*Note: The date for Part 2 of this series has been moved to Friday, March 13.

Financial professionals are frequently tasked with creating effective models that are accurate and dynamic. The power of a financial model comes from the ability to change the inputs and analyze the impact on outputs — factors that can benefit significantly from the greater data processing scale and deeper analytics offered by artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT.

This three-part course, offered in partnership with the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), will equip finance practitioners in the foodservice equipment and supplies industry with the knowledge and skills needed to implement best practices for financial modeling, lead in analytics, harness AI technologies, and drive sustainable organizational change. Once they’ve mastered the tools and techniques, the course will guide participants on how to put their newfound expertise into action to build from-scratch financial models that produce baseline and dynamic outputs in response to changes in real-world scenarios.

Available at no cost to FEDA members. Individuals who participate in the live webinar may earn 2.4 CPE credits for each session.

Learning Objectives:
• Streamline workflows using modern Excel features to process and analyze financial data.
• Apply AI tools to generate formulas, debug models, and enhance productivity across financial planning and analysis tasks.
• Build advanced financial models incorporating sensitivity, scenario, optimization, and simulation techniques.
• Critically evaluate AI-driven recommendations within financial forecasting, planning, and performance management contexts.
• Design and present insights through interactive dashboards, PivotTables, and AI-assisted visualizations tailored to decision-makers.
• Automate and extend Excel using macros, AI-generated Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and Python integration for large-scale financial analysis.
• Translate data and AI insights into actionable strategies that advance organizational goals and long-term value creation.