Introduction to Corporate Finance and Excel Spreadsheet Formulas
Excel for finance is the practical skill set that turns raw numbers into decisions your business can act on. BOTI’s blended course equips finance and accounting teams across South Africa with corporate finance fundamentals and the advanced Excel techniques used in valuation, modelling, M&A and FP&A. Below is the full course outline, plus expanded guidance for teams.
If you are an HR, L&D or finance leader buying training for staff, this page covers what your team will learn, who should attend, how delivery works, and how to bring the programme in-house for your business.
Course Overview
This blended learning course combines international expertise with local facilitation to provide comprehensive training in corporate finance fundamentals. It is designed for financial services professionals seeking to develop skills in investment banking, private equity, corporate development, equity research, treasury, and financial planning and analysis (FP&A).
The programme pairs the conceptual side of corporate finance with the hands-on Excel craft that finance teams use every day, so participants leave able to build, audit and present models with confidence.
Course Structure
Part 1: Introduction to Corporate Finance
– Capital Markets and key participants
– Business valuation techniques (Comps, precedents, DCF analysis)
– Mergers & Acquisitions processes and structuring
– Debt and equity financing options
Part 2: Excel Spreadsheet Formulas for Corporate Finance
– Excel fundamentals to advanced techniques
– Keyboard shortcuts and efficiency tools
– Finance-specific formulas and functions
– Financial modelling and analysis techniques
Key Learning Outcomes
Participants will master:
– Corporate finance mechanics and capital raising processes
– Business valuation methodologies
– M&A structuring and financing considerations
– Everything they need to know about Excel as an indispensable tool for corporate finance tasks
– Industry-leading best practices and analytical techniques
Target Audience
Financial professionals involved in financial analysis and modelling, and those aspiring toward investment banking careers or JSE-related roles.
Delivery Format
Blended learning combining presentation materials, downloadable templates, course notes, and hands-on practical exercises. The programme can be delivered as a public course or arranged in-house and on-site for your team in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria or remotely via live virtual sessions.
Bring this course to your team. Prefer training tailored to your own financial reports and models? Request a quote or a 15-minute callback and we will scope an in-house delivery for your finance department. Call BOTI on 011-882-8853.
Excel for Finance and Accounting Teams
When you roll Excel for finance out across a whole department, the goal shifts from individual skill to consistent practice. A finance team that models the same way, names ranges the same way, and audits formulas the same way produces faster month-ends and fewer errors. This section covers how to plan that team-wide capability.
Why finance and accounting teams need dedicated Excel training
Generic Excel courses teach features. Finance and accounting teams need those features applied to real tasks: reconciliations, consolidations, forecasts, variance analysis and board packs. Training your team on Excel for finance specifically delivers:
- Fewer errors in reporting. Structured formulas, validation and consistent layouts reduce the broken-link and hardcoded-number mistakes that cause restatements.
- Faster close cycles. Teams that share modelling conventions and reusable templates cut hours off every reporting period.
- Better decision support. When finance can build scenarios and sensitivities quickly, the wider business gets answers in minutes rather than days.
- Lower key-person risk. When the whole team understands the models, the business is not dependent on the one analyst who “knows how the spreadsheet works”.
Core Excel skills every finance team should share
| Skill area | Why it matters for finance | Typical applications |
|---|---|---|
| Lookup and reference functions | Pull figures accurately across schedules | XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH for mapping accounts |
| Logical and aggregation functions | Build reliable conditional reporting | SUMIFS, IFS, nested logic for cost centres |
| Financial functions | Standardise time-value calculations | NPV, IRR, PMT for appraisals and loans |
| Modelling structure | Make models auditable and reusable | Separating inputs, calculations and outputs |
| Data tools | Speed up consolidation and analysis | PivotTables, Power Query, data validation |
| Presentation | Communicate results to non-finance leaders | Dashboards, charts and clean board packs |
Building a team training pathway
Most finance and accounting teams have mixed skill levels, so a single course rarely fits everyone. A practical pathway often runs from foundational spreadsheet skills, through intermediate functions and data tools, into advanced modelling and this corporate finance programme for senior analysts. BOTI can blend these into one in-house curriculum so junior and senior staff progress together.
If your team needs to start with the fundamentals, the Microsoft Office Excel Essentials Accredited and Accredited Microsoft Office Excel Intermediate courses lay the groundwork, while the Advanced Microsoft Office Excel – Accredited course builds the power-user skills this finance programme assumes.
Connecting Excel to budgeting and broader finance skills
Excel rarely lives in isolation in a finance function. Teams that pair strong spreadsheet skills with sound financial management get the most value. To round out a department’s capability, consider combining this course with Finance For Non Finance Managers for cross-functional managers, and the accredited Apply the budget function in a business unit course for staff who own budgets. For teams ready to move beyond spreadsheets into reporting and visualisation, the Microsoft Power BI Basics Training Course is a natural next step.
Accreditation and B-BBEE considerations for finance training
BOTI’s Microsoft Excel training is accredited through the Services SETA / MICT SETA as unit-standard qualifications (for example IT End User Computing, 61591). These unit-standard qualifications are migrating to the new QCTO system, so accredited enrolment is available now — please confirm current accreditation when you book. Where your finance team takes that accredited Excel training, it can contribute to your skills-development planning. For B-BBEE purposes, the skills-development target is measured as 6% of the leviable amount (separate from the Skills Development Levy, which is 1% of payroll). Funded or in-house training can also support your workplace skills plan. This is general guidance, not financial or legal advice; confirm specifics with your B-BBEE consultant or verification agency.
Free planning tool. Ask us for BOTI’s free Finance Team Excel Skills Matrix, a simple template to assess where your team sits across the core skills above and plan training spend. Request it with your quote or callback.
How to Book Excel for Finance Training for Your Team
- Tell us your team profile — number of staff, current skill levels and the reports or models they work with.
- Choose a delivery mode — public scheduled course, in-house at your premises, or live virtual for distributed teams.
- Get a tailored quote — we scope the right blend of foundational, intermediate, advanced and corporate-finance content.
- Run and measure — practical exercises and downloadable templates mean skills transfer straight back to the desk.
BOTI is an accredited training provider — Services SETA 12582, MICT SETA ACC/2016/07/0045, and a QCTO Quality Partner — with 450 courses and clients including Sasol, Glencore and the City of Johannesburg.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Excel for finance course cover?
It covers two parts: an introduction to corporate finance (capital markets, business valuation using comps, precedents and DCF, M&A structuring, and debt and equity financing) and Excel spreadsheet formulas for corporate finance (from fundamentals to advanced techniques, keyboard shortcuts, finance-specific functions and financial modelling).
Who should attend this Excel for finance training?
Financial professionals involved in financial analysis and modelling, finance and accounting team members, and those working toward investment banking or JSE-related roles. It also suits finance departments that want a consistent, team-wide approach to Excel.
Can BOTI run this Excel for finance course in-house for our team?
Yes. The course can be delivered on-site at your premises in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, or live virtually for remote teams. In-house delivery can be tailored to your own financial reports and models. Request a quote or callback to scope it.
How is the course delivered?
Through blended learning that combines presentation materials, downloadable templates, course notes and hands-on practical exercises, so participants apply each skill as they learn it.
Is the Excel for finance training accredited, and does it count toward B-BBEE skills development?
BOTI’s Microsoft Excel training is accredited through the Services SETA / MICT SETA as a unit-standard qualification (IT End User Computing, 61591). These unit-standard qualifications are migrating to the new QCTO system, so accredited enrolment is available now — please confirm current accreditation when you book. That accredited training can contribute to your skills-development planning. The B-BBEE skills-development target is 6% of the leviable amount, separate from the 1%-of-payroll Skills Development Levy. This is general guidance; confirm details with your B-BBEE consultant.
Ready to upskill your finance team? Request a quote or a 15-minute callback from BOTI, and ask for the free Finance Team Excel Skills Matrix to plan your training. Call 011-882-8853 or enquire via boti.co.za.
