Financial Modeling for Decision Makers

Financial Modeling for Decision Makers is a 5-day senior-level financial modelling course delivered by Mars Training Centre UK in Europe, the Gulf and North America — London, New York, Dubai, Amsterdam and Istanbul — designed for finance directors, FP&A leaders, corporate development professionals, and senior analysts whose models support real executive decisions.

The financial model is the central artefact of most senior decisions: acquisitions, capital projects, refinancing, restructuring, and the annual plan. The quality of the model determines the quality of the decision. Yet many models in use today are fragile, opaque, and indefensible under stress. The leaders whose models are clean, transparent, and properly stress-tested make sharper decisions and lose far less time to rework.

Across five focused days, you will work through model design principles, the integrated three-statement model, valuation models, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and the practice that separates a robust model from a fragile one. The cases are drawn from corporate transactions in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East, and the work is delivered by senior practitioners with modelling experience in corporate finance.

What You Will Learn

• Design financial models using disciplined and auditable structures.
• Build a fully integrated three-statement model from a blank workbook.
• Apply best-practice formatting, naming, and version-control conventions.
• Build robust scenario, sensitivity, and break-even analyses.
• Construct a discounted cash flow valuation model.
• Build a leveraged buyout and an accretion-dilution model.
• Stress-test models for downside cases and structural breaks.
• Identify and remediate common model errors and fragilities.
• Communicate model outputs to non-finance executives.
• Lead a financial modelling project from brief to decision.

How You Will Benefit

You will leave with a disciplined modelling toolkit and a Mars Certificate of Completion.

Your organisation will gain a senior finance professional whose models are auditable, whose recommendations are defensible, and whose modelling work supports better decisions on capital allocation, investment, and corporate transactions.

Who This Programme Is For

This programme is designed for senior professionals whose work involves financial models, including:

• Finance Directors and Heads of FP&A
• Corporate Development and Investment Directors
• Senior Investment and Equity Research Analysts
• Senior Transaction Services and M&A Advisory professionals
• Senior Project Finance and Infrastructure Professionals
• Senior Treasury and Banking Relationship Managers
• Senior consultants supporting executive decisions

The seniority floor is senior manager and above. The programme is delivered in person over five consecutive days, with a Mars Certificate of Completion awarded on the final day.