Get the exact blueprint to maximize your limited prep time. Secure a clear game plan for navigating the Desk Ready curriculum so you can hit the ground running and quickly become the star analyst in your group.
IB Desk Ready: Start Here
Beginner
Secure Your Spot at the Top of Your IB Class
Get Desk Ready with visual frameworks from a veteran of UBS LA (now Moelis LA), Golden Gate Capital, HIG, and a $2B hedge fund.
15+ years of deal experience delivered in plain English.
Stop memorizing formulas and start thinking like a banker.
Excellent course; one of the main reasons I got an offer and returned full-time by being able to show my coherence in modeling and understanding the drivers.
It explains the reasoning behind the process and bridges the gap between understanding the theory and applying it in practice by walking you through a DCF from start to finish. The accompanying slides and Excel files make it easy to test your skills and experiment with the model.
Financeable covers a broader scope of content while still going in-depth into each subject; everything from Excel and Powerpoint shortcuts to LBO practice, it tailors to a variety of needs. I used it for both recruiting and internship/full-time preparation.
Financeable gave me the edge I needed to be able to succeed with incredibly large data sets and complex formulas.
Before starting the Desk Ready course, I had no prior experience with financial modeling. Since completing the program, I’ve been able to independently build multiple financial models using the concepts and technical skills I learned throughout the course.
I find myself constantly going back to Mike’s LBO course as a new analyst in the Leveraged Finance group. This LBO course not only goes into modeling details but also sets a foundation for you to understand what LBO is and how PE funds work in real life.
Problem #1
Legacy training firms sell you on sheer volume, which is really just a bloated curriculum padded with arcane edge-cases. A few hours later, you're reaching for an Advil, you’re $500 in, and it’s too late.
Your brain is fried by the time you’re done, and you still can’t efficiently work through an LBO Model without asking a second-year analyst for help every five minutes.
Problem #2
Most courses teach finance like it’s a 1995 textbook: flat, text-heavy slides narrated by a late-’90s-style audio voiceover.
You can’t build a credible model by punching growth rates into a spreadsheet. You need to know what drives the business before you craft assumptions that withstand even the toughest VP interrogation.
You need to understand the 'why' behind the analysis, instead of just punching numbers into Excel.
Problem #3
Most competitor courses are built by instructors whose experience ended after their IB Analyst years. They know the basic mechanical motions, but they never gained the seasoned professional’s perspective that shows you what truly matters and why.
What you receive is purely first-order training: a collection of facts and formulas that miss the point. In short, tools without the context for using them.
Top-tier banks expect new analysts to contribute from week one. Your certificate signals:
You invested in a thorough, practitioner-built curriculum, not random YouTube playlists.
Mike’s background across IB, PE, mutual funds, hedge funds, and nine years at Columbia, backs your story.
Shows you’ve already trained on the work analysts do every day, from modeling and Excel to decks and filings.
The math is simple
This might be the best investment you ever make.
Get the exact blueprint to maximize your limited prep time. Secure a clear game plan for navigating the Desk Ready curriculum so you can hit the ground running and quickly become the star analyst in your group.
Legacy training courses bury you in 200 functions. We focus on the few that actually matter using a ‘messy data’ case study, exactly what you’ll face on the job. Visual function walkthroughs enable a deeper understanding of Excel formulas than you will find anywhere else.
Maneuver through PowerPoint like a world-class investment banking analyst after just 1 hour of prep. Learn the shortcuts and custom setup that enable you to format slides and build decks in a fraction of the time.
Get a massive advantage by understanding how the M&A process works on the job. You’ll learn the deal process from front to back, pitch books to closing docs, so you can speak to the job in a way none of your peers will be able to.
Learn a first-principles based approach to Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (DCF) and how to interpret it side-by-side with valuation multiples. Navigate any variation of interview questions and explain your answers in Plain English.
Start reading filings like a seasoned pro. Quickly sift through hundreds of pages to find the critical numbers efficiently. Internalize the differences between Adjusted, Pro Forma, and Run-Rate metrics so you can interpret public and private data without the confusion that plagues most first-year analysts.
Master a simple, powerful framework to break down any company, determine its core drivers, and craft credible modeling assumptions. In just a few hours, gain the business judgment it usually takes 5-10 years to acquire on the job.
Master a ‘closed loop’ approach to Financial Modeling where every input flows logically through the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. Nail down tricky concepts like working capital projections (e.g., DSO, DPO, etc.) so you understand the underlying intuition behind the model build instead of just memorizing keystrokes.
Learn the ins and outs of LBO model mechanics from transaction assumptions to returns analysis using visuals that break down the trickiest concepts: sources and uses, the pro forma balance sheet, and the debt waterfall. Gain a deep, intuitive understanding of how the model actually works, giving you a perspective that is simply not taught in traditional modeling courses.
Move beyond the mechanical combination of two spreadsheets and grasp the big picture. We consolidate the complex web of adjustments into a simple map that shows exactly how to get from Acquirer and Target earnings to the final post-deal number. Instead of plugging in data and hoping it works, you gain a ‘north star’ visual that allows you to navigate the accretion/dilution analysis with total clarity.
Two options. Same comprehensive training. You choose what works best.
Yearly access
$275/ year
Lifetime access
$415one-time
Best valueIf you’re here, chances are you’re trying to break into high finance and build real skills that actually matter once you’re there. I know how hard that path can feel, because I’ve lived it.
I started my journey at a non-target school. I didn’t have a built-in network or a clear roadmap. I had to learn (often the hard way) what actually matters in interviews and on the desk.
Over time, I worked across investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, and mutual funds, and later began teaching as an MBA professor at Columbia. I've also spent years training professionals at leading finance firms.
What became clear to me was this: most finance training is outdated and focused on memorization, not real understanding.
Financeable is the training I wish I had starting out. It’s designed to help motivated candidates prepare the right way, develop real judgment, and have an edge over anyone who uses 'traditional' Wall Street Training.
If you’re willing to put in the work, you can break into Wall Street...and Financeable is here to help you along the way.
Most finance courses teach you like it’s 1995 with static slides, audio voiceovers, and walls of text. Research shows that visuals and animations are far more effective when you’re dealing with holistic systems.
When you SEE $100 of Levi’s revenue cascade down into gross profit, then EBITDA, then cash flow, your brain builds a mental map of how the business actually makes money. Every 10-K you open after that reads like a story, not a wall of numbers. The concept sticks.
When you WATCH a merger model react as the deal terms move, with a higher premium and more stock shrinking the accretion in real time, you internalize how every assumption ripples through to EPS. You don’t just memorize, you understand.
This isn’t just ‘pretty animations’ for the sake of design. It’s empirically-backed learning that ensures you learn faster and retain more than with other programs. And when your MD stops by your desk and says the CEO wants to see the deal at a higher premium, with half stock and half debt?
You don’t panic. You don’t freeze. You don’t fumble through a model you don’t understand. You see the framework in your head. And you know exactly where to go.
Watch sample lessons and see why students call our approach ‘unlike anything else.’
When you mentioned that there’s nothing out there like this, I thought you meant you just had a better understanding of accounting than others, but the Financeable platform is actually one of a kind. The mini quizzes and visuals are amazing and they’re a perfect way to learn.
Four major differences:
(1) Visual, animated learning. You see concepts in motion rather than staring at static slides from the 90s.
(2) Unrivaled Practitioner Experience. The only curriculum holistically crafted by an instructor with a background in IB, PE, and Hedge Funds, showing you exactly what matters and why.
(3) Dynamic Frameworks. You gain the ability to tackle any scenario through logic, rather than relying on memorized facts and corner-case rules.
(4) Full Desk-Readiness. In addition to mechanics, you will learn the ‘Why’ behind everything in LBO and M&A modeling, plus the M&A process steps usually left out of training: pitch books, CIMs, data rooms, and bid letters.
Absolutely. The vast majority of our prior students come from non-target schools and regularly beat out bankers from target schools (e.g., Wharton, Harvard, etc.) in roles at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Evercore and many others.
But this isn’t just for the underdog. It works for everyone.
This visual learning approach levels the playing field for everyone, replacing ‘pedigree’ with a deeper level of ability than you’ll gain with any other prep program.
Yes. The analyst toolkit is the same everywhere: Excel models, PowerPoint decks, filings, and live deal support from pitch to close.
Team size, templates, and formatting conventions vary by bank, but because you learn why each model and process step exists, you will quickly adapt to your group’s approach.
Yes. Desk Ready is built for students who already have the fundamentals and want to turn them into job skills. You should be comfortable with the three financial statements and how they link, and with core valuation concepts like enterprise value, DCFs, and trading multiples.
The bundle includes Valuation Fundamentals as a refresher, but it does not teach accounting from scratch. If you are starting from zero, begin with the Interview Ready bundle, or get both through the Pro Package.
With the $415 option, yes, lifetime access to all courses, any updates we make, and any new content we add to the bundle.
The $275/year option gives you 12 months of access with the ability to renew annually.
The Financeable IB: Desk Ready Package is an online training program for incoming investment banking summer analysts and full-time analysts. It teaches the skills you use on the job: Excel, PowerPoint, reading SEC filings, financial modeling, LBO and M&A modeling, and the full sell-side M&A process. Mike Kimpel built it on 15+ years of experience in investment banking, private equity, and hedge funds.
There are 10 courses: IB Desk Ready: Start Here, Excel Survival Kit, PowerPoint Speed, Navigate the Filings, Business Mechanics, Financial Modeling, LBO Modeling, M&A Modeling, Sell-Side M&A in Real Life, and Valuation Fundamentals.
Focus on the skills you will use from day one: Excel, PowerPoint formatting, pulling numbers from 10-Ks, and understanding how the three-statement, LBO, and merger models work. You should also understand the deal process itself, so you know where your work fits on a live deal. The Desk Ready Package covers each of these.
Ideally 6 to 8 weeks before training begins, which leaves time to work through the modeling courses without cramming. If you have less time, the Start Here course gives you a prioritized plan for limited prep time.
The package includes 35+ hours of content across 100+ lessons. Most students work through it at their own pace before their start date, and you can return to individual lessons once you are on the desk.
Interview Ready is built to help you land the offer: accounting, valuation, M&A, and LBO concepts as they are tested in technical interviews. Desk Ready is built for after you have the offer: the Excel, PowerPoint, filings, and modeling skills you use on the job. The IB Pro Package combines both into 16 courses.
Yes. Excel Survival Kit skips the hundreds of functions you will never use and focuses on the ones that matter, taught through a messy data case study like the data you will see on the job. PowerPoint Speed teaches the shortcuts and custom setup bankers use to format slides and build decks in a fraction of the time.
Yes. Financial Modeling covers how the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement connect, including working capital projections like DSO and DPO. LBO Modeling covers sources and uses, the pro forma balance sheet, the debt waterfall, and returns analysis. M&A Modeling walks through accretion/dilution from acquirer and target earnings to the pro forma result.
Yes. Sell-Side M&A in Real Life walks through a full deal from the initial pitch to the closing documents, including pitch books, CIMs, bake-offs, data rooms, and bid letters. Most training programs skip this part of the job, and new analysts usually pick it up only after starting.
Yes. Navigate the Filings gives you a map of how a 10-K is organized, so you can go straight to the numbers you need instead of reading page by page. It also explains the difference between Adjusted, Pro Forma, and Run-Rate metrics, a common source of confusion for first-year analysts.
Business Mechanics teaches the Business Machine framework, which breaks any company down into its core drivers. Your assumptions then come from how the business actually works rather than from plugging in numbers, which is what VPs look for when they review your model.
Yes. The frameworks are not built around a single company case. They apply to any company, whether tech, healthcare, or industrials, so they carry over whether you are placed in a coverage group, M&A, or another team.
Yes. You receive a blockchain-verified certificate that you can add to the Licenses & Certifications section on LinkedIn and mention in networking outreach and interviews.
It is $275 for one year of access or $415 for lifetime access, compared with $1,155 if you bought the courses individually. First-year IB analyst compensation typically runs $175K to $225K+, and your performance in the first months shapes your reviews, your staffing, and your bonus.
