Stuck in the Technical Work?
You run the reports. You build the budgets. You answer the questions.
But when leadership talks strategy, you're quiet.
When executives debate decisions, you're not in the room.
You're capable.
You're accurate.
But you're not indispensable.
It's not about working harder or putting in more years. It's about building the business judgment that makes you someone leadership can't afford to ignore.
That's what business acumen is. And you don't have to wait for it.
The three pillars of
BUSINESS ACUMEN
Industry Knowledge
How pharma works differently than tech. Why SaaS metrics don't apply to manufacturing
.
Business Model Understanding
What makes subscription economics different from retail. How services cash flow differs from products.
Context Expertise
When to prioritize cash vs. growth. What variance analysis reveals about operations. How to evaluate an acquisition. How to create the perfect dashboard on Power BI
IT'S The combination of THEM
that makes you indispensable
Most finance professionals spend 10-15 years accumulating this knowledge passively, bouncing between roles and companies.
What if you could build it deliberately in a short period of time?
The Model Shapes the Insight
You can't model a SaaS business without understanding recurring revenue and churn.
You can't model manufacturing without understanding working capital and inventory cycles.
You can't build a three-statement model without seeing how profitability, balance sheet health, and cash flow tell one integrated story.
Financial modeling isn't about spreadsheets.
It's about thinking.
Every model you build develops pattern recognition across industries, business models, and contexts. It compresses years of passive learning into months of deliberate practice.
Tactic On-Demand gives you the methodology:
Step-by-step courses that teach modeling as a business thinking tool
Templates that force you to understand mechanics, not just formulas
Real-world examples across industries and business models.
Monthly live sessions to go deeper and ask questions
What You'll Learn
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Financial
Modeling
This is where business acumen starts. You can't understand a company until you can model how it makes money, manages its balance sheet, and generates cash. The three-statement model forces you to see the business as an integrated system - not just numbers on separate reports.
Understand how any business actually works (Industry & Business Model)
See how decisions flow through profitability, balance sheet, and cash
Recognize patterns across different types of companies
Think like an owner, not just an analyst
Common Sense Accounting
Accounting for modelers, not accountants. This course teaches you to understand how transactions flow through financial statements without getting lost in debits and credits. You need to see the business logic - when revenue hits, how inventory moves, what happens to cash - not memorize journal entries.
Understand how business events flow through the statements
Think through transactions from a modeler's perspective
Build models that actually work because you understand the mechanics
Bridge the gap between accounting rules and business reality
Valuation
Valuation isn't about formulas - it's about understanding what actually drives value. Growth? Margins? Capital efficiency? Risk? Different businesses create value differently. This course teaches you to think like an investor or acquirer, not just calculate a number.
Understand what drives value in different industries (Industry)
Evaluate strategic decisions through a value lens (Context)
Build defensible valuations based on business logic
Think through acquisition targets and investment opportunities
Python in Excel
Capital Budget
Scenario Analysis
Case Study
APEX
Dive deep into this Manufacturing 3SM case study. We explore scenarios that optimize cash and minimize revolving Debt
Case Study
PolarTech
Modeling Capacity contraint can be the piece missing to have a very realistic projection.
Case Study
Marble Home
This Real Estate case study will teach you to model two streams of revenue
Case Study
StreamShoppers
Retail is a straight forward yet interesting business model. We explore the financial details of an online shop
More courses and cases will be added soon to tactic On-Demand. If you'd like to suggest a course or a theme for a case study, click here and let me know.
Theory Meets Practice in Tactic Lab
Learning the methodology is step one.
Applying it is where competence actually builds.
Tactic Lab is where you work through real projects with other professionals:
Current challenges across different industries and business models
Community discussion and feedback
Downloadable templates and resources
Live sessions
Tactic Lab Premium is included with your Tactic On Demand Subscription, but you can also start for free by clicking below
Advanced Financial Modeling Certification
In partnership with the FMI ( Financial Modeling Institute )
We help you prepare for the AFM so you can demonstrate the advanced financial modeling skills most valued by employers, clients and stakeholders.
Recognized by leaders:
Upcoming exam dates are:
February 21, 2026 | May 9, 2026 | July 11, 2026 | October 24, 2026
Our AFM preparation fee includes:
1 year access to Tactic On-Demand
1 year Access to Tactic Lab
Extra lessons and Live sessions exclusive to AFMcandidates
Test Fees and access to the FMI Community.
MEET your instructor
Hey, I'm Carolina!
I'm a Financial Modeler and FP&A Specialist with over 20 years of experience in FP&A, corporate finance, and business consulting. After working across industries and seeing the same patterns of confusion, bottlenecks, and reactive decision-making, I've decided to build something better : a framework that connects financial mechanics to real-world business outcomes.
That framework became the TACTIC Framework™, a structured approach to financial modeling and reporting that simplifies complexity and helps teams align forecasts, strategy, and daily operations. It’s not about reinventing spreadsheets, it’s about teaching finance teams and business owners to:
think critically,
Build intelligently,
and act strategically
TESTIMONIALS
What others are saying
"Financial modelling is the easiest root to acquiring business acumen"
Carolina Lago is my modelling teacher.She taught me in a record time and according to her I was ready to take the AFM exam by FMI within no time.I doubted myself but she was confident about it.I have ultimately attained the AFM designations.Her secret is simple,the 3 hook technique; very powerful but effective.According to her,financial modelling is the easiest root to acquiring business acumen.I will remain her true ambassador! - Moses Juma, AFM
"Totally worth the sweat!"
I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new accreditation: Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) from Financial Modeling Institute (FMI)! Life changes when we decide to take action. Best time to start was yesterday. Next best time is today! Thanks to one and only - Carolina Lago. Truly the Schweser of AFM. Wasn't easy. 4 hours were grueling. But totally worth the sweat! - Hasan Khan Jadoon, AFM, FMVA®
"Simply good"
For Carolina, sharing knowledge comes first. She loves what she does. You can see that in the course and also in her documents. Simply good and easy to understand.
"Excellent course"
Excellent course for learning and developing financial schedules and creating a dynamic financial model. -
PRICING
Choose Your Plan
Premium Lab
$10/month
paid Monthly
Challenges across different industries and business models
Community discussion and feedback
Downloadable templates and resources
Live sessions
Premium Lab
$8/month
paid yearly
Challenges across different industries and business models
Community discussion and feedback
Downloadable templates and resources
Live sessions
Save 20%
On-Demand
$500/year
paid yearly
Access to Premium Lab
10 hours + recorded content
Exclusive Downloadable templates and resources
Q&A Instructional Live sessions
AFM Prep
$895.
One time Payment
One year of Tactic On-Demand and Lab Premium
extra content focused on the AFM test
Extra cases and live sessions
Test Fees and access to FMI Community
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