SPECIALISTS IN FINANCIAL MODELLING
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ELearning

Can't make it to a workshop?
Start NOW and Learn Financial Modelling Online

Enrol in an online Financial Modelling course, and start straight away.   Learn wherever and whenever it suits you!

Which courses are available online?

Buy all three courses at once and save, PLUS you'll get a hard copy of Using Excel for Business Analysis included as well as Financial Modeling in Excel for Dummies! 

Here's how the online courses work:

Each of these courses replace a full 9-5 day in the classroom.  You will watch and listen to web-based videos, and fill in online review quiz questions throughout the course. You will be expected to perform some Excel exercises and build your own financial modelling case study, which will be submitted for review.

Depending how long it takes to perform the exercises and model build, the courses normally take around 6-7 hours to complete. Your registration is valid for 12 weeks, so you do not need to do it all at once; stop and start the course as you like.  You can do it all straight away, or watch one video per day for a few weeks - it's entirely up to you!  Of course you can pause, rewind, and rewatch any of the videos as many times as you like during your 12 week access period.

The courses are each made up of 4-5 modules.  When you sign up, you'll log in and get access to the modules.

Each module contains:

  • A PDF of course notes between 10 and 30 pages long.  It is recommended that you print them out, although you don't have to.  By the time you have printed the course notes for each module, you will have a manual which is between 50 and 100 pages.  (for the Advanced course, you can access the 180 page PDF at the beginning of the course).
  • 4-6 Videos, varying in length between 5 and 20 min each.  Each course contains around 3-5 hours of video content and contain a combination of talking to camera, live classrooms and screenshot instruction in Excel.
  • Sample models and exercises, some of which you need to submit during the course.
  • 24 hour  access to the Financial Modelling Support Centre throughout the course, and for four weeks following your completion of the course.

You must have:

  • Access to high-speed internet
  • Any version of Microsoft Excel installed on your computer
  • The ability to commit to 8 hours of instruction over a 12 week period

What you'll get:

  • A certificate of completion
  • Online support during the course
  • Four weeks subscription to the Plum Solutions Financial Modelling Support Centre following the completion of the course

What past students have said about Plum Solutions online courses

  • I especially like the little tricks the presenter put in, such as the little red arrow pointing at the selected scenario in the Factory roll out worksheet. I can definitely make good use of the skills I learned in this course. The consultant presented very well and it's interesting to watch. University, Perth WA
  • "This is probably the best introductory course I’ve seen.  The content and structure of the course was excellent and it covered the framework of raw basic concepts of model building perfectly.” Managing Director, Retail food industry, Melbourne, Australia.
  • "I won't hesitate to subscribe for another advanced training course online when it is introduced!" Ellah Makuba, Accounts/Finance Officer, IC Securities Limited, Accra, Ghana.
  • "Well presented." Phillip Lee, London, UK.
  • "The online course was excellent! Well structured and practical, using common management and business concepts it delivered so much in terms of practical learning outcomes that can be applied straight away. Highly recommended!"  Debbie Ludwig, Principal Consultant, DL Strategic  Sydney, Australia
  • "This course is a nice way to acquire fundamental knowledge of financial modelling" Goutham Gorti, New York, USA
  • "Provided a sound introduction to financial modelling."  Anonymous student
  • "Even though I am experienced Excel user and Qualified Accountant, I feel that the course enabled me to have a more structured approach to Financial Modelling... and though I am UK based, I have found the material applicable." Laura Paplauskaite, Director, Bit Zesty London UK
  • "It's great to be able to stop and start, it allows flexibility and to be able to juggle the course around normal day to day work life." Stephen Badgery, Analyst, Agricultural Management Company, Sydney, Australia.
  • "I just wanted to drop you a note to say thanks for the bundle course. You’ve taken me from a lawyer who could barely use Excel to divide to, well, better than that! Much appreciated, I have already recommended the course to several people. It is your fantastic energy that really makes the courses, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning from you. Your passion has opened my eyes to the power of excel, and the course has been one of several things that have led me to pursue an MBA and a new career path. The course has been a great experience, and I wish you all the best."  Lawyer, Property Industry

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need to install any special software to take the course?

No, you'll be able to access the videos, quizzes and review questions with your web browser.  We do recommend having the latest browser update installed.  We recommend Internet Explorer 9 or later, Firefox or Google Chrome.   You'll need to view some PDFs so you'll need a PDF Reader, and you'll need Excel installed, of course (any version).

Do your Videos use Flash?

Not anymore.  None of the videos use Flash, so you can view them on an iPad or Mac.  If you want to see what the videos will look like, watch this video preview, or scroll to the bottom of the page for more preview content.

Can I watch the videos on my phone?

Yes. The videos are accessible via the browser so you may log in with your username and password from your desktop, laptop, tablet or phone and watch the videos.  This is now compatible with iPhone or Android.  Because the course requires you to build your own model using Excel, you will probably find it easier to complete the course on your computer which has Excel installed.

What are the prerequisites for taking this course?

It is assumed that participants have prior Excel knowledge.  See the relevant course page for detailed prerequisites specific to each course.  If you would like to brush up on your Excel skills, Plum Solutions has compiled a list of free Excel tutorials from Microsoft.

Do you need to have a copy of the books to do these courses?

Whilst the book Using Excel for Business Analysis or Financial Modeling in Excel for Dummies by our presenter, Danielle Stein Fairhurst, is a great accompaniment  to the online courses, it is not required.  All the materials that you need to complete the course are included in the PDFs that you download at the beginning of each module.  However, you can purchase a copy of the book separately, or if you sign up for the Financial Modelling Bundle you get paperback copies included!

Does it matter which version of Excel I am using?

No. The demonstrations in the course are performed using a mixture of Excel 2013 and 2016 and it doesn't matter which version you are using, or if you are using a previous version of Excel.  Written instructions are provided for both Excel 2007 and 2010, and even Excel 2011 for Mac where it is relevant.

How do I tell which version of Excel I am using?

See this blog article for some screenshots of how different versions of Excel look.

Click here for further information about the upgrade from Excel 2003 and Excel 2007/10/13 and here for what's new in Excel 2013. Also see a video on the Excel top tricks of Excel 2016.

What's the fine print?

The course fee must be paid prior to receiving course materials. Once materials have been accessed, your course fee cannot be refunded. If you do not wish to pay by credit card, an invoice can be emailed to you and payment can be made alternatively by direct bank transfer or cheque (see next question below for details).

We reserve the right to cancel or terminate a course or to refuse any enrolment as permitted by law.

The course materials are designed for individual student use. They are the intellectual property of Plum Solutions and they cannot be copied, distributed or reproduced in any way except with the written permission of Plum Solutions.

Please see the terms and conditions page for full details.

I don't have a Credit Card.  Can I pay into your bank account instead?

This is an option, although credit card is much easier.  When you go through the checkout, instead of selecting to pay by credit card, choose "other" instead.  You will then be emailed an invoice with the bank account details.  If you choose this option, please note that the full amount in Australian dollars must be received into the bank account, and please contact us to let us know the funds are on their way.  Once we receive it, we will activate your access.  The other thing to note is that the 12 weeks you have to complete the course will begin from the time you sign up, not from when your access is activated.  We recommend paying by credit card as this is a much easier process and will get access immediately on signup.

All priced quoted are in Australian dollars.

When can I start?

You can start straight away.  If you register and pay, you'll get access to the course materials immediately!

How do I access the course materials?

Once you have purchased the course, and logged in, you will see an orange box on the left hand sidebar of your screen.  This contains links to each course module within the course you have signed up for.  You need to be logged in in order to see the box.

How long do I get to do the course?

Your login will give you access to the course for twelve weeks.  At the end of this period, you will not be able to see the box anymore which contains the links to your materials.  If you do not get time to finish the course during this time, you can purchase extensions in blocks of two weeks but you must do this before your course access expires.

How long does it take to do the course?

These courses are in place a full day 9-5 workshop, so you should expect to put about 7 hours into it.  The pace of the videos is much faster than a live workshop, so theoretically, you should get through the content in a online course faster than in a workshop.

Do I have to listen to all the videos?

Whilst it is recommended that you watch every video in full, you can skip and fast-forward the videos if you like.  The content of each video is explained clearly, most are 5-10 minutes in length and none of them are longer than 30 minutes.  If, for example, you are an absolute whiz on VLOOKUPs you could skip that video and move on to the next one.  You will still need to complete the quiz on that section, and will be expected to perform a VLOOKUP in the exercise models.

Do I get a certificate at the end?

Yes, you will get a PDF version of your certificate of completion, which contains your name and the date.  This will be emailed to you when you have passed the quiz review questions and submitted your model for review.

Do I have to do the quiz questions?

If you want to get the certificate, then yes you will need to achieve a pass rate of 75% on the quizzes, and submit your model/s at the end of the course.  Some people just want to listen to the videos for their own personal development and don't need the certificate, and that's fine too.  (Just let us know though that you're not planning to submit the model or do the quizzes and we won't bug you about finishing them!)

I'm not based in Australia.  Can I still do the course?

Yes, the course is open to everyone!  You'll have to listen to an Aussie accent of course, and some of the examples are based on Australian companies but we run these courses as workshops all over the world and the concepts and principles of best practice of financial modelling remain the same the world over. 

The good news is that if you are located outside Australia, your course fee is not subject to GST. Pricing is all in Australian dollars but your credit card or Paypal will make the conversion for you.

Do the courses include case studies? Do you get to build your own models?

Yes, for each of the courses you are required to build your own financial model, and these models need to be submitted at the end of each course.  You are provided with a blank template at the beginning of the course, and you need to fill in all the formulas and get it working yourself. You'll be guided on the process by the videos as we work through it step by step, and the PDF notes also provide guidance on what each formula should look like as well.

The case studies for each course are:

What does a module look like?  Can I preview the content?

So glad you asked.  Each module contains 4-6 videos, a PDF, Excel template/s and a quiz.  For a free preview of the newly updated Introduction to Financial Modelling in Excel course, see this section on Excel Versions, which is just one of six videos in the Financial Modelling Introduction Module.  For a preview of the PDFs, see this downloadable two page notes sample.

Can I download the content?

You can print and save the PDF notes and the Excel models for your own reference but the videos are not downloadable, and access is only valid for 12 weeks.  At this stage we do not have an option to download the videos but for those which have PDF transcripts available, you can save and keep those.

What are the qualifications of the presenter?

All of the online training is guided by Sydney-based Financial Modelling specialist, Danielle Stein Fairhurst. MBA who has been a financial modeller since 1999.  She runs regular training seminars in Australia, Asia and the Middle East, is the author of "Using Excel for Business Analysis", Financial Modeling in Excel for Dummies and the Principal Consultant of Plum Solutions.  View some video testimonials on Danielle's teaching style.

How do I register?

Select your option:

   

What are the quality of the videos like?

For a detailed preview, view this 15 minute segment on Excel Versions.

Below is a shorter preview from the Financial Modelling (Intermediate) course: