2 live days · Your work, in practice
Explain a financial change clearly.
Choose Intro to improve individual analysis and explanation tasks using supplied sample tables. You review the calculations and direct each prompt.
Make the numbers easier to trace and the decisions easier to prepare. Build from a checked variance explanation to proactive agents that maintain a reporting cycle, then coordinate a Factory of proactive finance AI agent teams around a management pack.
Finance must explain what changed, what the evidence supports and which assumptions drive the next decision. The course connects source data, calculations and commentary so that a polished report never outruns its numbers.
What you learn
Learn to prompt for variance commentary, check the numbers and explain a scenario with clear assumptions.
Your checked calculations and explicit assumptions become the foundation for Intensive, where you create proactive reporting agents and learn to hand suitable recurring work to a Dot. Hands-on Dots practice starts in Intensive.
The learning map
Work units by day
2 days of practical work for CFOs, controllers, FP&A teams, accountants and finance operations professionals. Every unit below has an output and a review point.
Your learning plan: these are the tasks you will practice. The time suggested for each task is a guide; your booking shows the confirmed class dates and start and end times.
Variance analysis · Source checks
Explain what changed
- 1.1Frame the financial question
- 1.2Calculate and explain a variance
- 1.3Prepare a reviewer’s brief
Scenario planning · Assumptions
Compare the choices behind a forecast
- 2.1Define the scenario drivers
- 2.2Compare the financial effects
- 2.3Write a decision-ready explanation
The work behind the map
Daily detail
Follow the work from its starting material to a result you can inspect. Each checkpoint gives you a reason to approve, revise or stop.
Intro
Days 1–2 · Tasks
Frame a useful first pass.
Direct one important task at a time. Give the prompt enough context, inspect the result and improve it before reuse.
Day 01Explain what changed
Use a sample profit-and-loss statement and budget to prepare one useful variance explanation. Keep the reporting period, units and calculation method visible.
- 1.1
Frame the financial question
Specify the reporting period, currency, units and decision the analysis should support. Identify the source tables and define what counts as a material variance for this exercise.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour in Full Course; 30 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- A financial task brief with source and materiality assumptions.
- 1.2
Calculate and explain a variance
Prompt an analysis of the selected lines, then independently check the arithmetic in the workbook. Separate a measured variance from a possible explanation that still needs evidence.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour 20 minutes in Full Course; 40 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- A reconciled variance table and draft commentary.
- 1.3
Prepare a reviewer’s brief
Write a concise summary of the main changes, their supported causes and outstanding questions. Attach source references and save the prompt for a comparable period.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour 40 minutes in Full Course; 50 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- A reviewed variance brief and reusable finance prompt.
By the end of the day
A financial explanation that a reviewer can trace back to the sample numbers.
Review checkpoint
Recompute material totals and percentage changes. Check period, currency and units before reviewing the narrative.
Day 02Compare the choices behind a forecast
Build one bounded scenario comparison. Show which assumptions change the result and which decisions the figures cannot make for you.
- 2.1
Define the scenario drivers
Choose a small set of sample revenue, cost or cash drivers. Record the base values, source and reason for changing each driver in the exercise.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour in Full Course; 30 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- A scenario brief and assumptions register.
- 2.2
Compare the financial effects
Prompt a comparison of the base case and two alternatives. Check the formulas and avoid presenting illustrative assumptions as a prediction.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour 20 minutes in Full Course; 40 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- A checked scenario table with driver sensitivities.
- 2.3
Write a decision-ready explanation
Explain the main tradeoffs, the evidence still needed and the limits of the comparison. Refine the prompt so the assumptions travel with the answer.
Suggested time for this task: 1 hour 40 minutes in Full Course; 50 minutes in Crash Course. Part of your class day, not extra time.- Practice result
- Practice explaining a scenario and refining the prompts used to analyze it.
By the end of the day
Practice analyzing variances, comparing scenarios and explaining the results clearly to management.
Review checkpoint
Check that each scenario is internally consistent and that commentary distinguishes a calculation from a forecast assumption.
Your time commitment
How long is each class day?
You attend 2 live classes, one on each scheduled day. Choose Full Course or Crash Course for all 2 days. The times below include breaks.
Full Course
6 hours per day
More time to practice, ask questions and review your work.
Suggested plan for one day
- Lessons and hands-on practice
- 4 hours
- Review and questions
- 30 minutes
- Lunch break
- 1 hour
- Two short breaks
- 15 minutes each
2 class days × 6 hours = 12 hours totalIncludes all scheduled breaks.
Crash Course
2 hours 30 minutes per day
The same topics in shorter classes, with prepared examples and less practice time.
Suggested plan for one day
- Lessons and hands-on practice
- 2 hours
- Review and questions
- 20 minutes
- One short break
- 10 minutes
2 class days × 2 hours 30 minutes = 5 hours totalIncludes all scheduled breaks.
Lunch, breaks and review time are already included in each day. The task times in Daily detail fit inside the practice time above. Your trainer may adjust the plan; the start and end times shown with your selected dates are the ones to follow.
Choose your starting point
One progression. Three choices.
Intro teaches individually directed prompts. Intensive puts recurring work into proactive agents. MasterCourse connects the whole pathway and adds the Factory Capstone.
Intro
Learn to prompt for variance commentary, check the numbers and explain a scenario with clear assumptions.
Choose Intro to improve individual analysis and explanation tasks using supplied sample tables. You review the calculations and direct each prompt.
Intensive
Learn to build and supervise data, reconciliation, variance, forecast and proactive reporting agents that process successive updates and route exceptions to a finance reviewer.
Choose Intensive when you can frame an analytical task and want proactive agents to execute recurring work within limits. The five days cover curriculum days 3–7.
Create and test proactive AI agents for reporting preparation. Name a role such as Reporting Watch, then hand suitable work to OpenAI Dots to revisit the reporting record at agreed intervals and prepare updates when accepted figures change. Choose one run or a continuing responsibility, with approved connections, agreed reports and a clear way to pause or retire the work.
MasterCourse
Learn to connect financial prompts, proactive reporting agents and a Factory of proactive AI agent teams for data, planning and management reporting, with finance approval before release.
Choose MasterCourse for the full ten-day pathway and exclusive three-day Capstone. Build a bounded management-reporting system with simulated reporting cycles.
Build a Factory of proactive AI agent teams for reporting preparation. Use a Dot to coordinate continuing work across their handoffs and return reconciliations, variance explanations and unresolved differences. Test changing inputs, blocked work and a later restart. Finance approves assumptions and release; preparation does not authorize payments, postings or trades.
Intensive is a five-day purchase, not a seven-day bundle. The three-day Capstone is available only inside the ten-day MasterCourse.
Live guidance · Continued reference
Come prepared. Keep what you learn.
Bring a computer, a reliable connection and a work example you are authorized to use. Sample or sanitized material lets you practice without introducing confidential source files.
Practice with guidance
Work through the assignments live, compare results and use trainer feedback to refine your prompts, proactive agent instructions and review standards.
Revisit your classes
Students have access to recordings of their classes in the members portal.
Specialist tools · Separate subscriptions
Tools serve the assignment.
Two specialist tools chosen for practical fit and an established learning ecosystem. Claude, OpenAI, Gemini and Open Source options support the prompt and proactive agent work. Specialist examples connect it to your field.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Research, analysis and document work in Microsoft 365; supported agent creation and workflows are listed.
Plan and access
Copilot Business $25.20/user/month on monthly subscription.A separate qualifying Microsoft 365 license is required. Advanced agent usage may be metered; do not imply every workflow is bundled.
Julius AI
Analyze supplied data, make charts and reports; paid plans expand credits and supported connectors.
Plan and access
Free plan; Plus $20/month or $16/month equivalent billed annually.Check relevant connector, scheduled-run and custom-agent allowances. Verify calculations against source data.
Do I need my own software access?
Yes. Arrange full access to the required features before class, including suitable paid plans, usage credits and organization permissions. Software costs are separate from tuition. Free access may not cover every exercise.
How these tools support your course
Intro · Tasks
Use Microsoft 365 Copilot and Julius AI examples to examine sample actuals, budgets and drivers. Recalculate material results and keep assumptions visible in the financial explanation.
Vendor information checked September 29, 2026. Plans and limits can change. Proactive Agents use supported connections or approved exported inputs; specialist subscriptions do not imply universal proactive agent integration. Human approval remains part of publishing, releasing work and professional decisions.
Before you choose
FAQ
Clear scope makes it easier to choose a course and arrive ready to work.
Which level should I choose?
Choose Intro to improve individual analysis and explanation tasks using supplied sample tables. You review the calculations and direct each prompt. Choose Intensive when you can frame an analytical task and want proactive agents to execute recurring work within limits. The five days cover curriculum days 3–7. Choose MasterCourse for the full ten-day pathway and exclusive three-day Capstone. Build a bounded management-reporting system with simulated reporting cycles.
What does Factory mean?
A Factory coordinates supervised teams of proactive AI agents around a shared outcome. Each AI agent team has a defined responsibility, a deliverable and an acceptance check for the next handoff. You control permissions, review exceptions and approve release. The MasterCourse-only Capstone tests continuing cycles as well as individual runs.
Are recordings available?
Yes. Students can access recordings of their classes in the members portal.
How long is each class, and how many days do I attend?
This Intro has 2 class days. Full Course lasts 6 hours each day, including lunch and two short breaks. Crash Course lasts 2 hours 30 minutes each day, including one short break. Choose one format for the whole course. Both cover the same topics; Full Course gives you more practice time. Check your selected dates for the exact start and end times in your time zone.
Which time zone will I see?
The class chooser detects your time zone automatically. Use Change time zone to select another location; the dates and hours update together.
Can Intro or Intensive tuition count toward MasterCourse?
The amount actually paid for Intro and/or Intensive can be credited once toward one MasterCourse enrollment within twelve months of each purchase. Intro and Intensive do not credit each other. No credit toward other programs, software or cash. Credit requests are reviewed against purchase records and eligibility; they are not an automatic checkout discount.
Full refund, transfer and credit policyWhat happens if I miss a day?
A missed day has a guaranteed place on the same curriculum day in a later cohort, free of charge, within twelve months of the original cohort's last scheduled day. After this window, new enrollment uses the then-published fee; day credits have no cash value and cannot buy a different curriculum day. An attended day may be repeated without charge within the same twelve-month window, subject to space. One free transfer of the whole seat or its unused days to a later cohort, in either published format, without a reason or a price increase, within twelve months of the original cohort’s last scheduled day. A day already consumed on one format is consumed on both; unused curriculum days are portable across dates and formats.
Full refund, transfer and credit policyWhat should I know before enrolling?
Full refund for a cancelled live program before its first scheduled session begins, including individual and group purchases and an approved MasterMind season. No refund after the purchased program starts, including dissatisfaction or absence, except for a session the provider fails to deliver. Statutory rights are unaffected. Partial attendance consumes the day under the published attendance rules. Read the full terms before choosing your class.
Full refund, transfer and credit policy