Data Analysis Courses for Finance Professionals

Written by CFI Team

Reviewed by Jeff Schmidt

Read Time 9 minutes

There are many different components and job positions in the field of finance. One growing component in the world of finance is data analysis or data analytics. Because data analysis has a major role in the finance industry, individuals who are interested in a career in finance should look into taking a data analysis course.

What is Data Analysis?

Data analysis is the process of analyzing data to get information. Because of the continuous advances in technology, many data analytics techniques and processes are now automated. This means that a combination of algorithms and mechanical processes are immediately gathering and analyzing financial data instead of human beings. This is a good thing though, as automation in finance often leads to a quicker turnaround and fewer errors in work.

With the help of data analytics, finance professionals can now more quickly and accurately identify key findings in data, create reports from those findings, and forecast financial investment opportunities and business decisions.

The Rising Importance of Data Analytics in Finance

Because data analytics can help companies make better and more informed business decisions, more and more finance companies around the world are incorporating data analysis into their processes. For example, many finance companies now use data analytics to help improve internal operations.

Finance companies also now use data analysis to better understand the habits of their customers. They do this by extracting information from data on the financial habits of their customers, along with their past abilities to handle risks.

Finance companies now even use data analytics to quickly gather and analyze information from data that will help them forecast any possible future financial issues or business opportunities. Additional key indicators of business success that finance companies are using data analytics to gain information on include revenue generation, cash flow, net income, and payroll costs.

Data Analysis Courses for Financial Professionals

Because of the rise of data analysis in the world of finance, many finance professionals are now taking courses to help improve their data analysis skills. Some reputable online data analysis courses for finance professionals are outlined below:

1. Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program

The Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program is technically a compiled series of eight courses. These eight courses include: “Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere,” “Ask Questions to Make Data-Driven Decisions,” Prepare Data for Exploration,” “Process Data from Dirty to Clean,” “Analyze Data to Answer Questions,” “Share Data Through the Art of Visualization,” “Data Analysis with R Programming,” and “Google Data Analytics Capstone: Complete a Case Study.”

Together, these eight courses give people a better understanding of the life of a data analyst. Each data analysis course in this program also helps to teach individuals how to clean and organize data for analysis. Furthermore, students of the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program learn how to use spreadsheets along with SQL and R programming to conduct analysis.

In addition, this data analytics certificate teaches individuals how to use analytical skills such as data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. People enrolled in this data analysis course also learn everything there is to know about online data tools, such as spreadsheets, SQL, R Programming, and Tableau. This program will even teach you how to present data findings.

Anyone of any data analysis skill level can take the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program. Receiving such a certification can help qualify finance professionals for jobs as data analysts, junior data analysts, and associate data analysts.

2. Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program

The Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate course program is similar to the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Program, except taken to the next level. As a result, this Google data analytics certificate is for people who are more advanced in their data analytics skills.

The Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate program is technically made out of seven courses. These courses include: “Foundations of Data Science,” “Get Started with Python,” “Go Beyond the Numbers: Translate Data into Insights,” “The Power of Statistics,” “Regression Analysis: Simplify Complex Data Relationships,” “The Nuts and Bolts of Machine Learning,” and “Google Advanced Data Analytics Capstone.”

These seven courses combined teach individuals how to explore the roles of data professionals and communicate data analysis insights to stakeholders. Together these courses also teach people how to build regression and machine learning models and how to create data visualizations and apply them to statistical methods to investigate data. This certification can help qualify you for a job as a data analyst, junior data scientist, or data science analyst.

3. IBM Introduction to Data Analytics

Individuals who are just starting to learn about data analytics may want to look into taking the IBM Introduction to Data Analytics course. This data analytics course teaches individuals about what exactly data analytics is, the steps one must go through to complete the data analysis process, and different aspects of the data analysis process.

The IBM Introduction to Data Analytics course also teaches new finance professionals about the different types of data structures, file formats, and sources of data. In addition, this course teaches individuals about different data roles. Examples of such data roles include data engineer, data analyst, data scientist, business analyst, and business intelligence analyst. As an introductory data analytics course, the virtual IBM Introduction to Data Analytics class is for people who are at a beginner skill level when it comes to data analysis.

4. IBM: Data Analytics Basics for Everyone

Another beginner skill-level course on data analytics is the IBM: Data Analytics Basics for Everyone course. This data analysis course teaches finance professionals about the fundamentals of data analytics. It also teaches finance professionals about the data ecosystem along with the process and lifecycle of data analytics.

By the time a person finishes this course, he or she will be able to describe different types of data structures, file formats, and sources of data. Students of this course will also be able to explain the use of different types of data repositories and Big Data platforms, along with the ETL process.

Another skill that you’ll gain from taking this course is the ability to describe the process and tools for gathering data, wrangling data, mining and analyzing data, and visualizing data. To help aspiring finance professionals start their careers, the IBM Data Analytics Basics for Everyone course even teaches its students about all the different data roles and career opportunities in data analysis that one can apply the skills that they gain from this course towards obtaining.

5. IBM: Analyzing Data with Excel

The IBM Analyzing Data with Excel course teaches finance professionals how to use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to perform basic data analysis. This data analysis course is also great for individuals who simply want to learn about the key concepts of Microsoft Excel and how Excel works.

For example, throughout this data analysis course, you’ll learn how to perform basic spreadsheet tasks, import file data into Excel, clean, prepare, filter, and sort data in Excel, and analyze data using an Excel spreadsheet. You’ll also learn about the fundamentals of spreadsheet applications and the importance of data quality. Once again, this IBM course is great for people who are at a beginner skill level when it comes to data analysis.

6. CFI: Data Analysis in Excel Certificate Program

Taking this CFI certificate program is another great way to learn how to analyze data in Excel. The CFI Data Analysis in Excel Certificate Program is a compiled series of five courses. These five courses include: “Fundamentals of Data Analysis in Excel,” “Fundamentals of Data Analysis in Excel – Case Study,” “Power Query Fundamentals,” “Power Query Fundamentals Case Study,” and “Power Pivot Fundamentals.”

The CFI Data Analysis in Excel Certificate Program provides finance professionals with the skills that they need to create data models and visuals that can lead to actionable business insights. This certification program also helps finance professionals master using Excel to conduct data analysis.

One more benefit of enrolling in the CFI Data Analysis in Excel Certificate Program is that the certification will provide visual evidence of your Excel data analysis skills. This will help you more easily further your finance career.

CFI: Data Analysis in Excel Certificate Program

7. HarvardX: Introduction to Data Science with Python

This Harvard University-sponsored Introduction to Data Science with Python course teaches individuals about the foundation of data science and machine learning. This data analysis course specifically teaches about data analysis through the high-level general programming language Python.

Finance professionals who take this course will practice Python programming and coding for modeling, statistics, and storytelling. They will also practice using Python to solve real data science challenges.

In addition, individuals who will take this course will run basic machine learning models using Python, evaluate how those models are performing, and apply those models to real-world problems. Through these actions, individuals who take this course will learn how to use popular libraries such as Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, and SKLearn.

8. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: Python and Statistics for Financial Analysis

One of the other data analytics courses that finance professionals can take to further their data analysis and Python-using skills is the Python and Statistics for Financial Analysis course from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Throughout this course, finance professionals must learn how to visualize stock data.

While taking this course, individuals will also learn about random variables and distribution, sampling and inference, and linear regression models for financial analysis. This data analysis course is for people with an intermediate data analysis skill level.

9. University of Colorado Boulder: Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms Specialization

This data analysis program on the foundations of data structures and algorithms specialization from the University of Colorado Boulder is a series of five compiled courses. These five courses include: “Algorithms for Searching, Sorting, and Indexing,” “Trees and Graphics: Basics,” “Dynamic Programming, Greedy Algorithms,” “Approximation Algorithms and Linear Programming,” and “Advanced Data Structures, RSA and Quantum Algorithms.”

This data analysis course program teaches people how to efficiently organize, store, and process data using data structures and algorithms. It also teaches individuals how to design algorithms and analyze their running time and space usage. The University of Colorado Boulder course on Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms Specialization even teaches people how to create applications with the support of algorithms and data structures.

10. CFI: Business Intelligence and Data Analyst (BIDA) Certificate Program

The CFI Business Intelligence and Data Analyst (BIDA) Certification Program is the perfect course certification program to take if you want to further your data analysis career. This is because this data analysis course teaches you everything that you need to know about business intelligence and data science, including data storage, collection, transformation, analysis, modeling, and visualization. This course certification program also teaches you about the most popular business intelligence tools and programming languages.

Additional things that you’ll learn about if you take the CFI BIDA course include data automation, coding, predictive analysis, and statistics. Through all of the skills and information that you’ll gain from the CFI BIDA course, you’ll be able to conduct real-world case studies and data sets.

CFI: Business Intelligence and Data Analyst (BIDA) Certificate Program

Choosing the Right Data Analysis Course

There are many challenges that can arise when deciding on which data analysis course to take. One, most of these data analysis courses cost money. Therefore, you must consider if you even have the funds to pay for the data analysis course that you want to take. Two, each data analysis course requires time and dedication to complete. Therefore, if you know that you don’t currently have the time that a particular data analysis course requires, hold off on taking the course for now.

Prior to committing to a data analysis course, you should also consider if the course will help you achieve the particular career goals that you have set for yourself, as different finance and data analysis jobs may require different skills. You should also consider if there are other educational qualifications that you should first focus on to achieve your career goals.

Also, before committing a massive amount of time and money towards a data analysis course, consider if you even have the mathematical capabilities to be successful in a finance and data analysis role. If, after considering all these things, you’re still confident that a particular data analysis course is for you, go ahead and enroll.

Enroll in a Data Analysis Course Today

Ultimately, taking a data analysis course can only help your career as a finance professional. So, once you’ve decided on which data analysis course is the right one for you, enroll with confidence. This could be the course that takes your career to the next level and changes your life.

If you’re interested in learning more about data analysis but don’t think you’re ready to enroll in a data analysis course, there are other resources available that you can learn from. For example, CFI offers various educational data science resources. Educating yourself on data science through such resources can help you better understand and analyze data.

CFI also offers various resources to help you better understand how to use Excel. Because Excel is a common tool used to analyze data, capitalizing on such resources can also help you become better at analyzing data.

At the end of the day, finance and data analysis jobs are in high demand. Therefore, whether you plan to enroll in a data analysis course or further educate yourself through other finance resources, you are taking a step towards furthering your career.