Finance · Risk · Analytics — Practitioner-led education by Prof. V. Ravichandran

Course Catalogue — The Mountain Path Academy

Seven practitioner-designed programmes in corporate finance, derivatives, risk management, fixed income, and quantitative analytics. All courses are delivered primarily in Excel with optional Python extensions, and include Excel workbooks, recorded sessions, and study materials. Taught by Prof. V. Ravichandran — 28+ years at HSBC Global Banking & Markets and Synechron. Visiting Faculty at NMIMS Bangalore, BITS Pilani (WILP), RV University Bangalore, and Goa Institute of Management. All programmes priced at ₹10,000 all-inclusive.

Currently enrolling

Free webinars: Short live sessions where a single concept is built from a blank Excel sheet. Past sessions are archived and the next one is announced about a fortnight ahead. See webinars →
Applied Finance Through Excel  Now Enrolling
Weekend · Every Sunday 12 Weeks · 24 Hours · 12 Sessions MBA · CFA L1 · Working Professionals ▶ Excel-first
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

A comprehensive, hands-on programme covering financial modelling entirely in Microsoft Excel — from Excel proficiency and financial mathematics through to DCF valuation, capital budgeting, and a full capstone model. No Python required. Every concept is built live in Excel with workbooks shared after each session. Cohort 01 starts Sunday, 2 August 2026 — every Sunday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM IST, via Google Meet. Enroll fast — limited seats!

📅 Starts: 2 August 2026 · Every Sunday · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM IST  ·  Platform: Google Meet (online)  ·  Seats: Limited — Enroll Fast!
Week Module Topics Covered
Week 1Excel Proficiency — Part 1Financial functions (PMT, NPV, IRR, RATE), Pivot Tables, Conditional Formatting
Week 2Excel Proficiency — Part 2INDEX-MATCH, XLOOKUP, Data Validation, Charts, Dashboards, Goal Seek
Week 3Financial Mathematics & TVMInterest Rates, PV/FV, Annuities, Perpetuities, Loan Amortisation
Week 4Asset ValuationStock Valuation (DDM, Gordon Growth), Bond Pricing, YTM, Retirement Planning
Week 53-Statement Financial ModelIncome Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement — full 3-statement linkage & audit
Week 6Working Capital & FSACash Conversion Cycle, Working Capital ratios, Financial Statement Analysis
Week 7Cost of CapitalCAPM, Beta estimation, Cost of Debt, WACC calculation
Week 8Capital BudgetingNPV, IRR, MIRR, Payback Period, Project evaluation & ranking
Week 9Capital Structure AnalysisLeverage & debt capacity, Modigliani-Miller theorem, optimal capital structure
Week 10DCF ValuationFCFF, FCFE, Discount Factors, Terminal Value (Gordon & Exit Multiple)
Week 11Scenario & Sensitivity AnalysisData Tables, Scenario Manager, Sensitivity Analysis, Monte Carlo introduction
Week 12Valuation & CapstoneComparable Company Analysis, Football Field Chart, Live Indian Company Model (NSE/BSE)
▷ Excel workbooks — all 12 sessions ▶ Recorded sessions 📄 Study materials 🎖 Certificate
Enroll Now — ₹10,000

Derivatives courses

Covering financial derivatives, interest rate derivatives, pricing models, and hedging strategies. Content aligned with CFA Level 1, 2 & 3 and FRM Part I & II. All pricing models implemented live in Excel.

Financial Derivatives  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 10 Sessions · 20 Hours · 2 hrs/session CFA L1/L2 · FRM Part I · MBA ▶ Excel-first Python optional
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

A rigorous treatment of financial derivatives — from forward and futures pricing through options, Black-Scholes-Merton, the Greeks, and a dedicated 4-hour module on options trading strategies. All models built live in Excel. Optional Python (scipy) for BSM.

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel Coverage
12hForwards & Futures — FoundationsForward pricing, cost of carry, settlement. Excel: EXP function, forward price table
22hFutures Markets & ArbitrageCash-and-carry arbitrage, no-arbitrage bounds, basis risk. Excel: arbitrage P&L table
32hOptions — FundamentalsCalls, puts, payoff diagrams, put-call parity. Excel: MAX(S-K,0) payoff, line chart
42hBinomial Option PricingOne-step & multi-step binomial tree, risk-neutral pricing. Excel: tree grid, up/down factors
52hBlack-Scholes-Merton ModelBSM derivation, d₁/d₂, Excel implementation. Excel: NORM.DIST, dividend adjustment
62hThe GreeksDelta, Gamma, Theta, Vega, Rho. Excel: sensitivity table, Greeks dashboard
72hOptions Trading Strategies — ICovered call, protective put, straddle, strangle. Excel: combined payoff diagrams
82hOptions Trading Strategies — IIBull/Bear spreads, butterfly, calendar spread. Excel: P&L matrix
92hSwapsInterest rate swaps, currency swaps, valuation. Excel: swap cash flow table, PV discounting
102hExotic Options & Indian MarketsBarrier, Asian, lookback options. NSE F&O market structure. Excel: barrier option simulation
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Interest Rate Derivatives  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 8 Sessions · 16 Hours · 2 hrs/session CFA L2/L3 · FRM Part II ▶ Excel-first Python optional
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

FRAs, interest rate swaps, bond futures, swaptions, and bootstrap zero curve — the complete toolkit for fixed income derivatives with Excel-based pricing models. Optional Python (numpy) for yield curve bootstrapping.

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel Coverage
12hForward Rate Agreements (FRAs)FRA mechanics, pricing, settlement. Excel: FRA pricing model
22hInterest Rate SwapsSwap valuation, fixed vs floating, OIS discounting. Excel: swap cash flow table
32hBootstrap Zero CurveSpot rates, forward rates, discount factors, bootstrapping. Excel: iterative bootstrap
42hBond Futures & CTDBond futures pricing, cheapest-to-deliver, conversion factors. Excel: CTD selection model
52hEurodollar & STIR FuturesShort-term interest rate futures, convexity adjustment. Excel: STIR strip
62hSwaptionsPayer/receiver swaptions, Black's model for swaptions. Excel: swaption payoff model
72hCaps, Floors & CollarsCaplets, floorlets, Black's formula. Excel: cap/floor pricing with NORM.DIST
82hHedging & ApplicationsDuration hedging, swap overlays, RBI rate market context. Excel: hedge ratio calculator
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Risk management courses

Financial Risk Management  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 8 Sessions · 16 Hours · 2 hrs/session FRM Part I & II · Basel III ▶ Excel-first Python optional
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

Market risk, credit risk, operational risk — VaR, CVaR, Basel III/IV, stress testing, RAROC, PD/LGD/EAD modelling. Build every framework in Excel. Optional Python (numpy) for Monte Carlo simulation.

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel Coverage
12hMarket Risk & VaRParametric VaR, Historical VaR, Delta-normal. Excel: NORM.INV VaR, historical sort
22hCVaR & Stress TestingExpected shortfall, stressed VaR, scenario analysis. Excel: AVERAGEIF for CVaR tail
32hCredit Risk — PD/LGD/EADCredit scorecard, EL = PD × LGD × EAD. Excel: credit scorecard model
42hBasel III / IV FrameworkCRAR, Tier 1/2 capital, LCR, NSFR, FRTB. Excel: LCR/NSFR ratio workbook
52hInterest Rate Risk (Banking Book)Duration gap, NII sensitivity, EVE. Excel: duration gap model
62hLiquidity RiskLiquidity ratios, funding risk, liquidity stress. Excel: cash flow maturity ladder
72hRAROC & Risk-Adjusted PerformanceRAROC, Sharpe ratio, Treynor, Jensen's alpha. Excel: RAROC calculator
82hICAAP & Operational RiskICAAP framework, operational risk, scenario-based capital. Excel: capital adequacy model
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Quantitative methods

Time Series Forecasting & Modelling  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 8 Sessions · 16 Hours · 2 hrs/session MBA Analytics · FRM ▶ Excel-first Python optional
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

CMA decomposition, stationarity, ACF/PACF, ARIMA, and SARIMA — all built manually in Excel with optional Python extension via statsmodels. Applied to financial and economic time series.

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel Coverage
12hTime Series FundamentalsComponents: trend, seasonal, cyclical, irregular. Excel: decomposition chart
22hCMA DecompositionAdditive & multiplicative decomposition. Excel: CMA formula, seasonal index table
32hStationarity & DifferencingADF test logic, unit roots, differencing. Excel: stationarity table, CORREL check
42hACF & PACFAutocorrelation, partial autocorrelation, lag plots. Excel: CORREL+LAG table, bar chart
52hAR & MA ModelsAR(p), MA(q) models, Yule-Walker. Excel: manual AR recursion
62hARIMA ModellingARIMA(p,d,q), Box-Jenkins methodology. Excel: ARIMA manual recursion, AIC/BIC logic
72hSARIMA & Seasonal ModelsSARIMA, seasonal differencing. Excel: SARIMA seasonal index
82hForecasting ApplicationsFinancial time series applications, GDP, inflation, stock returns. Excel: forecast model dashboard
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Fixed income securities analysis

Fixed Income Securities Analysis  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 8 Sessions · 16 Hours · 2 hrs/session CFA L1/L2 · FRM Part I ▶ Excel-first
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

Bond mathematics, yield curves, duration, convexity, credit spreads, immunisation, and convertible bond pricing — all modelled in Excel. Deep alignment with CFA L1/L2 fixed income curriculum.

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel Coverage
12hBond Pricing FundamentalsCoupon bonds, zero-coupon bonds, clean/dirty price. Excel: PV bond pricing formula
22hYield MeasuresYTM, current yield, YTC, bond-equivalent yield. Excel: RATE/IRR for YTM
32hDuration & ConvexityMacaulay, Modified, Effective duration. Convexity. Excel: duration column table
42hYield Curve AnalysisNormal, inverted, flat curves; term structure theories. Excel: yield curve chart
52hBootstrap & Zero CurveSpot rates from coupon bonds, discount factors. Excel: iterative bootstrap
62hCredit Analysis & SpreadsCredit spread, Z-spread, OAS, credit ratings. Excel: spread calculation workbook
72hImmunisation & Portfolio ManagementDuration matching, cash flow matching, immunisation. Excel: immunisation workbook
82hConvertible Bonds & Structured ProductsConvertible bond pricing, binomial tree. Excel: convertible bond binomial model
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Risk analytics & modelling New Course

Financial Risk Analytics & Modelling  Launching Soon
Weekday Evenings 10 Sessions · 20 Hours · 2 hrs/session FRM Part I & II · CFA ▶ Excel-first Python optional
₹10,000
All-inclusive
per participant

Portfolio optimisation, GARCH, Monte Carlo simulation, logistic regression for credit risk, Merton model, Vasicek SDE, and efficient frontier — all built in Excel with optional Python (arch, statsmodels, sklearn, scipy.optimize).

Session Hrs Module Topics & Excel / Python Coverage
12hPortfolio Theory & MarkowitzMean-variance optimisation, efficient frontier. Excel: MMULT+Solver efficient frontier
22hVaR & CVaR AnalyticsParametric VaR, Historical, CVaR. Excel: NORM.INV + AVERAGEIF for CVaR
32hGARCH ModellingGARCH(1,1), volatility clustering, MLE estimation. Excel: GARCH recursion + Solver MLE
42hMonte Carlo SimulationGBM, Monte Carlo VaR, scenario generation. Excel: RAND()-based MC; Python: numpy
52hARIMA for RiskTime series risk models, ARIMA ACF table. Excel: ACF table; Python: statsmodels
62hCredit Risk — Logistic RegressionPD estimation, scorecard, logistic model. Excel: EXP+Solver; Python: sklearn
72hMerton Structural ModelEquity as call option on firm value, distance-to-default. Excel: Merton BSM Solver
82hVasicek Interest Rate ModelVasicek SDE, mean reversion, Euler discretisation. Excel: SDE recursion; Python: scipy
92hBlack-Litterman & Factor ModelsBL model, factor risk decomposition. Excel: MMULT for BL; Python: numpy
102hCapstone — Integrated Risk ModelFull risk dashboard: VaR + CVaR + GARCH + Efficient Frontier. Excel + Python
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What every programme includes — ₹10,000 flat, all-inclusive

Every course includes the following at no additional cost

  • Excel workbooks — formula-driven, professional-grade models built live during sessions and shared after each session
  • Recorded sessions — all live sessions recorded and accessible to registered students throughout the access period
  • Study materials — curated PDF articles, formula reference sheets, and topic notes from themountainpathacademy.com
  • Certificate of completion — branded Mountain Path Academy certificate issued on finishing the programme
  • WhatsApp study group — cohort-based group for Q&A, resource sharing, and peer discussion
  • Python Colab notebooks (where applicable) — provided as optional take-home extensions; no Python knowledge required
  • Flat fee ₹10,000 per programme — no hidden costs; all materials included

About the faculty

Prof. V. Ravichandran
Visiting Faculty — NMIMS Bangalore  ·  BITS Pilani (WILP)  ·  RV University Bangalore  ·  Goa Institute of Management

28+ years of corporate finance and banking experience (HSBC Global Banking & Markets, Synechron) and 12+ years in academia. Expertise spans VaR, stress testing, Basel II/III, PD/LGD/EAD frameworks, FRTB, GARCH/EWMA/ARIMA, Monte Carlo simulation, ICAAP, derivatives pricing, fixed income, and portfolio optimisation. B.Sc. Mathematics & Statistics · M.S. Information Technology. Founder, The Mountain Path Academy.

Financial Risk Derivatives Fixed Income ARIMA / GARCH Basel III / FRTB Excel Modelling CFA · FRM Prep Credit Risk Portfolio Optimisation

LinkedIn →  ·  GitHub →  ·  themountainpathacademy.com →

Additional resources: Free lectures and worked examples on the YouTube channel "The Mountain Path — World of Finance". LaTeX articles on risk modelling, regression, and quantitative finance published at themountainpathacademy.com.