Introducing
Financial Modeling Academy
(African Student Scholarship)
Ā Get WorldClass Financial Modeling Training & take an Internationally respectedĀ accreditation Exam from the Financial Modeling Institute.
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Intensive 8 Weeks Online Program + Live Support Sessions + Exam Prep + Certificate Exam + Community Access + Primer Courses = Exceptional Modeling Skills + the AFM Designation + Huge Career enhancement and opportunities.
Click to explore Other RoutesBefore I tell you about this Academy, let’s explore who this Scholarship is really for…
- This scholarship ONLY applies to African Students (excluding South Africa) studying in an accredited institution. Our Sponsors have taken great lengths to provide this Academy to African Students to promote international best practice capabilities & accreditations in Financial Modeling across African Academic and Professional Institutions.
- You are a Student in a Professional Institution like ICAN, ACCA, CIMA, CFA, CITN etc, but cannot confidently build robust budgeting and forecasting models that smartly incorporate scenarios, analysis and logic into the financial statement forecast you and your Bosses need to make informed decisions about the viability of the great ideas and plans you have for your organisations future.
- You are a student of an accredited Academic Institution, and you would like to gain the technical skills that will enable you to build models to analyse trends and prospects like professionals, improve your CV and job opportunities and craft a career path for yourself in the Finance sector.
- You are a student currently working as a Gig worker in the finance industry and seek to start earning higher fees on financial modeling engagements, so you seek to earn an internationally recognised financial modeling accreditation like the Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) designation issued by the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) after learning the skills to become a competent financial modeling consultant.
If any of the above describes you, then you are in the right place and I am going to tell you exactly how Financial Modeling Academy (FMA) will give you the framework, tools, inspiration, validation and unparalleled support as you take a deep dive into learning the core skills of Excel, finance, accounting, logical thinking, financial statement analysis and more needed to become a world class and certified financial modeler.
By the end of this program, you will be able to...
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- Identify, understand and apply the essential Excel functions, tools and operators that every modeler should know.
- Apply best practice techniques, structural designs & rules to build a 3 Statement Integrated Model from scratch.
- Master CVP (Cost, Volume, Price) analysis to appropriately and more accurately forecast costs for a company.
- Apply best practices in capital structure modeling, building debt & equity schedules, incorporating cash flow sweeps and waterfalls and more.
- Learn how to perform a detailed analysis of corporate financial statements to normalise (restructure) the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet in a way that maximises the predictive power of your models.
- Perform detailed sensitivity and scenario analysis allowing you model multiple versions of your models in one model and better manage risk and uncertainty.
- Implementing intelligent techniques for building Audit checks into your models as you build them, significantly reducing error rates in your model.
- Apply the fundamentals of business valuation and plugin a DCF valuation module into your completed 3-statement model.
- Implement a unique way to self-document your model by being meticulous about styles, structure and visualisation best practices.
- Learn how to quickly update your completed model with a new set of financial statements and updated assumptions.Ā
- Complete a step-by-step exam guide for writing the Financial Modeling Institute's examination for the Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) Designation.
- Pass your FMI Certificate Exam and use the AFM Designation.
"The Financial Modeling Academy was so amazing because, I had wanted to write the AFM exam 3 years back, but this platform assisted me in the revision process.
I had issues prior to this exam in building balance sheets, cash sweeps. The classes broke down every concept to the best of my knowledge and I wrote the exam, and I passed, it was just amazing!"
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Funmilayo Agbajelola, AFM
Senior Analyst,
Kairos Capital Limited.
" dbrownconsulting training platform was topnotch. The AFM Step-by-Step Guide was really helpful as well as the mock questions. I had enough resources to prepare for the exam.
The AFM exam was the least difficult when compared with the AFM Mock exam and previous mock past questions provided by dbrownconsulting".Ā
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Ā Ajibola Abiodun, AFM
Senior Project Finance Analyst,
Okra SolarĀ Capital.
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"Taking the Financial Modeling Academy courses with dbrownconsulting has heightened my knowledge about building a financial model from scratch, company historical financial statement restructuring to identify model drivers, dashboard, and how to build a 5-Box balance sheet model to mirror the Operating Cycle for a Company over the years." Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Olamoyegun Oreofe James Corporate Financial Analyst, Kairos Capital Limited.Ā |
"I wanted to hone my skills in financial modeling, and I didnā€™t have a well-planned structure while doing different courses. The Financial Modeling Academy scholarship program helped me become well organized when building a financial model.
After the program, I was able to see myself as someone who knows financial modeling!"Ā
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Ā Aminat Lawal-Azeez, AFM
Team Lead Finance and Account,
Milkin-Barn Agroserv Ltd.
Other Routes to the FMA Academy
If you live in an African country excluding South Africa, then you may be eligible for a special Scholarship from our Sponsors as well. If You are not resident in Africa, then you need to navigate to the Non-African Resident Page.
African Resident Scholarship
Special scholarship by our sponsors for eligible African ResidentsĀ
Non-African Resident
If you are not a resident of Africa, please click here instead.Ā .
Let's tell you what’s inside The
Financial Modeling Academy
This course gives you a detailed grounding in 3-statement modeling and prepares you to take the Advanced Financial Modeler Examinations offered by the Financial Modeling Institute which offers the worlds leading accreditations in Financial Modeling. Successful completion of this academy will give you the privilege of earning the AFM Designation from the FMI.
We will start with two Primer courses: Microsoft Excel Fundamentals for Analysts & Fundamental skills for Financial Modeling, then you complete the core program, the 6-week intensive Financial Modeling Academy, You participate in weekly live Q&A's and community activity, once you complete the Academy, we will enrol you in our Financial Modeling Exam Preparatory course which includes hours of video, Live Mock exams, Live Mock exam review sessions and a lot more. You will then re-confirm your preferred exam date and write the FMI exam to earn the AFM Designation.
Primer Courses
Microsoft Excel & Fundamental Skills for Financial Modeling
To start you off you will gain immediate access to some courses that will give you a the foundational skills you need to be fully engaged in the core program. Here you will learn Microsoft Excel, Accounting, finance and the basic elements of financial modeling to prep you for the main course.
Modules covered
- Working with Excel Functions: Text, Date & Time, Rounding and Lookup functions
- Mastering Time Value of Money Calculations with Excel
- Mastering Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis in Excel: from Scenario Manager to custom solutions with Form Controls
- Mastering Logical Calculations in Excel: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, IF, IFS, SWITCH, Masks, Flags and more
- Introduction to Financial Modeling & its components
- Understanding the concept of Drivers and Predictive Power in Financial Modeling
- All about Schedules and forecasting techniques in Financial Modeling
- Building a Quick Financial Model from Scratch
Module 1
Building your Model Structure & Framework
In this module, you will learn how to plan the layout and structure of your model like a professional. The structure you build at the end of this module can be used for all your future financial models. Taking the time to do things properly will pay serious dividends. This module will also give you a great overview of the work that goes into building real-world financial models.
Lessons covered:
- Preparing the Model Guide Sheet
- Building Model Details Section
- Documenting Model Timings
- Listing the Model Sheet Structure
- Building the Styles Section
- Names & Glossary Sections
- Building Audit Check Section
- Building Version Control Section
- Documenting with Outlines
- Implementing a Row & Column Structure for the Model Sheets
- Automating Sheet Structure Timing
- Inserting Actual and Forecast Flags
- Setting up the Sheets for Printing
- Finalising your Model Sheet Structure Framework
Module 2
Restructuring the Historical Financials: Profit or Loss Account
When building financial models for an existing corporate, you need to thoroughly review and analyse the audited financial statements and then normalize the financials. By normalizing, we mean removing the accounting noise inherent in the financials to enable you build financial statements tied to drivers that have predictive power. This module takes you through the steps to normalize (aka Restructure) the Profit or Loss Account. A bit like financial engineering, you will have fun with this one!
Lessons covered:
- Defining a Preferred PorL Structure
- Creating a Template for accurate Restructuring
- Restructuring Process for the Profit or Loss account
- Extracting the Depreciation and Impairment Values
- Dealing with incomplete information
- Normalizing the cost of sales & extracting associated depreciation
- Normalizing the SG&A & extracting associated depreciation
- Normalizing Net Finance Cost
- Normalizing Current and Deferred Tax Expenses
- Reconciling the normalized Profit or Loss to the Audited Accounts
Module 3
Restructuring the Historical Financials: Balance Sheet
In this module, we continue the work of restructuring (normalising) the financial statements by restructuring the balance sheet. Like the previous module, your goal is to build a model that forecasts the company's financials as accurately as possible. Accountants use IFRS or US GAAP rules to build the financials, you need to use Predictive financial drivers, thus the need to restructure. See why you need a bit of accounting knowledge! but not to worry; we got you covered in this module.
Lessons covered:
- Purpose of normalizing the Balance Sheet
- Restructuring non-Current Assets
- Restructuring of Trade and Other Receivables
- Some peculiar Accounting Treatments and how to resolve them
- Treating allowances for credit losses and other payables
- Reconciling restructured values with audited account values
- Restructuring all other Assets
- Restructured Trade and Other Payables
- Treating loans and borrowings
- Extracting Equity Values
- Smart & Efficient Technique for building out the Restructured Balance Sheet
- Finalizing your Financial Statement Normalization
- Adjusting for potential unbalanced Audited balance sheet
- Building the reconcile check tool for the balance sheet
- Creating an outline for a good interface and navigation
Module 4
Extracting Financial Drivers & Base Assumptions
In this Module, we will determine the best drivers for each line item of restructured financial statements. We will then use the historical financial values to compute base assumptions for the model. We will then build a scenario tool around assumptions that pose the greatest risk to the accuracy of our forecasts e.g. Revenue growth rate, inflation rates etc. The great work you did in restructuring the financials in the previous modules will begin to make a lot of sense now.
Lessons covered:
- Build out the Balance Sheet and Profit or Loss Sheets Linking to the Restated Financials
- Build out the Structure/sections of the assumptions sheet
- Identify Drivers for each line item of the Financial Statements
- Compute the historical trends based on identified drivers
- Propagate base assumptions for the forecast period based on historical trends
- Build out all Financing Assumptions & determine cash sweep accounts
- Carry out a risk analysis of drivers and determine assumptions that require multiple scenarios
- Build out the Scenario Analysis Template
Module 5
Financial Modeling Computation Mechanics
In this module you will build out the computations sheets containing all the schedules you need to build out your Financial Statements (Profit or Loss, Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Statements). Lots and lots of computations here, we will leverage on your Excel, Accounting and Analysis knowledge here, so if you haven't done the Primer courses, you may need to take another look at them. Fasten your seat belts and learn the Mechanics of Financial modeling computations in this module.
Lessons covered:
- Build out the structure for Profit or Loss Computations
- Complete all profit or loss computations
- Build all the schedule templates for Balance Sheet computations
- Build out all Linked Assumption tables in preparation for model mechanics
- Compute all schedules for the balance sheet
- Build a smart schedule for all financial calculations
- Link all computations to the Profit or Loss and Balance Sheet
- Build out the Cashflow statement
- Carry out steps to balance the Balance Sheet
- Build in circularity switches and complete the model build
Module 6
Finalizing your Model, Analysis & Visualisations
You have made it to the Financial Module for building 3-statement financial models. Here you will stress test your model, correct for circular reference errors and build out a robust analysis sheet with DuPont Analysis and analysis Charts. Also, we will simulate the updating of historical values, with the latest audited accounts and insert a DCF Valuation module to the Model.
Lessons covered:
- Detailed debt computations with Cash Flow Waterfalls & cash sweeps
- Perform the 1 Check for Model Accuracy
- Build out the Analysis Sheet Structure
- Compute DuPont Analysis, Efficiency, Profitability, and Leverage ratios
- Insert a DCF Valuation Module
- Build out Sensitivity analysis Tables
- Build useful charts and visualisations
- Complete the Summary Sheet with useful information and Scenario Links
- Download the Latest Audited Accounts of the Company and Update the Historical Financials
- Compare the share price of the Company with your Valuation Analysis
- Do a final review of the assumptions and drivers sense check the model
Plus You Will be Backed by a Risk-Free 21 -Day Guarantee
Financial Modeling Academy has been designed to train and upskill you with highly sought-after skills in the Financial Modeling Industry. You get this gem and access to a team of experts to guide you through and help you achieve your dreams of being a certified Financial Modeling Pro.
Now, here is how the guarantee works.
By the end of 21 days after the course launch, you would have received access to all the primer courses, resources, our introductory chapter and our first two modules,
Meaning you would have gotten access to
- Fundamentals of Financial Modeling
- Microsoft Excel Fundamentals for Modelers
- Module 1: Building your Model Structure & Framework and
- Module 2: Restructuring the Historical Financials: Profit or Loss Account
BEFORE making a final commitment.
If you don't feel totally confident about your ability to grasp and understand the concept of Financial Modeling then simply reach out, show us you have actually put in the work, and we will refund your investment in the course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be able to build a Financial model after taking the training?
Will I have access to study materials and case studies to practice with?
What skills do I require to PASS the AFM exam?
How will the lectures be delivered?
Will I have access to mentors during the porgram?
Can I pay in installments?
How long will I have access to the training materials?
How many Cohorts are available for the Academy?
Will I have access to study materials and case studies to practice with?
What are the skills required to PASS the AFM exam?
Will there be an opportunity to ask questions from a Facilitator and what is the response time?
How will the lectures be delivered?
Iā€™m currently in Nigeria, what if before the exam I relocated? Can I still write the Exam?
Do we have access to mentors during the 8-week period?
What Is the conversion in naira for African students?
Who is eligible for the scholarship?
How can I access the Academy if Iā€™m not an African Resident or Student?
Will I have any issues using the content or following the course if you use a MacBook?
Can a Post-Graduate student qualify for student scholarship?
Are the scholarship fees inclusive of the exam cost?
How long do we have access to the training materials?
What is the Exam re-enrollment fee?
What if my institution is not on the list of Institutions ?
How do we register for the FMI AFM Exam?
How do I know if I have been registered for the FMI AFM exam?
How do I defer my exam date?
Who do I contact when I have FMI AFM exam related issues?
What do I do when I don't get a prompt response from the FMI to my email?
How many times am I eligible to write/sit for the AFM Exam by the Financial Modeling Institute
Still thinking about it?
You know you should give the Financial Modeling Academy a shot if you are motivated by any of the following:
You are working in the Financial Sector and are looking to supercharge your career, you are currently unsatisfied with your knowledge gap or would like to earn more by acquiring a globally relevant accreditation by showcasing the best you have to offer at work. This Academy is best for you.
On a day to day, you do a lot of forecasting and budgeting and want to build intelligent and predictive models that can help your organization make smarter financial decisions.
You are a Modeler looking for a standardized process for building models for any industry and you also want access to a community of like-minded modelers and professionals that nurture, engage, and share their experiences.
This Academy is an opportunity to deal with these pain points and gives you a step-by-step guide to achieving all your goals.
I can’t wait to guide you over these 8 weeks on the Financial Modeling Academy.
I created this course because I wished I had it starting my career, I started out learning the hard way attending conferences all over the world, making mistakes, learning by doing and having nobody to support me in my modeling journey. Bu helping solve modelling issues for the last 10 years has built up a great desire in me to give back. I codified all my learnings in Excel, Accounting, Finance, Modeling, Critical thinking and more into a system, a system that I am teaching you now in this course.
I am also extremely honoured to be able partner with the Financial Modeling Institute to bring you an independent way to verify your skills as a financial modeler with their Advanced Financial Modeler accreditation exams. This is the icing on the cake for me and why we are so happy at dbrown to significantly discount our course so you are able to take the FMi Exams as part of our package.
So over the years that followed, I saw my same story play out for many professionals, and I thought, this shouldn't be, I can reduce 10 years of wilderness journeys in Financial modeling to less than a year; this is actually the major reason for starting my business over 16+ years ago and training the brilliant team at dbrownconsulting who have lovely put this academy together for you.
We have polished the process a great deal over the years but it still stays true to the fundamentals: You and no one else has the power and responsibility to change how you work with financial data, but it does help to have expert guidance. I am also lucky to have a passion for training and instructional design so I was able to craft our methods into a step-by-step process that anyone can follow. This process has changed thousands of lives and I am confident it will change yours too.
That is why I can confidently tell you that if you run this program for 21 days and don't see value after putting in the work, you will be refunded in full.
So, join me and let's transform how you give strategic financial guidance to your executives about the future prospects of your organisation. Since you will be doing this far more efficiently, an added benefit of completing this course is, more time to do more of what you do best.
David Brown
Explore these webinars to gain valuable knowledge on becoming a skilled Financial Modeler.
In this webinar, we will discuss the best practices that every Financial Modeler should adopt to become a top talent in the Finance Industry.
The focus of this Webinar is to guide you on how to apply for the Financial Modeling Scholarship and help you identify which scholarship route - the African Resident or African Student Route - is most suitable for you.
Attention all aspiring financial modelers! Are you looking for guidance on which career path to pursue in this in-demand field? Look no further! Join our upcoming webinar where David Brown will share his invaluable insights on the various career paths available to you.
