The Analyst Lab: SG&A Variance Analysis

This is the lab that comes with a verified completion credential.

Not a certificate of attendance. A verified signal that you did real analyst work, and got it right.

Your accounting courses covered debits and credits. They didn't cover the 40,000-row CSV your manager drops in your inbox Monday morning. The Analyst Lab is that Monday morning, without the career risk.

You're the new FP&A analyst at NovaTrade Consumer Co. Close just finished. Your manager needs the SG&A variance pack for Friday's leadership review, and the GL export is raw, straight out of the ERP, problems included. Your job: map it, clean it, roll it up, and deliver an executive-ready variance analysis.

**Everything you need is in the box:**

- **The dataset.** 5 CSV files of realistic ERP-style data: two months of GL detail, chart of accounts, cost center hierarchy, and a prior-year comparative

- **The lab.** Full scenario instructions, control totals to tie out against, and 5 seeded data quality issues (3 distinct types) hiding in the data. They're findable through pivots and lookups, not by scrolling 3,000 rows. At least one, left uncaught, flips a variance from favorable to unfavorable.

- **The field guide.** *Read the GL: Quick-Start Guide*, the complete 6-part playbook (GL anatomy, mapping tables, data quality checks, rollups, variance memos), written like a senior analyst training you on your first Monday

- **The credential.** Finish the lab, submit your work, pass a short verification Q&A (5–8 questions, 80% threshold), and earn a BTA Verified Completion Credential for your resume and LinkedIn profile

**The verification is objective.** The dataset has known correct answers. You either found them or you didn't. That's what makes the credential worth listing, and what makes your work product worth showing in an interview.

**Who it's for:** Accounting and finance students, recent grads in analyst or FP&A roles, and CPA/CFA candidates who want to prove they can do the work before someone gives them the chance to.

Learn it. Do it. Prove it. One purchase, instant download, work at your own pace.