Excel for Accounting and Finance: Build and Check Small Models

Excel for Accounting and Finance: Build and Check Small Models

A ten-lesson self-paced written course in building transparent Excel models: cash roll-forwards, references, transaction summaries, trial balances, simplified adjustments, cash budgets, loans, NPV and scenario review. Build each sheet from complete cell instructions and fictional data. This bounded course does not cover VBA, Power Query, advanced financial modelling or professional reporting compliance. Excel software is supplied by the learner; no live teaching or certification is promised.

Who this is for

• Accounting and business learners who want to build and audit small spreadsheet models.
• Learners who can explain basic accounting but need practical formula and model-design skills.

Before you begin

• Use a computer, enter values in a spreadsheet and understand basic arithmetic and percentages.
• Complete Mathematics Foundations if percentages and simple equations are unfamiliar.
• Know the accounting equation, debits/credits and accrual basics; Financial Accounting Foundations is the recommended preparation.
• Understand interest and present value, or use Finance Foundations alongside the later lessons.

Outcomes

• Build a labelled cash model with traceable inputs and independent checks.
• Use relative, absolute and mixed references correctly when copying formulas.
• Summarise transactions and produce a reconciled trial balance using SUMIFS.
• Apply explicitly stated simplified adjustment policies without overwriting source records.
• Build a collection-timing cash budget and identify a pre-financing shortfall.
• Verify a constant-payment debt schedule and periodic NPV with correct signs and timing.
• Compare scenarios and write a qualified decision note supported by model evidence.

Included

• 10 original written lessons with complete cell-by-cell build instructions.
• 10 worked examples,30 practice questions and 20 exit checks with explanatory keys.
• Three topic self-assessments, a 30-point capstone and a 12-question native knowledge check.
• A compact formula/revision pack.

Scope boundaries

• Excel licence, downloadable prebuilt workbook, macros, external data feeds or live coaching.
• Personal financial advice, statutory reporting compliance or professional certification.

Course outline

1. Reliable spreadsheet foundations
   • Design a small model that another person can follow
   • Copy formulas safely with relative and fixed references
   • Use checks and explicit missing-data rules
2. Accounting records and reconciliation
   • Summarise a transaction list with SUMIFS
   • Build a trial balance from a compact journal
   • Model adjustments without rewriting the source journal
3. Forecasts, valuation and decision checks
   • Prepare a two-month budget with collection timing
   • Build and verify a constant-payment loan schedule
   • Discount cash flows with the right NPV timing
   • Audit a scenario model and explain the decision

English written edition, 3 October 2026. Models use fictional monetary units and the assumptions stated in each exercise.