Built on Real-World Experience, Not Just Theory

We started cognitfusion in 2019 after spending years fixing spreadsheet disasters in corporate finance departments. Turns out, most people never learned how to build models that actually work when things get messy.

Why We Started Teaching This Stuff

Back in 2018, I was consulting for a mid-size manufacturing company in regional Victoria. Their finance team had this massive Excel model that was supposed to forecast cash flow. Problem was, nobody really understood how it worked anymore. The person who built it had left two years earlier.

I spent three weeks untangling formulas that referenced deleted sheets, circular calculations that nobody noticed, and assumptions buried six layers deep. That's when it hit me—this wasn't just their problem. Every company I'd worked with had similar issues.

So we started cognitfusion with a simple idea: teach people how to build financial models that other humans can actually understand and maintain. Not fancy investment banking models. Just solid, practical tools that help businesses make better decisions without needing a PhD in spreadsheet archaeology.

Financial modeling workspace with analytical tools and documentation

What We've Learned Along the Way

840+
Professionals Trained

Across finance, operations, and business development roles since 2020

67%
Return Participants

Come back for advanced courses or bring colleagues with them

4.7/5
Average Feedback Score

Based on post-course evaluations from 2024 participants

Practical financial analysis session with real business scenarios
Collaborative learning environment for financial modeling
Hands-on training with financial modeling tools and techniques

How We Actually Teach This

Start With the Problem, Not the Formula

We don't begin with "here's how VLOOKUP works." Instead, you get a messy dataset and a business question that needs answering. Then we figure out which tools help solve it. Seems obvious, but most courses do it backwards.

Build Things That Break (On Purpose)

Our training includes scenarios where your model hits edge cases—negative values where they shouldn't be, missing data, changed assumptions. Because that's what happens in real life, and you need to know how to handle it.

Make It Work for Your Actual Job

During our October 2025 course, someone brought their company's budget template. We spent an hour rebuilding parts of it with better structure. That kind of flexibility matters more than sticking to a rigid curriculum.

The People Running This Operation

Felix Bramwell, Head of Training Design at cognitfusion

Felix Bramwell

Head of Training Design

Spent 11 years in corporate finance before admitting he'd rather teach than sit through another strategy meeting. Builds all our core curriculum and occasionally remembers to update his LinkedIn.

Sienna Kirkwood, Chief Learning Strategist at cognitfusion

Sienna Kirkwood

Chief Learning Strategist

Former management consultant who got tired of creating slide decks nobody read. Now focuses on making sure our courses actually help people do their jobs better instead of just adding certificates to their wall.