Financial Analysis Knowledge Base -- Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Overview: What is the Knowledge Base - Technical Requirments
Getting Started: How do I Get the Knowledge Base - Student Discounts - How to Login - Multiple Licenses
About the Knowledge Base: Level I & Level II - Certification - Model Submission - What Software do I Need
Using the Knowledge Base: Trouble with Login - Using Excel with the KB - Table of Contents - PDFs -
Another User - Screenshots - Glossary - Feedback
Index of Resources: List of Resources
What is the Knowledge Base?
The Knowledge Base is an online training program for financial analysis and Excel modeling featuring more than 1,000 pages of content and interactive model-building exercises.
Co-authored by a team of former investment bankers and Wharton professor Robert Holthausen, the Knowledge Base bridges the gap between the corporate finance taught in textbooks and the spreadsheet-intensive financial modeling practiced in the real world.
The program has been used to train thousands of newly hired financiers at top-tier firms such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns and has become an industry standard on Wall Street.
Click here for more detailed information on The Knowledge Base’s features.
What are the Technical Requirements for the Knowledge Base?
Machine
· Internet connectivity
Software
· PC: Windows NT 4.0 SP 3+ or Windows 98, 2000, or XP; Macintosh (using Internet Explorer)
· Internet Explorer 4 or higher
Getting Started
How do I get The Knowledge Base?
The Knowledge Base is offered on a 3 or 6 month subscription basis or you can purchase a lifetime package. Level I and Level II are sold separately or as a discounted package. Click here to see a full range of our different knowledge base packages. If you have difficulty purchasing The Knowledge Base please contact our support team.
Can I get a Student Discount for the Knowledge Base?
If you are currently enrolled as a student, you can click here to get an e-mail sent to your .edu or .ac e-mail address with the Knowledge Base student pricing information. If you are a student but don’t have access to a student e-mail address, please contact our sales team for assistance.
How do I log in to the Knowledge Base?
To log in, go to www.dealmaven.com and under “Learning” find the red button that says “Log In”. Then enter the username and password DealMaven sent to your e-mail address when you originally subscribed to the Knowledge Base.
How can I purchase multiple Knowledge Base Licenses?
Please contact our sales team for inquires regarding the purchase of multiple licenses. You may be eligible for special volume discounts.
About the Knowledge Base
What’s the difference between Level I and Level II of the Knowledge Base?
Level I of the Knowledge Base begins with ‘Understanding the Basics’ of financial analysis concepts and then delves deeply into building a full financial model from scratch using Microsoft Excel. To view the full Level I curriculum, click here.
Level II of the Knowledge Base is more advanced and focuses on transaction analysis through the study of leveraged buyouts. To view the full Level II curriculum, click here.
What kind of certification can I obtain through the Knowledge Base?
DealMaven offers Certification in Applied Financial Modeling (Level I) and Advanced Financial Modeling (Level II). The Certification in Advanced Financial Modeling serves as a mark of distinction for financial professionals both on Wall Street and around the world.
The Level I Knowledge Base is good for 47.5 Continuing Professional Education credit hours. Level II Certification counts for 21.5 CPE credits.
To learn more about Level I certification, click here
To learn more about Level II certification, click here.
How many times can I submit by case model for certification?
For information on the rules regarding Knowledge Base Certification Submission, please read the Knowledge Base Certification Submission & Scoring Rules section of the Knowledge Base Terms of Use.
What software do I get as part of my Knowledge Base subscription?
With the purchase of Level I of the Knowledge Base you will receive FastTrack for Excel for the duration of your subscription. With Level II of the Knowledge Base, you will receive the Modeling ToolPack for the duration of your subscription.
Using the Knowledge Base
I am trying to login to the Knowledge Base, but it says “The username and/or password cannot be validated, or your account is locked out or has not been approved yet.” and I cannot gain access. What should I do?
The most common cause of this error is that you are not using the right password or you may have simply forgotten your password. This is not unusual and there is a link supplied on the Knowledge Base "Log In" page that allows you to enter your user name and have the password sent to the e-mail account that DealMaven was provided with when your account was set up.
When you receive this e-mail or log in the first time, you will be prompted to change your password the next time you attempt to log in to the Knowledge Base. You can also change your password from the "Change Password" button once logged into the Knowledge Base. If you receive a password and still cannot gain access, you may have been temporarily deactivated if your license period has expired. If you cannot log in using the password you receive via e-mail, then please contact our support team for assistance.
How do I use Excel along with the Knowledge Base?
You will be instructed from the material in the Financial Analysis Knowledge Base when to use Excel and FastTrack. If FastTrack has been properly installed, you can locate it by first opening Excel and clicking on the FastTrack menu. From the ‘FastTrackàDM Tutorial’ menu item you will have access to all the "synchronized" spreadsheets that correspond to the various stages of the model-building process in the Knowledge Base.
I am having trouble working in Excel alongside the Knowledge Base. How can I best set this up?
To work along side the Knowledge Base in Excel, resize your Excel window by running the Restore Training Window macro (by default you can run this by pressing Ctrl+O). This will resize Excel to the same size as the Excel animations found in the Knowledge Base.
To adjust your video resolution, click on the Windows Start button in the bottom left corner of your screen and select the ‘Control Panel’ option. Inside the ‘Control Panel’ folder, click on ‘Display’ then the ‘Settings’ tab. Change the video resolution to a minimum setting of 1024 x 768. This resolution will allow you to place the resized Excel next to the animated Excel screen shots in the Knowledge Base. To obtain additional space to work alongside the Knowledge Base, hide the Table of Contents (TOC) by dragging the side of the TOC with your mouse to the left.
Why are links and/or Table of Contents not working correctly in the Knowledge Base?
To properly view the Knowledge Base you must be using Internet Explorer 4 or higher. Currently, DealMaven only supports Internet Explorer for use with the Knowledge Base.
Some words in the Table of Contents are cut off. How can I see the whole thing?
To enlarge the frame, simply place your mouse over the right edge of the table of contents. You should see a double arrow. Then, click and drag the frame to the right and you should now be able to see everything.
I cannot view the PDF (Adobe Acrobat) documents from the website. What is wrong?
You need the Adobe Acrobat plug-in to view the PDF files. This can be obtained by going to Adobe’s Acrobat Reader Download Page or by contacting your network support group.
I was logged in and using the Knowledge Base and received the message that another user may have logged in with my user information. What action should I take?
This error message is the result of another user (the offending user) accessing your account. If this happens, immediately log back in. The Knowledge Base website will ask you to change your password. Please choose a new password so the offending user cannot log back in again. After you have changed your password, the offending user will no longer be able to access the Knowledge Base using your login credentials.
The Excel screenshots are not animated for me. Why?
Not all of the screenshots are animated, but many are. If you cannot view the animation and have Internet Explorer 4.x or higher, select the View | Internet Options... menu option. On the Advanced tab, under the Multimedia category tab, select "Play Animations". The animations should be visible after you approve this change. The Knowledge Base will work properly only with Internet Explorer. DealMaven does not support any other browser at this time.
I can’t find the term I’m looking for in the glossary, what should I do?
Please contact our support team to let us know and we will add the requested term as soon as possible.
Where Can I submit feedback about the Knowledge Base?
Under the Table of Contents, go to “Supplemental Materials” and select “Submitting Knowledge Base Feedback”, or click here.
Index of Resources
The Knowledge Base Product Page: Learn about The Knowledge Base, view demonstrations of the product’s key features and concepts, read testimonials, and purchase the product from this web page.
About the Knowledge Base PDF: A comprehensive PDF detailing all the features of the Knowledge Base with many screenshots.
The Knowledge Base Level I Curriculum: View the complete Level I Curriculum.
The Knowledge Base Level II Curriculum: View the complete Level II Curriculum.
The Knowledge Base Level I Certification Information: Information about the Level I Certification.
The Knowledge Base Level I Certification Information: Information about the Level I Certification.
How We Beat the Competition: Information on why the DealMaven Financial Analysis Knowledge Base beats the competition.