A credit analyst answers one question: if we lend this money, how likely are we to get it back, and on what terms? You will learn to read financial statements, turn them into ratios, judge cash flow and management quality, and write a clear recommendation that a loan committee can act on. The path runs from accounting basics, to analyzing real companies in Excel, to building portfolio-level skills in SQL and Python. Everything below uses free resources. You do not need a finance degree to start, though most employers (about 95%) expect a bachelor's degree, so the early stages also show you how
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Every stage from beginner to expert, with lessons, practice drills, projects, interview questions and free resources. Free with a Rolearch account.
Stage 1 of 3 · about 10 weeks
Read the three financial statements fluently and calculate core credit ratios by hand and in Excel.
Financial accounting basics
Every credit decision starts with financial statements. If you cannot see how the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement connect, ratios are just numbers. Once you can, you will spot when profit looks healthy but cash is running out.
Ratio analysis
Ratios let you compare a company with itself over time and with its peers, which is exactly what the job asks. Lenders focus on four families: liquidity, leverage, coverage and profitability.
Excel for analysis
Excel is the main tool in credit work. Clean, auditable spreadsheets are how you earn trust from senior reviewers.
Economics and the credit cycle
Borrowers do not operate in a vacuum. Interest rates, inflation and industry cycles change repayment risk, and good analysts explain why.
Then 2 more stages (about 36 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 6 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.