What's New at CFI | Excel Skills for Professionals Specialization
Excel is the universal language of finance and the critical foundation that new technologies, including AI, build upon. But how do you go from simply "knowing" Excel to thinking fluently in it, maximizing your efficiency and impact?In this episode of What's New at CFI on FinPod, we introduce the Excel Skills for Professionals Specialization, a new learning journey designed to make you an Excel master.This specialization combines five practical, hands-on courses that are highly relevant for any professional. Whether you work in finance, accounting, or data analytics.This episode covers:Why Excel is More Important Than Ever: Tim Vipond explains why, even in the age of AI, Excel remains the ultimate "blank canvas" for analysts to brainstorm, structure logic, generate insights, and create value.Who This Specialization is For: Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced professional looking to abandon the mouse and improve efficiency, this journey takes you from ground zero to advanced dashboards.Practical, Mission-Driven Learning: Duncan McKeen details CFI's unique approach: learning skills in the context of a larger goal (like building a cohesive dashboard), ensuring every formula and function learned is immediately relevant to your job.The Learning Sequence: We walk you through the five courses that build your skills step-by-step: from interface and fundamental formulas, through cleaning messy data and advanced visualization techniques.The Confidence Boost: Mastering Excel through practice is the fastest way to career growth. Discover how this specialization can transform a stressed analyst into a confident value creator who can efficiently turn around complex analyses in minutes.
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Corporate Finance Explained | The Rise of Corporate Venture Capital: How Companies Invest Like VCs
Your company is launching its own corporate venture capital (CVC) fund. Suddenly, traditional financial models don't apply. Corporate Venture Capital is a unique, high-variance asset class that demands a new strategic mindset from finance professionals.In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we unpack Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), exploring its dual motive (strategic innovation vs. financial return) and revealing the practical frameworks needed to manage this hybrid investment effectively.This episode covers:CVC: Buying Optionality: Why large companies use CVC as a lightweight alternative to M&A or internal R&D, acting as an early option on future acquisitions and managing innovation risk.Defining Success: How major CVC arms (like Salesforce Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, and Intel Capital) track value using strategic KPIs (e.g., Partnership ARR Uplift, Azure Adoption) that go beyond standard IRR.The Strategic Playbooks: Analysis of different CVC models: the Ecosystem Expansion approach, the Innovation Hedge strategy (de-risking R&D), and the pure Portfolio Focus.The CVC Financial Toolkit: We detail six essential frameworks for corporate finance teams, including building flexible return models (budgeting for high write-off rates), managing complex capital structures (convertible notes), and implementing governance for high-risk assets.The Translator Role: How finance professionals must bridge the gap between innovation teams and traditional financial rigor, articulating why a high-risk bet makes sense for both the strategic story and the balance sheet.
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Member Spotlight | Alexandra McLaren
On this episode of CFI Member Spotlight on FinPod, we are thrilled to host Alexandra McLaren, a Manager at EY Parthenon specializing in M&A transaction diligence and business valuations. Alex's background is truly unique, combining a rare dual qualification as a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Stellenbosch, alongside her CFI FMVA® and FPWM™ certifications.Alex shares her journey from academic trainee and outsourced CFO to advising on complex transactions at a top global firm.This episode covers:The Dual Degree Advantage: Alex explains why combining Accounting and Law (LLB) gives her a unique perspective on finance, training her to question assumptions and build sound arguments—skills vital for due diligence.Life as an Outsourced CFO: Insights into the rewards and challenges of working with early-stage startups, helping entrepreneurs build financial rigor and accounting processes from the ground up.From Startup to Strategy: How her hands-on experience with fast-moving small clients prepared her for the high-stakes, highly structured world of EY Parthenon and made her comfortable joining client meetings with high-level executives.The Dream Job: Alex details her unexpected move into Transaction Diligence and Valuation, describing the day-to-day life of analyzing income statements, balance sheets, and building the assumptions that inform final valuations.The Value of Continuous Learning: Why Alex pursues additional education like the FMVA® and FPWM™, finding they are essential not just for technical knowledge, but for presenting analysis in a clear, understandable, and efficient way (Excel shortcuts included!).Alex's story is a compelling example of how a varied educational background and a commitment to professional development can pave the way to a dream career in high finance.
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Corporate Finance Explained | The Finance Behind Mega Acquisitions
FinPod: The Billion Dollar Question: How Corporations Pay for Massive Acquisitions (M&A Financing)When a Fortune 100 company buys another for tens of billions, how does the finance team actually structure the payment? It's the central strategic decision that determines a company's risk, flexibility, and future.In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down the complex toolkit used for mega M&A Financing, providing a shortcut to understanding the mechanics behind the biggest headlines.This episode covers:The Basic Building Blocks: The core trade-offs of the three main payment methods: Cash (certainty vs. drained reserves), Stock (saves cash vs. dilution), and Debt (amplifies returns vs. increased leverage).The Advanced Toolkit: Specialized financing methods, including Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Bridge Financing for speed, and Syndicated Loans for distributing massive risk across multiple banks (as seen in the Microsoft/Activision deal).Strategy in Action: We analyze the tailored financing mix of major deals: Microsoft's cash and debt strategy to avoid dilution, Disney's stock/cash balance to protect its credit rating, and Amazon's all-cash approach for speed with Whole Foods.The Critical Checkpoints: The toughest challenge, modeling reality. We discuss how analysts value deals using DCF, stress-test synergies, and what happens when optimism fails (Kraft Heinz).The Resilience Framework: Five key strategic questions every CFO must ask to engineer a capital structure that is robust, aligning the financing's term and structure with the assets being acquired.
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What's New at CFI | Communication and Presentation Skills for Finance Professionals
FinPod: Communication & Presentation Skills for Finance | Why Soft Skills are Your Career AcceleratorTechnical skills are essential, but if you can't communicate your financial insights clearly and confidently, they have zero impact. This new course, Communication and Presentation Skills for Finance Professionals, is designed to bridge that gap.Join us as we discuss why these "soft skills" are actually your biggest career accelerator in finance, often setting the most successful professionals apart from their peers.This episode covers:Why This Course Was Built: We reveal why strong communication skills, not just technical aptitude, are critical for building trust, improving client relationships, and accelerating your career trajectory (often faster than technical skills alone).What You Will Gain: Learn the power of active listening, how to identify your communication style (passive, aggressive, or assertive), and gain practical tips to adapt your approach to be more effective.The Investment Banking Lesson: Hear why the most successful Managing Directors are not just technical experts, but are highly likable and effective communicators who build strong relationships with clients and teams.Unique Course Features: Get a preview of the course format, including diagnostic exercises to identify your style, real-world video examples of strong and poor communication, and step-by-step frameworks for structuring impactful presentations.Stop sitting at your desk waiting for your work to speak for itself. This course provides you with the tools to communicate with confidence and clarity, enabling you to make the impact you want in your career.
Advance your career with the FinPod podcast from CFI. Dive into career stories and member successes, and stay ahead with insights from our latest courses. Get all the essentials for a successful career in finance without any fluff—just the facts you need to excel in your professional journey.
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