This page outlines the key BIWS policies related to the courses and services offered here. It is a replacement for the old “FAQ” page, which had become very long and difficult to read.
These courses are best used intensively over short periods (e.g., several weeks/months to prepare for interviews or internships). To complete the lessons, download the Before and After files, study the differences, watch the video or read the notes, and then try it yourself. Once you’re done, compare your work to the “After” version to verify it’s the same.
Please see the Courses page for 2-page outline PDFs with the estimated course completion times, study plan options, and prerequisites (where applicable). Only the advanced and industry-specific courses have true prerequisites.
Other than the BIWS Platinum Annual Plan made available in the July 2024 – June 2026 period, all other courses on this site have one-time payments, corresponding to one-time delivery of the product. We expect that you will complete the course, ask your questions, and get the certificate once because there are no ongoing maintenance or renewal payments.
With the 1-year plans, you gain access to the site, updates, and support for 365 days (there is no automatic renewal because these are not subscriptions). If you pay for an individual course, you have 5 years to complete the course, get the certificate, and ask detailed questions. You can review course files and videos as long as it operates, but support and updates are available for 5 years.
Updates (e.g., improved explanations or formulas in existing lessons) are included for 5 years, but new versions (e.g., entirely new case studies) are not. For example, if you signed up for the Private Equity Modeling course in 2025, you will receive updates to the course through 2029, but you will not receive access to a new version that is released in 2035 that uses different deals and companies (there are exceptions for the Platinum package – see below).
You have 90 days to try the courses here and request a refund if you’re not satisfied. There are no specific requirements to do this, but to ensure fairness, we may limit future sign-ups for accounts with repeated refund requests for the same course.
Technically, you could say that you have “lifetime access” after purchasing an individual course here, but we prefer not to present it this way because it tends to create confusion.
For one thing, “lifetime” in this context refers to the lifetime of this website, not your natural life as a human.
Also, just as there is a time value of money, there is also a “time value of training.” In other words, you benefit most if you complete these courses early in your career when they give you the biggest advantage.
This is especially the case if you’re targeting the most competitive roles, such as investment banking or private equity.
We plan to operate for many years, but as with any platform, we can’t guarantee this site’s form and delivery method far into the future. You can review course files and videos via the site as long as it operates (see the “What Happens If You Shut Down or Sell?” section for details), but support and updates are available for 5 years.
When you sign up for an individual course here, you receive updates but not new versions. Here’s an example of how they differ:
In the 2009 – 2019 period, we used to provide free access to new versions of the courses. That was a legacy policy that seemed reasonable in 2009 when the user base was small and courses were much cheaper to produce, but it no longer makes economic sense today.
If we charged recurring fees or an annual maintenance fee, we could afford to offer new versions as part of this fee. But since each individual course is based on a one-time fee, it’s difficult to offer new versions for free.
There are exceptions if you’re on the Platinum 1-Year Plan or if you have purchased the Platinum package via a one-time payment within the past 10 years (a legacy option no longer available on this site). In these cases, you do receive access to new versions of courses during your membership period.
We offer 1-year access plans for a variety of levels (Silver, Gold, and Platinum for the Level 1, Level 1 + 2, and Level 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 courses, respectively). These are not subscriptions because they do not renew automatically. The default is 1 year of access.
When you purchase a course here, you pay once and have access to the version that you purchased. Updates and support are included for 5 years. Updates are provided when necessary to improve content, address user feedback, or reflect new accounting standards.
This site is for undergraduates, MBA students, career changers, and current investment banking Analysts and Associates. To some extent, it also applies to entry-level finance professionals in related fields such as private equity and hedge funds.
It is not for senior-level professionals, such as Managing Directors, because the skill set is significantly different at that level.
Also, it is not intended for corporate finance professionals in roles such as FP&A or Treasury. While there is some skill set overlap with Excel and PowerPoint, these jobs have little in common with IB/PE roles because you do not work on deals or value companies.
We monitor account usage and suspend accounts with unusual activity, such as a high number of logins from different locations or completion data that suggests a shared or traded account.
If you disagree or believe that your suspension was a mistake, you can appeal the decision by providing evidence of your usage.
We thoroughly review all appeals, but the outcome of each decision depends on the age of each account and the strength of the evidence.
The policy has always been one account per user, and we now enforce this via regular reviews of site activity.
We assume that you will behave respectfully toward other members and the staff when you sign up for a course here. If you make offensive comments or otherwise insult other students or our team, we will close your account and refund your purchase.
Similarly, we assume that you will behave responsibly with the content and training materials here. If you attempt to share your account, illegally resell our materials, or otherwise distribute anything on the site, we will suspend your account.
We plan to continue operating and adding new courses as long as there is demand to do so.
The general goal is to add 1-2 new courses per year and update existing content along the way.
We may stop creating new courses past a certain point, but even if that happens, the existing site and training will remain accessible.
The Excel and PowerPoint files and PDFs are downloadable within the site, so you can always retain these for your personal use.
We normally do not make bulk video downloads available, but if the site shuts down in the future, we will enable this option and post links to all the videos in the courses. There would be a transition period of 1-2 years, during which you could download the videos and other materials.
In the case of a company sale, the exact policies would be up to the new owner(s). However, we would still make bulk download links available during the transition period.
You can download the Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files within the site, but not the videos, to protect course integrity.
If you need access to the videos offline due to travel, a slow connection, or limited bandwidth, we may make exceptions to this policy and allow downloads of the videos. Please contact us if you require offline access for a period.
We collect and store some of your personal data when you sign up for courses, take quizzes, leave comments, or write in with support tickets and emails.
If you would like to delete this data or you have questions about how it is used and retained, please see our Privacy Policy page.
Most of the financial modeling courses on this site offer certificates. To receive the certificate, you must pass the end-of-course Certification Quiz with a score of 90%.
You can retake the quiz as many times as you want, and there are no time limits or other restrictions. You can view your incorrect answers after each attempt.
The quizzes are challenging to ensure mastery, but you can retake them as needed to achieve the 90% passing score.
For more, please see our Course Certificates page.
If you signed up for this site a long time ago, such as in the 2009 – 2014 period, you may have noticed that it has changed a lot. All the content is different, the videos and guides are set up differently, and the case studies are based on different companies and deals.
Beyond the content and site changes, many of our legacy policies from that period have also changed. These changes are a result of market, economic, and company-specific factors.
Here’s a summary:
If you disagree with these policies or believe that you have a special case, please contact us with a brief description of your questions.
