NEW Financial Modeling Training Courses

thank you! It has been a LOOOONG road, but I'm very happy with how they are coming out :-)

and thank you to all of the beta users that helped us improve the LMS over the past few months! We've made a ton of minor changes over the past 8 weeks... when combined actually make a big difference in the UX:

1. Autoplay with lesson caching for quickjumps
2. Close captioning on all videos
3. UI/UX improvements with for lesson nav
4. File downloads attached into specific lessons...

...those are only a few and more improvements coming.

-Patrick

UPDATE: All Courses in Elite Package are 100% Complete AND now offer Certificates for Students!

Update on courses [11/1/20]:

1.  All 6 courses in the Elite package are 100% complete.  M&A Modeling, Excel Modeling, Financial Statement Modeling, LBO Modeling, and Valuation Modeling DCF Modeling Course!

2. Professional Support from IB/PE pros - we've successfully scaled up this team and implemented a process so now that any technical comments about the course/material will quickly be answered by qualified pros that still work in the industry. We are super excited about this and think that it's a HUGE value add for students and one way we are leveraging our MASSIVE team of amazing WSO mentors (over 700 members now!)

5. Courses on the Docket ... We are currently pre-selling a PowerPoint for Finance course, a Real Estate Modeling Course (this already has 4 modeling tests/cases live and counting) and a Venture Capital Course I'm super excited about (better material than VC bootcamps that charge $6,000/head) ...we expect to have more announcements coming soon for those. Course development for a Basic Accounting and Advanced Accounting Course have also started and will be 2021 releases.

We are still on the hunt for several instructors to start development on a Bond Course - Fixed Income and a Restructuring Modeling Course...if you and/or anyone you know you think would be a great person to help develop these, please reach out!

Stay tuned!
Patrick

ps - we also aren't resting with our more famous older courses -- we have leveraged the WSO community reach to make the Private Equity Interview Course even more of a powerhouse.  We just crowdsourced over 10 more modeling tests from top PE firms and we are in the process of scrubbing and uploading these to the course (some of them we'll walk through and add additional modules to help make sure students see the best way to approach them)...

Great question. The PE Interview Course has 9 LBO modeling tests and a long section on LBOs in the PDF textbook that comes along with the course, but it is much more focused on reps and acing these tests in an interview context rather than developing the full-blown LBO modeling skills needed for an associate at a top PE fund.

This is also why in the PE interview course we also have audio recordings we provide of actual PE pros walking through previous deals in the context of a PE interview (with cheat sheet templates we provided them and you can use).

While the LBO modeling tests are great for landing the job, they do not have detailed dives on 1) how to deal with 2017 Tax reform in a modeling context 2) how you would model in a dynamic dividend recap 3) how you would model a roll-up strategy dynamicly with add-on acquisitions... The LBO Modeling course does all of those (+more) and also goes into a lot more depth on LBOs from a *modeling* context (theory as well, of course) -- it is simply a badass course and one that covers more than any other LBO modeling course out there (the benefit of spending $$$ and hiring several top private equity professionals to help develop it :-)

Hopefully that helps! Thank you for the question.
Patrick

TheFlyingKiwi:

Damn if I had waited on buying the WSP package a week I would've gone with this... I did use the WSO referral code so hopefully you guys got something out of it.

No worries at all man. Yes, that did help the community if you used the referral/affiliate link. Thank you. I think they do have a refund policy if you want to switch :-)

Pat/Team; How would you say your course is similar/different/better than what WSP has to offer?

I gave a detailed description of how we are similar and different in response to LDNFinance up above. If you have any other questions please let me know.

For those of you that have been trying to purchase today, of course because of Murphy's Law, Paypal limited our account earlier today (we really need to switch payment processors)...I think because of the higher volume of new purchases at a new price point. (so dumb)

Anyways, we are back OPEN FOR BUSINESS. :-)

-Patrick

fabianvillegas7:

Hello Patrick, I'm really interested in this package. However I have some basic questions. I'm just a sophomore in Europe planning to study 2 years more of master's degree so please keep this in mind. 1º Until when is this package discount available?

Up until we release the Valuation Modeling Course...which we estimate to be soemtime in the next ~4-6 weeks...so near end of June or early July. At that time it will jump to $497.

2º Once I get this package, will I have free access to all the resources "forever"?

Yes, you will have access to the courses (and additional modules/lessons we add over the years) forever. The only thing you won't have access to forever are two of the bonuses = WSO Company Database and the WSO Video Library which is 1 year of access from date of purchase (or we can delay this and give you access when you feel it would be most useful to you - like when you have interviews).

3º Is there any disadvantage in the package content for those who study and want to work in Europe?

The Excel modeling course i'd say no, there is no disadvantage (and I'd also lean that way on the financial statement modeling course)...given the difference in GAAP vs IFRS, I would say in the Purchase Accounting bonus module in the LBO course, there may be some differences there (will need to check with our instructors and it's a great question). On the M&A course we will make sure to outline specific differences in purchase accounting for GAAP vs IFRS.

4º Regarding the resources like the database, may I have a code in order to use the 1st year of the bonus content and also for the Elite Support whenever I want?

If you want to delay access to the bonuses and support + for a later date, that is no problem. Just send WallStreetOasis.com>[email protected] a message after checking out.

5º Will the content of this package be renewed or updated with the time?

Yes, just like our interview courses we expect to continue collecting feedback and add new modules and lessons as requested over the years to make sure they stay relevant.

6º How important is the Coronavirus economic crisis in the content of the package?

I'm not too sure what you're asking here, but think your question is getting to some of the market volatility around Covid-19 and how that might have impacted the courses. Given that the valuation and DCF courses do have some market elements to them (and/or projections), it does have an impact from a pure #s/returns/multiples standpoint, but it's kind of irrelevant to teaching the fundamentals of modeling and actually provides for a more interesting backdrop to discuss valuation, trading comps, LBOs, M&A, etc. But no, the courses don't dive heavily into any sort of Covid-19 discussions...I hope that answers your questions!

Seems a really promising package. Thanks again.

Thank you for the questions! I'll get back to you and update this once I speak more with the instructors about IFRS vs GAAP to try and give you a more detailed answer.

Thanks for considering! Patrick

tinus:

Congratulations on the new addition to the platform. My uni ends in the beginning of July and starts again in September. I was hoping to smash out a modeling course over the summer. Do you perhaps know when in August the M&A and DCF modeling course are released? (Beginning, mid or end.)

I don't want to promise early Aug because I think it's a bit optimistic (even though we're aiming for that we don't want to rush the process). It is more likely mid or late Aug, although we may end up releasing version 1 of the videos for Valuation, M&A and DCF (before a lot of the animation and post production work is finished) into the LMS to help with timelines.

This way, students in a rush can start those as the final editing and details are added over the following 2-3 weeks. Valuation will definitely be the next one released since its being recorded now (I think early-mid July release), but the exact timing of M&A and DCF (as well as PPT and Real Estate) are a bit harder to predict.

Thanks for the question! Patrick

Hi SmallEyedMonkey -- Our course bundle includes a very foundational Excel course so I would think that if you have less experience (in M&A or modeling in general), ours might be a good fit for you.

In my response to LDNFinance above, I outlined how we are similar and how we are different to other financial modeling packages out there so you can get a better feel of what we tried to improve upon compared to what is out there already.

I hope that is helpful. Whatever you choose, good luck! Patrick

ParthSomayya:

Hello Patrick

I’m a 2020 Spring intake-MS Finance student at Stevens Institute.

I was going through various online courses available & recently joined the WSO community.

I am seeking a future in Investment Banking/Venture Capitalism & wanted your inputs on what course/package do you recommend?

Hi Parth!

If you are looking for specific guidance on how to land a job in IB, you are better off likely purchasing the IB interview course. The financial modeling courses are great to also help prep you for interviews, but they are obviously more focused on the actual skill developement (when the function of whether or not you can land an internship is still really much more of who you know = networking and your performance in the interviews).

Since TTS, WSP are considerably expensive & I can get the early discounted rates at WSO, I was wondering if WSO courses would cover all the necessary knowledge required to seek an internship over next summer & a potential job later? (especially since the course doesnt cover Accounting & PPT)

Yes, none of these "packages" include Accouting or Powerpoint as part of the modeling bundle, however, if you do decide to invest in one of these, I would push you to get one that has Excel as part of the main package since it is so foundational to make sure you are an expert in that program (no matter what finance career you follow).

I just want to confirm since I’m fairly new to this & want to ensure the correct path.

I believe that the Elite Modelling Package would be a good fit but since I’m just a semester through my degree, I wanted your input.

To be honest, given the IB/VC range of outcomes, I think you'd be much better served to try and figure out what you want because those two paths are VERY VERY different. While I think developing these skillsets is incredibly important to succeed on the job, given that you're coming from an MS Finance that I've never heard of, I'd say it's likely much more important you learn how to start meeting 10-20 people per week in these industries, now.

Thank You.

Take Care (Go Bananas!)

If you're already aggressively networking then you can ignore the advice above and yes, I think we'd be a great option for developing your financial modeling skills (just an FYI, there tends to be much less modeling in VC and we will likely be releasing a VC course in the next ~3-4 months as well).

Good luck with whatever you decide! Patrick

Thanks for the questions.

• Does it include IPO as an exit?The assumptions of a sale at exit in functionally very similar...either way shareholders are cashing out, so I'm not sure what additional value that brings the student to assume it is an IPO.

• does it include earnout optionality No, although we do plan on adding a discussion (and potetially modeling this out as part of our M&A Modeling course) with regard to earnouts. With other rare idiosnycracies, we had to balance length of the course with value. Adding a few additional hours to the course that can distract from the understandings of the core LBO we think could be detrimental. Students and IB professionals should understand earnouts and it may be something we add in as another bonus module, but for now given how long and how detailed the course already was, we decided it's a better fit for M&A.

• are there lessons on how to merge balance sheets for add-ons with the platform acq The bonus module with the add on acquisition have flexible toggles based on year, size of acquisition and models out a representative acquisition target which flows into the model in a waterfall structure (based on timing). The balance sheet impact treats it as an asset acquisition as a simplifying assumption since it doesn't make a difference for calculating returns. If you had a specific acquisition with all of the specific balance sheet data, you could replicate the equity purchase price accounting that was done at entry for the LBO (the goal of the roll-up bonus module was more to be able to toggle add-ons and show the impact of buying down your multiple on returns)...

• what about more idiosyncratic toggle features like convertible preferred debt, liquidation preference, warrants and equity co-invests. Will these be included in the model? Yes, we have a preferred stock + mezz stock structure (dilutive which we model out) with PIK toggles. There are endless numbers of other structures we could include...for example, we could we have a bonus modules showing the returns and sensitivities with a 2x liquidation preference on the senior debt or preferreds with a base/downside scenario-- I think this is great feedback and something we will strongly consider building out in additional bonus modules....that being said, the current course and what is included will really get you 99% of the knowledge base for a job in private equity.

Like all the WSO courses, we expect to continue investing to improve them over the years to help add more of these wrinkles. We will definitely keep everyone updated as more features are rolled out throughout the rest of this year!

Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for the question D.K.!

This is definitely on the product roadmap and will be released sometime in the next ~3-6 months. If we have a simple certificate of completion it is much easier to implement and something that we could add sooner (and may do that).

However, I think it is more valuable to have a respected certification alongside the financial modeling training packages that tests the students for modeling mastery with an actual proctor so that the "certification" is not just a simple multiple choice exam that someone can keep taking until they pass. (this is obviously a much bigger lift but one I think we can pull off with enough time and I think it's important enough to warrant the investment).

So short answer is yes, it's coming and will be part of the package.

Thanks! Patrick

Hi Aaron - thanks for the questions!

Did you run a pilot and do you mind sharing the experience/ comments from the test group. I understand that I can try the course myself and with the no questions asked return policy, i'm not risking a lot. But just wanted to hear the review in general.

Yes, on top of having multiple "co-instructors" and many of the relevant professionals in our mentor network review the courses in detail, we also ran a very extensive pilot with ~30 beta users going through all of the courses and telling us anything/everything they liked and *, more importantly,* anything they felt was missing or could make the courses better (we plan on doing this for ALL courses).

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive -- many raved about the clarity of instruction and the context the instructors were able to deliver (how things were used on the job)...that being said, they definitely helped us get the platform to the next level before launch including:

1. Close captioning across all lessons to make them more accessible [done]
2. Improved navigation with countdown + autostart at the end of each lesson [done]
3. Speed with pre-load caching system so that the next lesson loads lightening fast after one finishes (this is out for Chrome, coming soon for Safari as well) [done for chrome, coming for Safari]
4. Better lesson labeling for easier navigation [done]
5. Scroll anchoring on left lesson bar for easier navigation within lesson views [done]
....among other small things (all put together they do add up to a major UX improvement)

They also helped us validate the benefits of a lot of interactive exercises and our product roadmap. One of our main priorities in the next few month is to add a lot more short quizzes throughout the courses to just reinforce the learning objectives of each module. (as mentioned above, this is also the precursor to adding a more robust certification that actually means something)

Thanks again for the course and also your podcast rocks!!

Thanks for listening!
Patrick

Hi Mr. Rogers - thanks for the question. From my response above to FlyingKiwi...

We don't have an exact hour count because several are being recorded right now, but I would expect between ~45-55 hours across the 6 courses (so I'd budget ~70-100hrs to complete and review it properly unless you like watching at 1.5-2x speed which could bring it down).

I'd be careful just looking at total time though because (for example) our LBO modeling course is a similar length to the other courses out there but 1) some are very dated and 2) almost none of them are taught by a professional with private equity experience and thus you see there are some gaps (same issue with M&A course).

Some examples just for LBO include (but not limited to) 1. not showing how 2017 Tax reform should be modeled dynically into an LBO to account for the rule changes through 2023 (pretty major) 2. not showing how to model in dividend recaps dynamically so you can quickly toggle assumptions to different years 3. not including dynamic modeling lessons on add-on acquisitions or roll-up strategies which are fairly common nowadays to "buy down your multiple."... among others...

Also, the Valuation Modeling Course which is now ~90% uploaded into the LMS is by far the most robust Valuation modeling course on the market with a ton of comps spread and detailed discussions on very nuanced adjustments and the rationale behind each and every one (but I think it's not much longer time wise, even at 170+ lessons and counting!).

• the WSO Excel Modeling Course is included in the WSO Elite package whereas with other packages out there, there is a seperate "crash course" they charge extra for...

I hope that is helpful! Patrick

Hi Joshua! Thanks for the kind words.

1. No specific order, however, I think Excel and FSM would definitely be the first two, followed by Valuation + DCF since those are the more fundamental modeling and valuation courses. LBO and M&A are a bit more advanced so I'd do those last if possible.

2. ETA on M&A and DCF...I'd expect DCF+ M&A course to have videos in the LMS by end of August...That means final animations + post production work likely by mid/late Sept, but you should be able to dive in before end of August.

3. Valuation is up but we haven't announced it yet because there is still a lot of work going into it and the videos are still getting edited, coure materials still getting added, etc. No, you will not have to build your own -- specific to that, we'll make sure to get those course materials up by tomorrow EOD for the people that have started that one already.

Thanks, Patrick

Exciting new bonus announcement for the Elite package....

On top of the...

• 100+ hours of video content in the video library,
• the thousands of interview insights + salary datapoints you get access to (Company DB access)
• 2 years of pro support from actual industry pros with targeted expertise

We've released and packaged an additional 18 mini-courses that automatically get added to your Courses when you purchase the Elite package ($486 value alone)

On top of this, over the next few months you can also expect:

• 6 months free Macabacus account ($120 value)
• Major discounts to our mentor services
• More mini courses getting added for no additional cost

That being said...pricing is going to bump soon with all of these extra bonuses.

Any questions, fire away!

Patrick