I get asked this all the time: are financial modeling courses still worth it?

This usually happens right after someone has seen a LinkedIn hype demo of a full three-statement model getting built with ChatGPT in 90 seconds (these make me want to vomit, btw).

The reasoning goes something like this: "If AI can do the modeling, why would I pay to learn it?"

I'll break down my thoughts below.

The Question Isn't Really About Courses

When someone asks whether a financial modeling course is worth it, they're usually asking a deeper question: is learning financial modeling worth it in 2026?

If the answer is no, the course doesn't matter. If the answer is yes, then the course is just a question of which one.

My answer is yes. But the reason is probably different than what you'd expect.

Fundamentals Compound. AI Doesn't Replace That.

Here's the thesis I keep coming back to:

Accounting and finance fundamentals compound over the course of your career. The framework you build in your first few years in finance -- how a balance sheet actually works, what drives working capital, why interest expense is usually a function of the average debt balance -- that framework is the lens you use for the rest of your career.

It doesn't matter if AI is doing 80% of the modeling work. The person who can look at a model and say "this doesn't look right" is the person who gets promoted, and more importantly, is trusted.

AI can accelerate execution, but it can't replace the judgment that comes from actually understanding what the model is doing.

So while it might seem backwards, as AI gets better at execution, fundamentals matter even more. Because now the focus shifts from "who can build the model" to "who can tell if the model is correct." And obviously, the second person is the one who will be around long term.

That's what a financial modeling course is really teaching you: accounting & finance knowledge through the discipline of building a financial model. A random ass DCF template is dime a dozen (or free). What you're actually learning is how to think about a company's cash flows in a structured way. That framework carries into every model you build for the rest of your career.

Why a Course Instead of YouTube or AI Du Jour

You can absolutely learn financial modeling from free sources. I'm not going to pretend otherwise (and I've done plenty of "just in time" learning on YouTube).

But here's where that whole approach usually crumbles:

Self-directed YouTube learning. You watch a bunch of videos, feel productive, and realize six months later you can't actually build a model from scratch. The problem isn't that the videos are bad. The problem is you don't know what you don't know, so you learn the wrong things in the wrong order.

"Just ask ChatGPT when you get stuck." I'm all fine with AI, but it gets you so deep in the weeds before you can catch a breath. What started as "hey can you help me build this part of the model?" suddenly turns into building a circular revolving credit facility before you understand why you need one, which means you'll often end up with a working formula you can't explain or defend, and aren't really sure what errors you've created.

A good course sequences the learning. It builds in the right order, helps you learn the dependencies, and gives you practice problems that reinforce the concepts. It also becomes a library you can come back to for the rest of your career. I still reference materials I bought a decade ago.

The paid course is one of the few areas of finance where the ROI math is obviously favorable. If a $200 to $500 course helps you land an interview or get a job paying six figures, the payback period is measured in days. Also, a lot of companies will actually pay for you to take the course (my old employer helped pay when I took the CFA) -- it's worth asking.

What to Look For in a Course

If you're going to spend the money, here's how to separate the good ones from the commoditized crap.

Taught by a practitioner. You want someone who's actually modeled deals, run FP&A functions, or worked with finance leaders under real deadlines. They teach differently than someone who's only ever taught.

Real files you can download and work through. Reading about a three statement model is different from building one. You need actual reps to ingrain the learning.

Full workflow, end to end. Tons of courses will just show you how, but it ends there. There's no follow-up when it comes to "okay so what do we actually do with this information?" That's why I close out every course I teach with a recommendation back to the CFO or Managing Partner: it mirrors what is expected in real life.

A clear point of view. The best courses make opinionated choices: here's how we format inputs, here's how we build a debt schedule, here's how we check for errors. Opinionated instruction builds muscle memory. Neutral instruction leaves you deciding every little thing on your own.

Fit for your goal. An investment banking analyst doesn't need the same course as an FP&A manager or a PE associate. Be honest about why you're learning, and pick accordingly.

The AI Punchline

The modelers who thrive in the next decade will be the ones who understand the fundamentals well enough to tell AI what to build, know if the output is right, and catch the subtle things AI gets wrong.

Fundamentals first. AI second.

That order matters. If you learn AI tools before you learn modeling fundamentals, you end up with a model that works until it doesn't, and you can't tell which is which. Michael Jordan's jump shot won't help much if you don't know how to play basketball. If you learn fundamentals first, AI becomes an accelerant on top of skills you already have.

A financial modeling course in 2026 is the same investment it was in 2016. The job it does is build the foundation. What you put on top of it is up to you.

So, Are They Worth It?

Yes. Genuinely.

The videos and the curriculum aren't magic. What you're paying for is a shortcut to understanding how finance works, taught by someone who's done the work, with a reference library you can use for the rest of your career.

I teach one. But even if you don't take mine, take one. The compounding is real, and AI isn't going to change that.