Excel for Finance Practice Test

The Excel for Finance Practice Test is a free intermediate-level, 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests Excel skills for finance work — time value of money functions, NPV, IRR and their dated versions, lookups, conditional sums and date functions for financial data, financial model structure, scenarios and sensitivity tables, and checking, error handling and pivot reporting — written to Microsoft Excel function documentation, the FAST Standard and CFI's FMVA curriculum for 2026. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable Excel for Finance Proficiency certificate (SOA-EF). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Excel functions (alphabetical) (Microsoft Support), The FAST Standard for financial modelling (FAST Standard Organisation), Use Goal Seek to find the result you want (Microsoft Support) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Excel for Finance Practice Test, updated for 2026 and 2027. It measures time value of money, lookups, sums and dates, model structure and scenarios and checking, errors and reporting and gives instant results with a shareable certificate.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Excel for Finance Proficiency certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Excel functions (alphabetical) (Microsoft Support); The FAST Standard for financial modelling (FAST Standard Organisation); Use Goal Seek to find the result you want (Microsoft Support); Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA) program curriculum (Corporate Finance Institute); What is financial modeling? (Corporate Finance Institute); Overview of PivotTables and PivotCharts (Microsoft Support). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Time Value of Money (NPV, IRR and Loans); Lookups, Sums and Dates (XLOOKUP, SUMIFS and Period dates); Model Structure and Scenarios (Layout, Inputs and Sensitivity); Checking, Errors and Reporting (Error handling, Auditing and Pivots). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Financial analyst, FP&A analyst, Accountant, Investment banking or corporate finance analyst and Finance student. It suits anyone who wants a quick, verifiable way to show Excel for Finance knowledge in 2026 and 2027, from students and career switchers to experienced professionals.

The core set is NPV and XNPV, IRR and XIRR, PMT, PV and FV for time value of money, XLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH for lookups, SUMIFS for conditional totals, and EOMONTH and EDATE for period dates.

NPV assumes equal periods and discounts the first value by one period. XNPV uses the actual date of each cash flow, so it is more accurate when cash flows are irregular or the first falls on the valuation date.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Intermediate: assumes hands-on experience in the role. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.