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There are 11 modules in this course
Create multi-year financial forecasts, stress-test business plans, and automate analysis using AI-driven workflows. In this course, you’ll learn how modern financial analysts combine budgeting, predictive modeling, and automation to improve decision-making.
You’ll apply zero-based budgeting to control costs and analyze budget-to-actual variances to identify root causes. Then, you’ll build integrated financial projections and stress-test them against adverse scenarios. You’ll explore supervised learning techniques to forecast key business metrics and uncover value drivers. Finally, you’ll evaluate AI models for credit-risk classification and design automated pipelines that update forecasts using structured financial data.
What makes this course unique is its focus on AI in finance. You won’t just build static spreadsheets—you’ll design scalable, automated workflows that reflect how finance teams operate today. The course concludes with a portfolio-ready project where you prepare a 12-month financial forecast and scenario analysis brief for leadership review.
You will apply zero-based budgeting principles to build a departmental budget from the ground up. You’ll structure and code expenses clearly, allocate costs accurately, and design a template that supports disciplined cost management and transparency.
What's included
3 videos1 reading1 assignment
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 18 minutes
Course Orientation: How This Course Works•3 minutes
Principles of Zero-Based Budgeting in Action•5 minutes
Case Study: Building a Marketing Budget in Excel•10 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Zero-Based Budgeting: A Practical Guide for Finance Professionals•8 minutes
1 assignment•Total 25 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Develop a Departmental Budget Workbook with GL Codes•25 minutes
Budgeting: Analyze & Control Costs: Analyzing Budget-to-Actual Variances
Module 2•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will analyze budget-to-actual variances to determine their root causes and assess their business impact. You’ll interpret deviations, identify operational drivers, and prepare clear explanations that support corrective action and decision-making.
What's included
2 videos1 reading2 assignments
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 21 minutes
Types of Budget Variances and Their Business Impact•6 minutes
AI-Powered Variance Analysis in Excel•15 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Tracing Root Causes: From Data to Decision•8 minutes
2 assignments•Total 55 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Investigate a Travel Overspend and Draft a Variance Narrative•30 minutes
Budget Control and Variance Analysis Challenge•25 minutes
Project and Stress-Test Financial Plans: Building a Multi-Year Financial Projection
Module 3•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will create a multi-year P&L projection by integrating top-down market assumptions with bottom-up sales and cost plans. You’ll model revenue and expense drivers across multiple years and ensure assumptions are logically connected.
What's included
3 videos1 reading1 assignment
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 20 minutes
Welcome to Project and Stress-Test Financial Plans•4 minutes
Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Forecasts•4 minutes
Case: Building a 3-Year P&L in Excel•12 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Building a Reliable Forecast Model•8 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Develop a 3-Year P&L Forecast from Market Growth and Sales Inputs•30 minutes
Project and Stress-Test Financial Plans: Stress-Testing the Financial Plan
Module 4•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will evaluate the resilience of a financial plan by stress-testing it against adverse scenarios. You’ll run downside cases, assess margin pressure, and propose adjustments that preserve financial stability.
What's included
2 videos1 reading2 assignments
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 17 minutes
Building and Running Stress Tests•5 minutes
Case: Revenue Decline Scenario and EBITDA Impact•12 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Financial Resilience: Interpreting Variances and Sensitivity•8 minutes
2 assignments•Total 55 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Stress-Test Your 3-Year Plan•30 minutes
Analyze Financial Data: Reconciliation Fast: Analyze Margin Drivers Using ERP Data
Module 5•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will analyze transaction-level data to isolate key drivers of revenue, cost, and margin. You’ll build pivot-based reports, interpret performance patterns, and identify the operational factors shaping financial outcomes.
What's included
3 videos1 reading2 assignments
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 23 minutes
Welcome to Analyze Financial Data: Reconciliation Fast•3 minutes
Understanding Margin Drivers in ERP Data•7 minutes
Case: Margin Analysis with Pivot Tables•13 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Breaking Down Revenue and Cost by Product Line•8 minutes
2 assignments•Total 36 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Build a Margin by Product Pivot and Identify Top 3 Drivers•30 minutes
Practice Quiz: Testing Margin Logic and Interpretation•6 minutes
Analyze Financial Data: Reconciliation Fast: Reconcile Data Across Systems
Module 6•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will evaluate data completeness and reconcile discrepancies between source systems such as ERP, General Ledger, and data warehouse platforms. You’ll document findings and ensure financial accuracy across reporting environments.
What's included
3 videos1 reading3 assignments
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 19 minutes
Reconciling Data Across Systems•2 minutes
Understanding Data Flows and Reconciliation Gaps•5 minutes
Case: Reconciling ERP vs. GL Data Extracts•12 minutes
1 reading•Total 8 minutes
Detecting Discrepancies: The Anatomy of a Reconciliation•8 minutes
3 assignments•Total 55 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Reconcile GL and Data Warehouse Extracts and Document Adjustments•30 minutes
Practice Quiz: Testing Reconciliation Logic and Error Interpretation•5 minutes
Forecast Business Metrics: Uncover Value Drivers: Forecasting with Supervised Learning
Module 7•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will apply supervised-learning algorithms to forecast key business metrics using structured datasets. You’ll build and tune predictive models and evaluate forecast accuracy using appropriate performance metrics.
What's included
2 videos2 readings2 assignments
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 9 minutes
Introduction and Why Forecasts Drive Better Business Decisions•4 minutes
Gradient Boosting vs. Linear Models: Choosing What Works•4 minutes
2 readings•Total 16 minutes
Supervised methods for Business Forecasting•8 minutes
From Data to Decisions: Evaluating Forecast Accuracy•8 minutes
2 assignments•Total 30 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Build a Forecasting Model in Python (follow-along Jupyter activity)•20 minutes
Tune and Compare Models for EBITDA Forecast•10 minutes
Forecast Business Metrics: Uncover Value Drivers:Uncovering Value Drivers with Explainable AI
Module 8•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will analyze feature importance using explainable AI techniques such as SHAP and feature importance scores. You’ll interpret model outputs to identify the variables that most strongly influence business performance
What's included
2 videos2 readings3 assignments
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 9 minutes
From Accuracy to Insight: Why Explainability Matters•4 minutes
Interpreting SHAP Plots: Ranking the Top 10 Value Drivers•5 minutes
2 readings•Total 16 minutes
Feature Importance and SHAP: Making Models Transparent•8 minutes
Turning Model Insights into Stakeholder Slides•8 minutes
3 assignments•Total 45 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Generate SHAP Plots for Your Best Model•15 minutes
Summarize and Visualize the Top 10 Predictors of EBITDA•10 minutes
Graded Quiz: Forecast Business Metrics•20 minutes
Automate Financial Analysis with AI Pipelines: Evaluate AI Models for Credit-Risk Classification
Module 9•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will evaluate competing AI models for credit-risk classification using financial datasets. You’ll compare model performance using metrics such as F1 score and AUROC to determine which approach best supports risk assessment.
What's included
3 videos2 readings2 assignments
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 13 minutes
Welcome to the course•3 minutes
Comparing Random Forest, XGBoost, and Neural Networks•5 minutes
Communicating Insights: Writing a Credit-Risk Model Memo•5 minutes
2 readings•Total 16 minutes
Why Credit Risk Modeling Matters •8 minutes
Interpreting F1 and AUROC for Business Impact•8 minutes
2 assignments•Total 25 minutes
Compute and Interpret Model Metrics•10 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Evaluate Models on a Bond-Default Dataset•15 minutes
Automate Financial Analysis with AI Pipelines: Create Automated Pipelines for Earnings Forecasts
Module 10•1 hour to complete
Module details
You will create an automated pipeline that retrieves financial data from SEC filings, retrains models, and updates earnings forecasts. You’ll design a workflow that keeps financial insights accurate, efficient, and continuously updated.
What's included
3 videos2 readings3 assignments
Show info about module content
3 videos•Total 13 minutes
From Manual to Automated Forecasting•4 minutes
Connecting to SEC Data via the EDGAR API•5 minutes
Scheduling with Airflow or Cron•5 minutes
2 readings•Total 16 minutes
Building the Model Retraining Script•8 minutes
Case Study: How Fintech Firms Automate Financial Intelligence•8 minutes
Graded Quiz: AI for Financial Automation Mastery•20 minutes
Project: 12-Month Financial Forecast and Scenario Analysis Brief
Module 11•1 hour to complete
Module details
In this project, you will build a 12-month financial forecast using structured revenue and cost assumptions. You will develop base, optimistic, and downside scenarios to evaluate profitability under different business conditions.
You will perform variance analysis by comparing forecasted results to recent performance and assess financial sensitivity to key value drivers. Finally, you will prepare a professional recommendation brief summarizing risk exposure and strategic actions.
This project simulates a real FP&A assignment and demonstrates your ability to translate financial assumptions into structured analysis and executive-ready insights.
What's included
2 readings1 assignment
Show info about module content
2 readings•Total 7 minutes
Why This Project Matters•3 minutes
Project Requirements•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
12-Month Financial Forecast and Scenario Analysis Brief•60 minutes
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Coursera brings together a diverse network of subject matter experts who have demonstrated their expertise through professional industry experience or strong academic backgrounds. These instructors design and teach courses that make practical, career-relevant skills accessible to learners worldwide.
Is AI-Driven Financial Planning, Forecasting, and Automation suitable for beginners?
Yes. The course introduces AI concepts in a practical, finance-focused way. No prior AI or programming experience is required.
Will I learn how to use AI in real finance workflows?
Yes. You’ll apply predictive modeling techniques and build automated pipelines that reflect modern financial planning and analysis processes.
What kind of project will I complete?
You’ll prepare a 12-month financial forecast and scenario analysis brief that demonstrates forecasting, variance analysis, and executive communication skills.
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Certificate?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Certificate, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.