CaseKey Academy 2025 – Impact Track
By joining the Track, you will strengthen your ability to analyze, quantify, and defend the suggested impact of business case solutions.
How it works
4 sessions (offline, evening), + office hours
Members responsible for the impact sections of cases
September 8, 18, 29 & October 9
Attendance in all sessions is mandatory
Learning Objectives
By the end of the track, participants will be able to:
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Understand and interpret key financial statements, especially income statements
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Estimate and benchmark revenues, costs, and financial performance in a case-solving context
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Apply financial KPIs such as incremental revenue, ROI, payback period, and cost-benefit ratios to evaluate solutions
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Critically review and refine the finance and impact parts of business cases
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Defend financial assumptions and decisions under scrutiny (“grilling”) and challenge peers constructively
Curriculum Structure
Topic: Building Blocks of Case Finance & Impact
- Introduction to the finance track and its role in case competitions.
- Income statement: how to read, structure, and interpret.
- Revenue and cost calculations: key drivers, estimation techniques, benchmarking.
- Common KPIs in business cases: incremental revenue, ROI, payback, NPV/IRR (light touch).
- Linking financial impact with timeline and risks.
- Mini exercise: interpret a simplified case-based income statement.
Case Grilling I
- New case assigned (from Academy cases already solved).
- All participants must resubmit updated finance & impact parts for this case before the session.
- 3–4 teams are selected to present and defend their revisions.
- Trainer and peers grill presenters: challenge assumptions, stress-test numbers, question risks and timelines.
- Reflection: What makes financial reasoning convincing (or weak)?
Case Grilling II
- Another new case assigned (from Academy cases).
- All participants submit updated finance & impact sections; 3–4 teams present.
- Continuation of grilling with emphasis on:
- Presenting financial reasoning persuasively.
- Spotting “red flags” – over-optimism, double counting, weak link to strategy.
- Joint discussion: balancing rigor and speed under competition pressure.
Case Grilling III & Wrap-Up
- Final new case assigned (from Academy cases).
- All participants submit their revised finance & impact parts; 3–4 teams present.
- Final grilling session and synthesis of lessons learned.
- Group debrief: What did we learn about financial impact, risk, and timelines across all cases?
- Insights from Ara Chalabyan’s career: how financial reasoning strengthens decision-making.
- Preparing for competition: packaging finance & impact for judges.
- Closing remarks & recognition of participants.
About the Trainer
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Ara Chalabyan Ara Chalabyan brings over 25 years of experience in internal auditing, corporate finance, and operations across diverse sectors, including central banking, financial services, mining, trading, education, NGOs, and volunteer work.
