Accept the missionOne clear finance objective and a short completion target.
Learning path 01 · Student introduction
11 introductory sections live · designed for university students and applicantsFinance Foundations
Build the introductory finance knowledge expected of university students applying for Spring Weeks, internships and graduate roles. Learn how financial statements, cash flow, business performance, returns and valuation connect before progressing into specialist or analyst-level courses.
First 4 sections freeContinue with all courses for £35 per month · payments opening later
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Your route through the course
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Each mission combines concise teaching, visual deal mechanics and applied challenges. Clear the checkpoint to earn XP, preserve your streak and unlock the next level.
0 of 11 lessons passed · 0% complete0/225 course XP
Section 1 · 8 min · Free
Start mission What finance does and how the careers connect
Understand how finance connects providers and users of capital, and distinguish the adviser, lender and investor career paths.
Finance connects capital with opportunity.Intermediaries help capital move efficiently.Advisers, lenders and owners ask different questions.Most finance work still returns to three decisions.EBITDA is a profit measure—not cash in the bank.The job changes as responsibility increases.One company—three professional perspectives.Compare the whole career proposition—not one headline number.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 2 · 12 min · Free
LockedThe income statement and profitability
Move confidently from revenue to net income and interpret what margins, cost structure and accrual accounting reveal about a business.
Read from revenue to net income in the right order.Recognised revenue can create an asset or a liability.Cost structure determines how growth translates into profit.A 10% revenue increase can produce 20% EBITDA growth.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 3 · 13 min · Free
LockedThe balance sheet, invested capital and inventory
Read the balance-sheet snapshot, distinguish liquidity from solvency and understand how inventory and accounting choices affect invested capital.
Separate operating assets from financing claims.A solvent company can still face a liquidity problem.Inventory ties cash up before a sale occurs.Cost-flow assumptions change reported margins when prices move.Know the language before the checkpoint.
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Reward chest30 base XP milestone
Section 4 · 12 min · Free
LockedNet working capital and cash conversion
Calculate operating net working capital, explain why growth can consume cash and judge whether earnings are converting into cash.
An increase in NWC is usually a use of cash.Profitable growth can still consume cash.Calculate the £5m working-capital outflow.Challenge both weak and unusually strong cash conversion.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 5 · 14 min · Membership
LockedCash flow, earnings quality and how the statements link
Read the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and debt summary; then trace operating and financing movements across them.
Move from revenue to the bottom line in the right order.The balance sheet shows what the company controls and how it's funded.The cash flow statement reconciles opening cash to closing cash.A debt summary explains how each borrowing balance moves.Every operating decision leaves more than one footprint.Trace three movements without losing the accounting logic.£10m of net income becomes £4m of cash before financing.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 6 · 12 min · Membership
LockedBusiness models, growth and margins
Compare business models using revenue quality, growth, margins, unit economics, capital intensity and cash conversion.
A 20% gross margin has no meaning without context.Ask what growth costs and whether it can repeat.Choose the stronger 12% growth story.Know the language before the checkpoint.
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Reward chest60 base XP milestone
Section 7 · 12 min · Membership
LockedReturns and performance decomposition
Calculate ROE, ROA and introductory ROIC, then use DuPont analysis to distinguish operational improvement from leverage-driven returns.
ROE can be decomposed into three drivers.Decompose a 15% ROE.A higher ROE is not automatically better.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 8 · 12 min · Membership
LockedCapital allocation and financing choices
Evaluate reinvestment, acquisitions, debt repayment, dividends and buybacks using returns, resilience and strategic fit.
Debt and equity trade cost against flexibility and risk.Compare expected returns with the cost and risk of capital.Choose between growth and debt reduction.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 9 · 11 min · Membership
LockedEnterprise value and equity value
Distinguish the value of the operations from the value attributable to ordinary shareholders.
Enterprise value prices the operating business.Move from enterprise value to equity value.Match the numerator with the right denominator.A higher enterprise value needn’t mean higher equity value.Know the language before the checkpoint.
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Reward chest90 base XP milestone
Section 10 · 18 min · Membership
LockedValuation methods and DCF
Compare market-based valuation methods and build a DCF from forecast free cash flow through to enterprise value and equity value.
Match each value measure with a consistent profit measure.Public markets show how similar companies are priced today.Completed deals show what buyers paid for control.A DCF asks what future cash flows are worth today.The financial model supplies the DCF inputs.Use unlevered free cash flow for an enterprise-value DCF.WACC blends the required returns of debt and equity.Convert each forecast cash flow into present value.Estimate the value beyond the explicit forecast period.The DCF produces enterprise value before equity value.A DCF is a range controlled by assumptions—not a precise answer.DCF works best when cash flow can be forecast with credibility.Reconcile the methods rather than averaging them mechanically.Know the language before the checkpoint.
Section 11 · 14 min · Membership
LockedApplied company comparison and cumulative assessment
Combine growth, margins, cash conversion, leverage, returns and valuation into a concise investment or financing recommendation.
Investors require compensation for risk and time.Higher required returns reduce present value.Priority shapes expected return.Price is the output of assumptions.The faster grower is not automatically the better business.A strong conclusion states the decision, reasons and conditions.Know the language before the checkpoint.
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Free preview: complete Sections 1–4 at no charge. Membership unlocks Sections 5–11 and the wider course catalogue for £35 per month.