
Serving for decades as the foundational textbook for the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) curriculum, Maness and Zietlow detail net working capital liquidity scales, cash concentration systems, and short-term borrowing.
Combining Beyond Budgeting organizational reform with statistical control theory, former Unilever financial controller Steve Morlidge and Steve Player replace static annual budgets with adaptive rolling financial forecasts.
More than just a basic Excel guide, this book focuses on applying Excel to real-world data analysis and business problems. It's ideal for those looking to deepen their understanding of using Excel for practical applications, including newer features like dynamic arrays and Power Query. is commonly used as a textbook and strong reference for business professionals.
This specific edition of the main 'Valuation' text tailored for university students, often including features like review questions. It provides the same comprehensive coverage of DCF and valuation principles as the professional edition but is structured for a learning environment.
This practical guide is specifically tailored for those interested in financial modeling using Excel. It provides step-by-step instructions and focuses on applying Excel features to solve common business and financial problems. It's a valuable resource for students and professionals in finance and business roles looking to solidify their modeling skills.
Focuses specifically on Power Query, a powerful tool within Excel and Power BI for connecting, transforming, and combining data from various sources. It's highly relevant for contemporary data analysis workflows and is essential for users who need to clean and prepare data efficiently before analysis. This book adds significant depth to data manipulation skills within Excel.
By Damodaran focuses on the practical application of corporate finance principles, including valuation, from the perspective of a user. It bridges the gap between theory and practice and is valuable for understanding how valuation is used in real-world corporate decision-making.
Combines financial analysis and modeling concepts with the application of Excel and VBA. It's a valuable resource for those in finance who want to leverage Excel's power for complex analysis and automation. It deepens understanding by integrating financial theory with practical Excel implementation.
Former Morgan Stanley director of global training James Valentine reveals how institutional equity analysts identify key earnings drivers, build quarterly and multi-year financial forecasts, and avoid consensus herding.
Is highly recommended for those who want to master financial modeling in Excel. It simplifies complex financial concepts and provides in-depth techniques for building, developing, and deploying financial models. It's a valuable resource for finance professionals and students seeking to deepen their financial modeling expertise.
Offers a detailed look at Power Query, focusing on practical techniques for data collection, combination, and transformation. It's an essential resource for anyone dealing with messy data and provides valuable skills for efficient data preparation in Excel and Power BI. This book significantly deepens understanding of data wrangling.
Reverse factoring, dynamic discounting, and inventory securitization allow buyers and suppliers to simultaneously unlock working capital. Templar, Hofmann, and Findlay connect physical logistics with corporate treasury.
Predicting asset returns and volatility with modern machine learning requires rigorous defenses against backtest overfitting. López de Prado introduces Combinatorial Purged Cross-Validation and structural break detection.
Provides a practical, how-to guide to valuation methods used in investment banking, including DCF, comparable companies analysis, and precedent transactions. It is highly relevant for those interested in applying DCF in a professional setting. It is used in universities and by industry professionals.
While not solely focused on valuation, this classic textbook provides a robust foundation in corporate finance theory and practice, including essential concepts related to valuation, risk, and return. It is widely used in undergraduate and graduate finance programs. Understanding the principles covered in this book is crucial prerequisite knowledge for mastering valuation.
Focuses on modern data analysis techniques within Excel, including Power Query and Power Pivot. It's a contemporary resource for users looking to update their data cleaning and reporting processes and perform more rigorous data analysis directly within Excel. It's highly relevant for professionals working with data regularly.
Comprehensive guide covering a vast range of Excel topics from beginner to advanced levels. It's an excellent resource for gaining a broad understanding of Excel's capabilities and serves as a valuable reference tool for various functions, formulas, and features. While published in 2018, its foundational content remains highly relevant for solidifying core Excel skills.
Kallberg and Kenneth Parkinson establish the quantitative foundations of short-term liquidity management, covering Baumol-Tobin and Miller-Orr cash balance models, credit scoring, and commercial paper markets.
Published by the CFA Institute, this book covers various equity valuation techniques, including DCF, in detail. It rigorous text suitable for those pursuing professional finance certifications or a deep dive into equity valuation.
Published by Oxford University Press, Lorenzo Preve and Virginia Sarria-Allende decompose operational Financial Management Need (FMN) versus permanent structural capital, illustrating how growth traps starve businesses of cash.
A comprehensive guide specifically for Excel 365, covering its features and capabilities. Similar to the Excel 2019 Bible, this book offers broad coverage and serves as a valuable reference for users of the subscription-based version of Excel, ensuring relevance to the latest updates.
Stanford professors Jonathan Berk and Peter DeMarzo unify capital budgeting around the Law of One Price, comparing WACC, Adjusted Present Value (APV), and Flow-to-Equity (FTE) methods under constant versus changing debt-to-value ratios.
Serving as a comprehensive desk reference for FP&A directors, Jack Alexander details driver-based revenue forecasting, variance analysis, capital expenditure projections, and executive dashboard design.
Erik Hofmann examines collaborative supply-chain financing structures—from reverse factoring to dynamic discounting—showing how treasurers unlock liquidity across buyer and supplier networks without straining balance sheets.
Provides a comprehensive guide to financial modeling in both corporate and project finance contexts. It includes case studies and practical exercises, making it valuable for those focusing on project finance modeling. It covers complex topics with a clear approach.
This handbook provides a solid foundation in financial modeling concepts and their implementation, often using Excel as a tool. It's a good resource for those who want to understand the theory behind financial models while also learning how to build them practically. It's suitable for both students and professionals.
Offers a detailed look at financial valuation applications and models, complemented by a website with additional resources. It practical guide that delves into various valuation methods and their implementation. It is useful for both learning and as a professional reference.
Econometricians Graham Elliott and Allan Timmermann present the definitive graduate treatment of asymmetric loss functions, density forecasting, forecast combination, and predictive regressions under model instability.
This comprehensive corporate finance book is known for its rigorous approach and coverage of a wide range of topics, including in-depth analysis of investment decisions. It is suitable for advanced students and professionals seeking a detailed theoretical and practical understanding. It is often considered a go-to reference in the industry, particularly in Europe.
Accounts receivable often represent a company's largest working capital asset. Burt Edwards covers trade credit terms, customer credit limits, collection escalation workflows, and export letters of credit.
Tracking real publicly traded companies (Disney, Vale, Tata, Bookscape) from hurdle rate estimation to optimal debt-to-equity recapitalization, Damodaran shows how managers minimize WACC to maximize firm value.
Macroeconomic and financial variables experience sudden regime shifts that invalidate equilibrium assumptions. Clements and Hendry show why robust differencing and intercept adjustments outperform complex structural models.
A practical guide specifically focused on financial modeling for project finance. It covers the unique aspects of modeling for large-scale projects and funding strategies. It valuable resource for those working in project finance.

Share

Help others find this course page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Similar courses

Here are nine courses similar to Financial Modeling & Valuation: Analyze & Forecast.
Pre-MBA Quantitative Skills: Finance
Most relevant
The Role of Global Capital Markets
Most relevant
Forecasting Financial Statements & Valuation for...
Most relevant
Finance of Mergers and Acquisitions: Designing an M&A Deal
Most relevant
Financial Management Capstone
Most relevant
Financial Analysis of Organizations
Most relevant
Corporate Finance I: Measuring and Promoting Value...
Most relevant
Investment Banking: M&A and Initial Public Offerings
Most relevant
Financial Modeling in Excel - DCF Valuation Model of Apple
Most relevant

Coursera Buyer Protection & Guarantee

Verified partner policies & purchase protections

Accredited University Partner
Free Trial & Audit

7-Day Free Trial & Free Audit

7-day free trial on monthly Coursera Plus subscriptions; free audit option available on most individual courses to explore video lectures and readings at no charge.

Return & Refund Policy

14-Day Refund Guarantee

14-day refund window on annual Coursera Plus subscriptions and single-course purchases prior to certificate issuance. Monthly subscriptions do not offer refunds once billed.

Buyer Protections

Verified Academic & Industry Partner

Accredited university and industry certifications (e.g. Stanford, Google, IBM, Yale), secure SSL payment processing, and verifiable digital certificate links.

Key Purchase Protections
14-day refund window on annual Coursera Plus and single courses
7-day free trial on monthly Coursera Plus subscriptions
Free course audit option for lectures and readings
Verified certificates from top universities & companies
OpenCourser Verified Partner Policy details last reviewed: 2026-10-22
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser