27 August 2020: ICAEW have teamed up with leading finance educational course provider Kaplan to launch a certificate in data analytics. The certificate will be launched in November 2020.

As data analytics plays an increasingly pivotal role in supporting audit, assurance and business decision-making, this online learning programme will help finance professionals develop the advanced data analytics and visualisation skills needed to succeed in this insight-driven era.

Designed specifically for accountants in decision support and assurance roles, this programme includes instructional videos, use cases, practical exercises, and a case study.

Learning units:

1. Understanding business context
   In this unit, we explore how we need to understand and frame a business problem before applying a data analytics solution, how we go about identifying relevant data sources, as well as introducing concepts such as data quality and data governance.
2. Data wrangling 
   In this unit, we explore the importance of data wrangling and how it fits into the finance profession. By the end of this unit, you will be able to recognise data types and structures; use Python to import, manage and merge data; identify and resolve data quality errors.
3. Understanding and analysing data
   In this unit, we explore the importance of understanding and analysing the data and how it fits into the finance profession. By the end of this unit, you will be able to use different techniques to manipulate data; use summary statistics in exploratory data analysis; use basic data visualisations for exploratory data analysis.
4. Data analysis and facilitating data driven decision making
   In this unit, we explore the importance of data-driven decision making and how it fits into the finance profession. By the end of this unit, you will be able to apply time series forecast modelling using the autoregression and average smoothing techniques; explain anomaly detection; discuss the ethics of using artificial intelligence and data analytics.
5. Presenting findings and recommendations
   In this unit, we explore how to effectively communicate your analysis both in terms of accompanying narrative and visualisations. By the end of this unit, you will be able to effectively communicate with data; present findings and recommendations to decision makers; prepare effective data visualisations for presentations.

Case study

Working through a number of tasks, learners will have a chance to apply all of the knowledge gained from the course within a practical, real-to-life scenario. After completion of this case study students will be able to apply analytical techniques to:

• Identify areas of potential control weakness
• Provide management with effective information to make investment decisions