7 Finance Skills for HIGH PAYING JOBS in 2026 + Resources to learn

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

• Finance career success in 2026 requires core skills plus role-specific “level up” skills.
• The video is structured into two parts:
  1. Level One (fundamental, role-agnostic skills) needed for any finance track.
  2. Level Two (specific skills) required for certain finance roles (e.g., valuation, trading/markets, risk management).

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Level One skills (fundamental)

1) Basics of financial statements / Financial Reporting & Analysis

• Core requirement: Be able to read and analyze a company’s:

  • Balance Sheet
  • Profit & Loss (Income Statement)
  • Cash Flow Statement

• Practical lesson: Every finance analysis you do will be built on these statements.

• Career self-check: If you don’t enjoy understanding these statements (it takes time), the speaker suggests you may want to avoid a finance career.

How to learn (detailed method)

• Use a website such as Screener.
• Pick listed companies across different industries (example industries mentioned: IT, manufacturing, pharma).
• For each company, study the three statements and:
  • Compare how line items differ by industry
  • Verify that the overall concept of analyzing financial health is consistent
  • Practice understanding company health from the statements

If you’re a beginner / MBA entry-level

• The speaker says these fundamentals are needed in the first term.

Learning opportunity mentioned (detailed)

• A four-session course (live) scheduled for 13th, 14th, 21st, 27th June
• Taught by Yug Gupta (CA + CS, Ahmedabad alumnus)
• After the four sessions, beginners should be able to:
  • Read/understand financial statements
  • Make entries in them
  • Learn financial ratio analysis
• Certificate provided after sessions (link to be in description)
• Mentions Batch 1 recordings available via Self Peace Way
• If watching before 13th June: recommendation is to attend live classes.

Alternative certification mentioned

• Corporate Finance Institute “Reading Financial Statements” course
• Described as more credible but expensive (approx. $250 for a module/student plan)
• Auditing may be possible for free, but no certification
• Classes are 2–3 hours long (as stated)

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2) Financial modelling

• Core requirement: Learn financial modelling regardless of finance role.

• Key concepts the speaker says you must know:

  • DCF analysis
  • Discounted cash flow
  • NPV and IRR
  • Leveraged buyouts (LBOs)
  • Project-based financing
  • Budgeting / project evaluation models

• What financial modelling is (conceptual distinction):

  • Financial statements = current snapshot
  • Financial model = future prediction / projections

• How it’s used (examples):

  • In corporate finance to evaluate whether a project investment is good:
    • compute NPV / IRR
    • build a proper model for the project
  • Create projections by using a company’s financial statements

How to learn (detailed method)

• Consider a course at Corporate Finance Institute
• Also recommended:
  • Coursera financial modelling course by Wotan
  • Option to audit for free
  • Pay only if you want certification

• Recommendation: audit first, then decide whether to purchase for long-term career value

• Emphasis: Financial modelling is a critical skill.

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3) Industry analysis & economics (microeconomics)

• Lesson: Don’t assume you can rely on core finance alone; you also need:

  • Industry analysis
  • Microeconomics understanding

• Why it matters: Financial modelling requires assumptions like:

  • growth rate (examples given: 8% vs 13%)
  • better business knowledge → better assumptions → better modelling

How to learn (detailed method)

• Use Trend Line (website) to download and read:
  • equity research reports
  • with an industry analysis section
• Study how equity research analysts analyze industries and replicate the approach
• Use DRHP documents (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) when companies file IPOs:
  • described as a “gold mine”
  • example used: studying Swiggy’s DRHP to learn about the food delivery/delivery platforms industry
  • learns: industry growth rate, competitors, industry situation

• Stay up-to-date by reading business media:

  • examples mentioned: Economic Times, Mint

• Note: AI can make parts of industry analysis easier, but you still need foundational knowledge of what factors to look for.

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4) Data analytics & financial analytics

• Core requirement: Be able to make sense of large amounts of data/numbers:

  • “slice and dice” data
  • identify patterns

• Tools mentioned:

  • Excel (described as a must-have)
  • R and Python (for specific cases like quantitative finance)

Specific Excel capabilities the speaker highlights

• Solver
• data tables
• sensitivity analysis

Learning guidance

• Much is learned on the job, but basic Excel is required.

How to learn (detailed method)

• Follow “Trump Excel” on YouTube to learn Excel end-to-end for free
• Alternative mentioned: Excel course in MBA Circle

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Level Two skills (role-specific)

1) Valuation

• When it’s needed: especially for:

  • investment banking
  • venture capital
  • sometimes corporate finance

• Definition: Determine the total value of a company using:

  • financial statements
  • future outlook

• What to learn:

  • different valuation models
  • how to perform valuation using those models

How to learn (detailed method)

• Follow an indicated YouTube channel:
  • Ashwat Damodar
• Use playlists separated by experience level:
  • undergraduate playlist for absolute beginners
  • MBA playlist for more advanced valuation

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2) Financial markets & trading

• When it’s needed: for:

  • markets roles
  • wealth management

• What markets include (examples):

  • stock markets
  • bond markets
  • currency market
  • derivatives market

• Topics and calculations mentioned:

  • Return on Equity (ROE)
  • Return on Debt
  • Beta
  • WAX calculation (as stated in subtitles; likely intended to refer to WACC/WA X—subtitle text is unclear)
  • volatility
  • understanding options and futures

How to learn (detailed method)

• Start with a YouTube channel:
  • Robert Schiller (speaker says it’s “from I Wood to End Start”; subtitles are unclear, but the channel name is stated as Robert Schiller)
• Follow the “Financial Markets YouTube playlist”
• After basic learning:
  • transition to more books
• If enrolled in courses:
  • follow the course curriculum diligently

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3) Risk management (statistics + product knowledge)

• Skill focus: more oriented toward statistics, plus knowledge of financial products.

• Concepts mentioned:

  • normal distribution curve
  • six sigma analysis
  • predictive modelling / data science models

• What risk managers do (role examples):

  • identify risk in specific products/asset classes
  • measure risk impact and guide decisions (including for wealth managers/others)

• Examples of risk management work:

  • credit risk / loan decisions:
    • banks/NBFCs use models to assess whether a customer/business is good for loans
  • investment risk professional:
    • determine which asset class is more risky and quantify impact

Certifications mentioned (and how they apply)

• Professional certifications for risk management are suggested from:
  • NISM
  • SEBI
• Important claim: these certifications are handy mainly for risk manager roles, not necessarily other finance roles.
• The speaker suggests listing courses in the description (not provided in subtitles).

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4) Communication (skill often ignored, but matters a lot)

• Core message: Many people underestimate communication in finance.

• Why it matters (as stated):

  • difference between back-end and front-end investment bankers includes communication/presentation
  • salary difference can be “absolutely huge”

How to improve communication (detailed methods)

• Practice
• Study and emulate good speakers (examples mentioned):
  • Harsha Bhogle
  • Shashi Dharu (subtitle spelling uncertain)

• Practice by:

  • talking to yourself in a mirror
  • practicing English with AI
  • recording yourself while speaking on a topic and reviewing to improve

• Takeaway: Keep building communication alongside finance knowledge; it helps with interviews and career growth.

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Speakers / sources featured (as mentioned)

• Yug Gupta (teaches the four-session financial statements course; CA + CS; Ahmedabad alumnus)
• Ashwat Damodar (YouTube channel for valuation playlists)
• Robert Schiller (YouTube channel/playlist for financial markets)
• Trump Excel (YouTube channel for Excel training)
• Harsha Bhogle (recommended for communication-style learning)
• Shashi Dharu (recommended for communication-style learning; subtitle spelling uncertain)
• Screener (website used to access companies’ financial statements)
• Trend Line (website used to download/read equity research reports)
• Corporate Finance Institute (mentioned for financial statements and financial modelling courses)
• Coursera (platform mentioned; course by “Wotan” for financial modelling)
• Wotan (mentioned as the provider of a financial modelling course on Coursera)
• NISM (risk management certifications mentioned)
• SEBI (risk management certifications mentioned)
• Economic Times (business newspaper mentioned)
• Mint (business newspaper mentioned)
• DRHP / Draft Red Herring Prospectus (IPO document source type mentioned; not a specific organization)
• MBA Circle (mentioned as having an Excel course)
• Self Peace Way (mentioned as having Batch 1 recordings; context unclear)