A financial analyst evaluates current and historical economic and business data to identify trends that influence business decisions. Gain the skills that make a successful financial analyst, including understanding financial statements, working with economic data, and analytical analysis skills.

Note: This learning path was updated on June 1, 2026. If you had already completed the path, your certificate of completion is not affected. If you were in progress, additional courses may now be required.

Make business recommendations on investments.
Read and interpret financial statements.
Perform basic analysis of financial data.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Starting Your Career as a Financial Analyst
-Learn about career opportunities as a financial analyst in this audio-only course adapted from the Free the Data Podcast.

Course 2: Financial Modeling and Forecasting Financial Statements
-Learn essential financial modeling skills to confidently forecast and analyze the financial trajectory of a business.

Course 3: Financial Modeling Foundations
-Learn the essentials of financial modeling.

Course 4: Corporate Financial Statement Analysis
-Learn how to analyze, compare, and interpret financial statements to generate more impactful business insights.

Course 5: Excel Modeling Tips and Tricks
-Learn to build effective and versatile financial models to forecast sales, profits, operations, costs, assets and liabilities, and more in Microsoft Excel.

Course 6: Data, Economic Modeling, and Forecasting with Stata
-Data analysis, modeling, and forecasting are increasingly important for many jobs. This course shows how to use Stata to easily learn data, modeling, and forecasting basics.

Courses

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Learn how to create data trackers in Excel to track any kind of data—from sales activity and inventory levels to vacation budgets using basic Excel and its newest features.
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Learn the basics of financial accounting. Discover how to prepare, read, and analyze financial statements.
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Learn the essentials of financial modeling.
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Explains what financial ratios such as ROA and ROI mean and how they can be used to identify financial trends or assess a company's financial status.
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Find out how to use big data to perform regression analysis for economic forecasting in Microsoft Excel.
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Learn how to evaluate and visualize cash flows using Microsoft Excel.
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Learn essential financial modeling skills to confidently forecast and analyze the financial trajectory of a business.
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Learn how to use economics to make better business decisions. Explore economic theories to strategize and solve business problems from demand and competition to pricing products.
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Learn how to conduct an effective strategic planning process that results in a clear, compelling strategic plan for your organization.
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Learn the ins and outs of financial statement analysis—the examination of relationships among financial statement numbers—to gain insights into your company's past and future.