Hosted by
Carl Seidman CPA | Microsoft MVP
The person Fortune 500s use for their financial leadership development programs

NEW · 26 Weeks · Cohort-based Course
Hosted by
Carl Seidman CPA | Microsoft MVP
Partial List of Current & Former Clients





Course Overview
FP&A mastery is the ability to make good, defensible judgments about finance-related decisions, even in the face of high stakes and ambiguity. Leaders who exemplify FP&A mastery skills work at amazing corporations and rapidly-growing entrepreneurial companies.
A common misconception around these finance skills is that they’re something you either have or you don’t and they take many years to attain.
…but that’s not true.
In reality, you can significantly improve your financial planning & analysis (FP&A) influence + critical and strategic thinking ability by reframing your mindset and mastering a handful of core skills: business modeling, financial analysis, empathy and partnership, and effective communication.
The best FP&A professionals don’t think like analysts. They think like advisors. They’re higher-level thinkers. They understand how their insights connect to what others care about. And they’re masterful communicators. They don’t refer to themselves as masters, but they’re always in pursuit of mastery.
People who level up their FP&A technical and non-technical ability tend to get selected for better projects that are more interesting and challenging than those their peers get assigned to. Directors know these exceptional people can handle it and shine. When they succeed, they’re more likely to get promotions, higher pay, and even more exciting opportunities. Work is far more enjoyable and less frustrating because they’re now more capable, confident, and positive. This leads to a more inspiring career and a fulfilling life.
Influence through finance is a skill that can be rapidly developed by changing how you think through learning, application, practice, and ongoing support. This isn’t wishful thinking. This is reality for those who are committed to their own growth.
In this practical course — full of examples, exercises, templates, models, discussions, and implementation — you will learn and apply the frameworks and techniques of high-performing corporate finance practitioners. We explore dozens of instances of financial models, Excel techniques, analyses, reports, and dashboards to assess what makes them exceptional (or not).
Everything is delivered live, with recordings available to rewatch later (or in some cases, prior cohort videos shared in advance if you’re eager to accelerate). Every hour we meet will challenge you to reflect about finance, modeling, empathy, and communication in ways that most finance people never do in their careers. You will be a live witness to your own transformation of environmental- and self-awareness, experiencing a complete augmentation of how you think.
Whether you learn best through live discussions, on-demand lectures, interactive exercises, real-life business cases and simulations, or peer-to-peer community, the FP&A Mastery Signature Program is a comprehensive hybrid (live AND go-at-your-pace) development experience. It’s the premier membership for financial professionals who want a clearer pathway and more experiential learning for their next level of growth.
It’s built for high-performing finance professionals like you.
* Registration in the FP&A Mastery Signature Program includes enrollment only in Track B. Attendees who sign up for both programs can receive a waiver code good for 25% of Track B.
If you are interested in Track A, please click the button below.
Individual courses will immerse you in the content of that single learning experience. The Signature Program gives you access to EVERYTHING across the full learning ecosystem:
Since 2013, Seidman Financial has delivered hundreds of financial programs, workshops, strategic advisory sessions, and LinkedIn Learning courses to over 145,000 FP&A professionals from 25+ industries worldwide. Companies that have enrolled financial analysts, managers, and directors include:
ABM Industries, Accordion, Allscripts, Capitol Broadcasting, CHEP, Choice Hotels, CIBC, Cigna, Cox Enterprises, Crawford & Company, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Discover, Energy Transfer, Erie Insurance, EVRAZ, Express Scripts, FS Investments, Genentech, Guy Carpenter, HCPI, Heartland Financial, HP Enterprise, Hormel, Hostess Brands, IGT, Marsh & McLennan, Merck, Michelin, NerdWallet, Outsystems, Rapid7, Rice University, Riveron, Santander, Sloan Valve, Sol Petroleum, Spotify, Telus, Triple-S, UBT, United Technologies, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Verizon, Walmart, and Workday.
The curriculum in the FP&A Mastery Signature Program has been a cornerstone of FP&A training and financial leadership development at dozens of Fortune 500s, mid-market companies, and small entrepreneurial businesses.
The FP&A Mastery Signature Program isn’t for everyone – it is for growth-focused finance professionals dedicated to reaching their next level of technical capability, communication, confidence, and success. They seek a higher level of enablement, empowerment, and assurance which can only be possible through longer-term commitment and community. The program is exclusively available to finance and accounting professions who meet the following criteria:
If you are eligible, tap into this community of like-minded high-achievers committed to your success. Immerse yourself in technical and non-technical development designed to change how you think and support you in reaching your next level of growth.
For companies with multiple attendees, group rates are available.
Seidman Financial is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.NASBARegistry.org.
Seidman Financial is a division of Seidman Global LLC.

Learn directly from Carl Seidman CPA | Microsoft MVP in a real-time, interactive format.

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Not ready to join?
Add your name to the waitlist for the FP&A Mastery Signature Program to learn more about upcoming dates!
Tues. Oct 21 | 1pm CST
📄 Problems with traditional budgeting (rigidity, political sandbagging, time lag)
📄 Annual budgets versus rolling forecasts
📄 Changing business rhythms and why dynamic forecasting wins
📄 How FP&A can lead the planning shift without alienating leadership
Fri. Oct 24 | 1pm CST
📄 Structuring assumptions in Excel for transparency and flexibility
📄 Identifying high-impact business drivers (volume, price, conversion, churn)
📄 Linking assumptions to revenue and expense line items
📄 Building budgeting and forecasts for the enablement of scenario analysis
Tues. Oct 28 | 1pm CST
📄 How sales and gross profit impact decisions about SG&A
📄 Budgeting and forecasting overhead expenses
Fri. Oct 31 | 1pm CST
📄 Why forecasts break down: lack of ownership and engagement
📄 Structuring cross-functional forecasting conversations
📄 Making models understandable and relatable to non-finance teams
📄 Collaborative planning tools and tips (without needing expensive software)
Tues. Nov 4 | 1pm CST
📄 Disaggregate SG&A into actionable components
📄 Distinguish between fixed, variable, and step-function costs
📄 Use driver-based techniques where possible
📄 Incorporate controllability and accountability
Fri. Nov 7 | 1pm CST
📄 How to set the forecast horizon (3-month, 6-month, 12-month, hybrid)
📄 Design choices: overwrite vs. layer on vs. rebuild
📄 Inputs and workflows: who provides what, and when
📄 Handling “actuals + forecast” views and continuous reforecasting
📄 Break for Capstone Business Case Completion
Tues. Nov 18 | 1pm CST
📄 Overview of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow story
📄 Identify financial signals in growth, margin, working capital, and CapEx
📄 Where is the business succeeding and where is it failing?
Fri. Nov 21 | 1pm CST
📄 Analyzing sales by channel, customer, SKU, and other criterion
📄 Model capacity, throughput, and utilization across production lines
📄 Structure COGS assumptions and analyze potential issues
📄 Bridge operations with financial outcomes using Excel-linked drivers
Tues. Dec 2 | 1pm CST
📄 Defining the purpose of FP&A in business partnering
📄 Linking strategy > KPIs > metrics > decision making
📄 Building summaries and dashboards for financial and non-financial performance
Fri. Dec 5 | 1pm CST
📄 How to select the right KPIs and objectives for business functions
📄 Financial vs. leading operational indicators (lagging vs. forward-looking)
📄 Techniques to track and update data and operating performance
Tues. Dec 9 | 1pm CST
📄 Structuring variance reports that tell the story
📄 Techniques for drilling down into sales, marketing ROI, hiring plans, etc.
📄 Communicating insights and recommendations to non-financial business partners
Thurs. Dec 11 | 1pm CST
📄 Synthesize the model into 3–5 high-impact recommendations
📄 Structure analysis for presentation to ops or executive teams
📄 Distill complexity into clear visuals and decision points
📄 Move from reactive finance to forward-operating business partner
📄 Break for Capstone Business Case Completion
Tues. Jan 13 | 1pm CST
📄 The accounts receivable accounting equation
📄 Analyzing the accounts receivable aging report
📄 Analyzing historical trends, terms, and anticipated receipts
📄 Data automation and rolling the receivables forecast
Fri. Jan 16 | 1pm CST
📄 Analyzing payroll schedules
📄 Analyzing the impact of different payroll cycles
📄 Contemplating raises and COLA adjustments
📄 Restructuring compensation
📄 Analyzing layoffs, severance, and related contingencies
📄 Integrating payroll into comprehensive cash flow models
Tues. Jan 20 | 1pm CST
📄 The accounts payable accounting equation
📄 Analyzing the accounts payable aging report
📄 Analyzing terms, critical relationships, and payment strategies
📄 Contemplating early-pay discounts and tradeoffs
📄 Contemplating early-pay discounts and tradeoffs
Fri. Jan 23 | 1pm CST
📄 Updating the Cash Flow Model for New Data
📄 Connecting Back-End Financial Data into the Cash Flow Model
📄 Overview of Data Mapping
📄 Introduction to Microsoft Power Query
Tues. Jan 27 | 1pm CST
📄 How a Long-Term Planning Model Differs from a Near-Term Cash Flow Model
📄 Excel Functionality for Seamless Integration Between Weekly and Monthly Forecast
📄 Connecting the Weekly Forecast to the Monthly Forecast
Fri. Jan 30 | 1pm CST
📄 Analyzing historical maintenance capex
📄 Planning for investment capex and major projects
📄 Scenario analysis for capex decisions and contingency planning
Tues. Feb 3 | 1pm CST
📄 Credit agreements and terms
📄 Integrating financing and amortization schedules
📄 Automating debt service
Fri. Feb 6 | 1pm CST
📄 Comprehensive scenario management
📄 Advanced concepts in cash flow forecasting and liquidity management
Tues. Feb 10 | 1pm CST
📄 Forecast-to-actual variances
📄 Forecast version to forecast version variances
📄 Interpreting variances and rolling the forecast
Fri. Feb 13 | 1pm CST
Items coming soon.
📄 Break for Capstone Business Case Completion
Tues. Mar 3 | 1pm CST
• Introduction to the program
• Survey responses to how FP&As spend their time
• Why many financial and data-rich presentations fail
📄 The misguided focus of finance professionals
📄 Human intelligence versus artificial intelligence
📄 What does effective communication in finance look like
📄 Effective vs. ineffective business communication
📄 Why financial presentations fall flat
Fri. Mar 6 | 1pm CST
• Tailoring approaches to financial topics
• Balancing technical jargon for clarity and impact
• Identifying the needs and knowledge level of the audience
• Incorporating audience objectives and feedback to refine the approach
📄 The flow of business communication
📄 Identifying the mandate and needs of the audience
📄 Gap analysis and bridging the gap
📄 Financial presentations begin before the presentation
📄 Evaluating Communication Styles
📄 Managing the message and the presentation
Tues. Mar 10 | 1pm CST
• Simplifying financial terms for broader understanding
• Incorporating strategies to maintain audience interest and attention
• Pre-planning to address audience concerns and viewpoints
• Using different discussion formats to connect with the audience
📄 Building rapport and credibility with financial and non-financial audiences
📄 Leveraging information flow and delivery methods to establish credibility
📄 Flow and intentional engagement of limited cognitive attention
📄 Simplicity, clarity and assessing what’s in it for them
Fri. Mar 13 | 1pm CST
• Choosing the most relevant and impactful data and insights for your narrative
• Building a coherent information flow from introduction to conclusion
• Emphasizing main points through clear data presentation
• Helping your audience understand implications of the data
📄 Managing the message and the presentation
📄 Visual overload, lack of clarity and purpose
📄 Managing time, conflicting agendas, and focal points
• Selecting the right visuals for data
• Ensuring clarity and readability in data visualization
• Techniques for impactful data presentation
• Balancing visuals with narrative
📄 Informative versus emotive visuals
📄 What makes visual displays confusing
📄 Dishonest and deceptive presentations
📄 Preparing support schedules and backup
Tues. Mar 17 | 1pm CST
• Establishing yourself as the credible authority in the room
• Maintaining control and respect in all interactions
• Addressing limitations and uncertainties in data
• Ensuring all information and statements are accurate and up-to-date
📄 Credibility versus relevance
📄 Connecting with financial and non-financial audiences through relevance
📄 6 elements of trust and rapport
Fri, Mar 20 | 1pm CST
📄 Characteristics of a strong PowerPoint presentation
📄 Visual consumption and cognitive synthesis
📄 Balancing visual with verbal deliveries
📄 Multitasking and audience distraction
📄 Memory retention
Tues. Mar 31 | 1pm CST
• Tailoring presentations for in-person vs. virtual settings
• Utilizing online platforms and the room effectively
• Managing technical aspects like audio-visuals and connectivity
• Timing the delivery for maximum impact and retention
📄 Differences between in-person and virtual presentations
📄 Effective room management for in-person and virtual settings
📄 Common mistakes in virtual meetings and presentations
• Strategies for maintaining composure and authority
• Adapting to unexpected questions or changes
• Quick problem-solving during presentation disruptions
• Techniques for managing disruptive behavior tactfully
📄 Managing audience personalities and politics
Fri. Apr 3 | 1pm CST
• Crafting a compelling story around financial data
• Making complex financial data relatable through intentional dialogue
• Breaking down intricate financial concepts
• Using business storytelling techniques to evoke interest and connection
📄 Data, statistics and storytelling
📄 Providing insights and providing the message
📄 Determining how much or little information to provide
📄 Presenting reports versus delivering presentations
✍️ Capstone Business Case
Carl is a go-to FP&A development facilitator for Fortune 500s, mid-market companies, and entrepreneurial businesses. He is a Microsoft MVP (1 of just 35 US-based Excel MVPs) and one of the preeminent trainers and facilitators in strategic finance and FP&A, with more than 13,000 participants attending his financial training programs, seminars, workshops, and masterminds. Notable clients include:
ABM Industries, Accordion, AlixPartners, Allscripts, Broadridge, CHEP, Choice Hotels, CIBC, Cigna, Cox Enterprises, Crawford & Company, Deloitte, Dexcom, Discover, Dominium, Express Scripts, EY, FS Investments, EVRAZ, Genentech, Healthpeak, Heartland Financial, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hostess, IGT, KPMG, Marsh & McLennan, Michelin, NerdWallet, Radisson, Rapid7, Sol Petroleum, Spotify, Triple-S, Telus, Santander, United Technologies (RTX), UBT, Verizon, Walmart, and Workday.
Carl is masterful at making the complex amazingly simple, engaging his audiences, building confidence, and facilitating a welcoming and transformative group experience. His content is rich and relatable, used in financial leadership development programs (FLDPs) at Fortune 500 companies, and is utilized or licensed by 7 of the top global financial training companies.
Carl serves as an Adjunct Professor in data analytics at the Jones School of Business at Rice University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) has earned other professional credentials including the CIRA, CFF, CFE, CGMA, AM (Accredited Member in Business Valuation), CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), Certified Anaplan Model Builder, and was a National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) 40 Under Forty honoree. He holds a BA in finance and economics and an MS in managerial accounting.
He’s been where you want to be and does the work you want to do.
Contact: info@seidmanfinancial.com
All sessions take place live. All sessions are recorded for future access, whether you miss a session or wish to revisit certain topics and discussions.
Because the FP&A Mastery Signature Program has a rolling curriculum, you may access recordings of prior live sessions.
Every live session is recorded so you can access it after it takes place.
Want to access to a live session and group discussion before it runs again? Get on-demand access to prior live cohort sessions any time you want.
Everything is at your fingertips.
Capstone projects are unveiled at the end of each course, at the conclusion of the final session. Attendees may attend office hours and are given 1 week to complete the project. Upon submission, attendees will receive coaching and feedback.
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
No problem. While you are encouraged to attend live sessions — as a great part of the experience is both the live-reveals and the participant interaction — all sessions are recorded and may be accessed on your own time.
The experience is intentionally spaced out — 2 days each week over many weeks — so you can work your schedule around it.
There may be occasional pre-work and post-session work but it is minimal.
Because all sessions are recorded, you can revisit topics and discussions on your own schedule.
It is not customary for us to receive requests for refunds. However, if you are dissatisfied with your experience, please reach out to our customer service team so we can ensure you receive the value you expect.
I offer more than a dozen training programs and immersive development experiences across a wide range of finance and accounting topics.
Here are the other programs I offer.
This program is designed for finance professionals who want the most comprehensive, connected experience, community, and results.
We meet live on Zoom for 2 hours, 2x per week.
Each session consists of 1-2 learning topics and modules. Each module ties into prior and future modules, so it is important to try to avoid missing classes or watched recordings.
The structure of the session begins with an intro, a tie-in to a real example, exercises, discussion, and reflections.
Prerequisites for the course include the following:
No, but I will offer you my promises.
Everyone who attends this experience will have different backgrounds and aspirations which means they have different business models or jobs.
My promise is to share with you my techniques, tools, and processes that will accelerate your finance career and make you far more confident in what you do
Yes. You get all of the template models, clean and completed.
Yes, it qualifies for 56.0 CPE credits.
Seidman Financial is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.
Most on-demand courses teach steps for plugging numbers into basic models. They don’t teach the nuances that you’re likely to encounter across a wide range of instances. And most course trainers don’t come from FP&A and CFO backgrounds.
According to alumni, this is the best FP&A course curriculum available.
While students can enroll in any course individually, the FP&A Mastery Signature Program is designed as the most comprehensive, high-value, learning experience in the FP&A space.
Students are encouraged to get the most complete experience versus enrolling in each course one at a time.
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