Data-Driven Profitability — Business Diagnosis, Cash Flow & Pricing Strategy
What you'll learn
- Read any financial number on three levels — how much, is it normal, and what to do about it
- Diagnose a company's health from its P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement
- Compute and interpret a full set of financial ratios, including DuPont analysis and the Cash Conversion Cycle
- Break down unit economics — CAC, LTV, payback, MRR, churn and net revenue retention — to test if a business model actually works
- Link sales, marketing, supply-chain, HR and customer KPIs into a single causal chain that explains financial results
- Apply advanced techniques — variance decomposition, benchmarking, correlation vs. causation and root-cause (Issue Tree) analysis
- Build a one-page executive dashboard and a full business health-check report with red/amber/green ratings
- Tell the difference between profit and cash, and diagnose why a profitable company can still run out of money
- Calculate burn rate, cash runway and the cash conversion cycle, and know when to raise capital
- Understand the growth paradox — why accelerating growth can drain cash even when unit economics are healthy
- Apply the four core levers — contribution margin, CAC, churn and ARPU — to improve cash flow and profitability
- Set prices using value-based methods instead of guesswork — including Van Westendorp, conjoint and fast validation techniques
- Use psychological pricing tactics — anchoring, decoy pricing, charm pricing, bundling and framing — ethically and effectively
- Identify which customers are truly profitable using a CLV vs. cost-to-serve analysis
- Find and close the gap between list price and pocket price, one of the largest hidden profit levers in any business
- Build your own pricing model in a spreadsheet, from cost floor to value ceiling
- Know which software tools — CRM, subscription analytics, BI, ERP, HRIS — hold the data you need for each type of diagnosis
Introduction
Most business courses teach frameworks. This one teaches you to read a business the way a consultant does — through its actual numbers. Using one case company followed from start to finish, you'll learn to look past a healthy-looking top line and find out what's really happening underneath: whether the business is truly profitable, whether it can pay its bills, and whether its pricing and growth strategy are quietly destroying value. Every topic is taught example-first — real figures before formulas — so the theory always lands on something concrete. By the end, you'll be able to take any company's financial statements and operating data and produce a complete, professional health-check report: diagnosis, root cause, and prioritised recommendations.
Course features
- 100+ slides across three integrated modules, delivered as narrated video lessons
- One case company followed from start to finish across all three subject areas
- Example-first teaching — real numbers before formulas, in every lesson
- Downloadable templates, checklists and cheat sheets for immediate use
- Suitable for self-paced learning, with clearly signposted modules
- Bilingual course library available (English course; Traditional Chinese version also offered by Kingacademic)
- Practical software and tool recommendations for every diagnostic technique taught
Who this course is for
- Founders and business owners who want to read their own financials with confidence
- Finance, FP&A and accounting professionals moving into a more analytical or advisory role
- Marketing and operations managers who want to connect their KPIs to financial outcomes
- Consultants and advisors who need a repeatable framework for diagnosing client businesses
- Startup operators managing cash runway and fundraising timing
- Anyone responsible for setting or reviewing prices who wants a data-driven approach
- MBA and business students who want applied, case-based financial analysis skills
Disclaimer
- This course is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, accounting, tax or legal advice
- All figures, companies and case studies (including "UWell") are fictional or illustrative and used for teaching purposes only
- Software and tool names mentioned are for reference only; Kingacademic is not affiliated with and does not endorse any specific vendor
- Learners should consult a qualified accountant, financial advisor or legal professional before making business, financial or investment decisions
- Results from applying course concepts will vary by business and are not guaranteed
Curriculum coming soon.
