Course 001 / Beginner / Free
Finance Automation Foundations
A practical, control-first course for turning a recurring finance workflow into a reliable automated process.
Course brief
Automate the workflow—not just the clicks.
Start with one repetitive reporting process and redesign it as a clear pipeline: define the control, stabilize the input, automate the transformation, surface exceptions, and deliver an output people can trust. The course uses Excel and Python examples, but the operating method works across finance stacks.
// No account, payment, or email gate. Follow the modules in order and use your own non-sensitive sample data.
By the end
What you will be able to do
- 01
Choose an automation target using effort, frequency, risk, and decision value.
- 02
Map the workflow from source file to reviewed output before selecting a tool.
- 03
Build validation and exception handling into the process from the first version.
- 04
Create a small working pipeline and document a safe manual fallback.
Course workbook
Six modules from target to handoff
// Each module produces a small piece of your final automation operating note.
Choose the right workflow
Score one repetitive finance task by frequency, effort, control risk, and value to the final decision.
Map the control-first pipeline
Draw the source → validate → transform → reconcile → deliver sequence and name the owner of every exception.
Stabilize spreadsheet inputs
Create required fields, materiality thresholds, version checks, and a review-ready variance log.
Clean the extract with Python
Normalize a messy finance export, map account codes, test totals, and write an exception file.
Design the reconciliation
Define the controls that must pass before the result reaches a dashboard, pack, or stakeholder.
Ship, parallel-run, and document
Run the automated and manual paths together, record exceptions, and produce a one-page operating note for the next owner.
Before you begin
Prerequisites
- Comfort with spreadsheets and basic finance reporting
- No programming experience required for the first two modules
- Python with pandas is useful for the guided cleanup exercise
Start here