Working with Numbers
Use spreadsheets to answer real business questions. Find why food costs rose, forecast stock, test claimed savings and calculate emissions from bills.
Each module has short lessons with a check question, then a graded simulation. About 5 hours in total, at your own pace.
- Module 1: The food cost that jumped
The weekly food cost has jumped from 31 to 40.5 percent and head office sees it on Wednesday. Find what is wrong in the records, query the supplier, and explain what is really driving the cost.
- Module 2: Will the casserole last until Christmas?
The lead time from Portugal has jumped from six weeks to nine, and the best seller has a big promotion before Christmas. Project the stock, recommend what to do with the costs, and help sales tell the biggest customer the truth.
- Module 3: Test the depot consolidation savings
A client's finance director has told his board that closing a depot will save 3.04 million pounds a year. Rebuild the savings from the client's own data, tell the steering committee the true number in a deck, and correct it again when a depot manager's figure turns out to be wrong.
- Module 4: Count the electricity emissions
Work out a food maker's electricity emissions for the annual report, both ways, with a site sold and a site bought during the year. Then stop marketing overclaiming renewable power, and restate the figure honestly when the certificates come in short.
Skills you will practice
- Applying policy and approval limits
- Calculating carbon emissions
- Checking advertising claims
- Checking data quality
- Comparing options with criteria
- Cutting operating costs
- Escalating with the facts
- Estimating under uncertainty
- Handling a stock shortage
- Handling a supplier dispute
- Inventory management
- Knowing your authority limits
- Managing lead times
- Managing stakeholder expectations
- Owning a mistake
- Preparing audit evidence
- Preparing briefing notes for an executive
- Preparing management accounts
- Protecting confidential information
- Reconciling two sources
- Regulatory reporting
- Reporting sustainability data
- Spotting errors in figures
- Testing assumptions
- Tracking project risks
- Variance analysis
- Weighing trade-offs
- Writing reports for decision makers
Frequently asked questions
What is a Skill Path?
A Skill Path is a short course built around real work. Each module has two or three short lessons, then a simulation where you do the job in a fictional company. Your work in each simulation is graded against a rubric.
How long does a Skill Path take?
Most Skill Paths take three to five hours in total. You can stop at any point and pick up where you left off. There are no deadlines.
What do I get when I finish?
When every simulation in the path is complete and graded, you earn a FinderK credential. It lists the work you did and the skills it shows. You can keep it private or share a link to it, for example on LinkedIn.
How much does a Skill Path cost?
Some Skill Paths are included with FinderK Plus, which has a free trial. Others are sold once at a fixed price and stay yours. You can read the first module's lessons for free before you decide.
Do I need experience?
No. Each path states its level. Beginner paths assume no previous experience in the role, and the lessons explain the ideas you need before each simulation.