FinanceEDGE: Turn Financial Data into Smart Decisions
Ready to Diagnose and Strengthen Your Business Financials? This hands-on course introduces the FinanceEDGE Tool—a structured, four-step framework designed to help small business owners analyze financial health, identify root causes of financial stress, and implement actionable solutions. Whether you’re facing rising costs, uneven cash flow, or stagnant revenue, this course equips you with the tools to move forward with clarity and confidence.
Learn how to:
- Assess your business’s financial health using key indicators
- Diagnose common financial challenges like poor margins or cash-flow gaps
- Generate targeted solutions based on your operational reality
- Create an action plan you can implement and track
- Use benchmarking and ratios to evaluate performance over time
Who this is for:
This course is best suited for business owners, managers, or financial decision-makers who are comfortable reading financial statements and ready to move beyond the basics. You should have:
- Working knowledge of core financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow)
- Familiarity with basic accounting terms and financial ratios
- Awareness of your business’s current financial and operational challenges
- A willingness to dig into your numbers and apply what you learn
What to Bring:
Please bring your most recent Profit & Loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement (if you have them) so we can apply the tools directly to your business. No financials? No worries! Sample case study data will be provided so you can fully engage with the exercises.
Registration Information
Date: TBD
Schedule: TBD
Location: Online
Registration Spring 2026
Date: April 21, 2026
Schedule: 10:00 am – 11:45 am
Location: Online (link will be sent to participants shortly before the session date)
There are seats available for operating, for-profit businesses under 500 employees. Register below:
We have a limited number of seats available for nonprofits, pre-venture (not yet started) businesses, and those participants from a company of over 500 employees. Register below:
Michail Walker
Instructor
Michail “Mike” Walker, MBA, is the founder of MW Business Consulting LLC, where he helps entrepreneurs and organizations make smarter financial decisions through practical, hands-on training. With 15+ years of experience in business strategy, financial planning, and government contracting, Mike specializes in simplifying complex financial concepts into tools leaders can use immediately. He’s presented for statewide business academies and economic development groups, and is the creator of the FinanceEDGE™ framework.
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship within the Universities of Wisconsin. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Wisconsin SBDC at UW–Madison is also part of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub at UW–Madison.
The Wisconsin SBDC at UW–Madison helps entrepreneurs succeed at any stage. We offer no-cost, confidential consulting and business education across a wide region, primarily serving Dane, Sauk, and Columbia counties. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.