Learning Paths that move
your career forward

Shockproof has trained more than 100,000 professionals in nearly every part of the professional credit spectrum, from credit analysts to Chief Credit Officers, and every role in between. We deliver practical, case-based professional credit skills.

Learning Paths guide credit analysts, business bankers, and lenders from novice to highly productive in months. We offer Certificates of Completion and Certificates of Mastery - measured through acquired knowledge quizzes and tests offered with every course and Skill Series.

Our training for Credit Analysts is second to none, enabling them to underwrite commercial loans with appropriate supervision. We offer two areas of focus: Commercial & Industrial Business and Commercial Real Estate.

The Learning Path for a Senior Credit Analyst builds on the foundation of the Credit Analyst training. It provides the advanced skills needed to underwrite commercial loan requests independently, along with curriculum designed to develop expertise in multiple lending specialties.

The Learning Path for a Business Banker provides skills required to assess repayment sources, identify credit risks and mitigate them with appropriate conditions and covenants to present quality credit recommendations. This Learning Path includes sessions that will bolster limited or out-of-date credit skills, and provides training on advanced cash flow analysis and lending specialty areas.

The Learning Path for a Commercial Real Estate Lender provides skills to underwrite income property loans including assessment of repayment sources, identification of key credit risks and risk mitigation with appropriate conditions and covenants to present quality credit recommendations. It also explores CAP rates, NOI projections, and property break even analysis.

Questions about a Learning Path? Email support@shockproof.com for personalized guidance.

Credit Analysts
Credit Analyst - Commercial & Industrial
Credit Analyst - Commercial Real Estate
Mid-Level Positions
Senior Credit Analyst
Business Banker - C & I Focus
Commercial Real Estate Lender
Other Positions
Private Banker
Corporate Banker
Construction Lender
Consumer and Retail Lender
Special Assets
Loan Review
Board Member

Credit Analyst - Commercial & Industrial

This set of courses provides you with the skills needed to succeed as a Credit Analyst by learning to underwrite commercial business loan requests—typically under the supervision of a Senior Credit Analyst, Credit Administrator, or experienced senior lender.

To reach this level of skill, for each credit request, an analyst will need to identify the following:

  • The borrowing causes
  • The cash sources of debt service
  • The risks associated with each cash source of debt service
  • The relevant risk mitigants

How these issues are resolved determines the loan recommendation and structure.

A proper understanding and application of the Uniform Credit Analysis (UCA) cash flow statement is critical for successful completion of the Learning Path and its associated certification. For someone new to commercial credit, the 12 - 24 month Learning Path for this role includes 5 components covered in 21 courses:

  1. Introduction to Commercial Credit Skill Series (5 courses)
  2. Accounting Essentials Skill Series (4 courses)
  3. Fundamental Financial Skills Courses
  4. Commercial & Industrial Business Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses)
  5. Practical Skill-Building Courses

The Introduction to Commercial Credit Skill Series teaches foundational knowledge of business organizations and basic financial analysis, and introduces the first steps in the analytical process - the initial assessment of prospective borrowers.

If the employee has a demonstrable working knowledge of accounting, he or she may skip the Accounting Essentials Skill Series. However, refreshing these skills may be necessary to achieve mastery of the material in this Learning Path.

The two fundamental financial courses teach the basics of spreading financial statements to address common credit analyst spreading errors. They also provide an introduction to the UCA cash flow statement, its construction and interpretation.

The Commercial & Industrial Business Underwriting Skill Series introduces the sequential steps in the credit decision process: an assessment of the borrower, the guarantor, and the collateral, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. It also teaches the necessary analytical techniques necessary to master each step and arrive at a credit recommendation.

The two practical skill-building courses provide essential knowledge about commercial loan documentation, and the methods to create quality credit write-ups, to effectively convey the analytical conclusions, eliminating elevator analysis, and data dumping.

Upon the successful completion of this Learning Path, the employee will be eligible to receive a C & I Analyst Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Mastery.

Credit Analyst - Commercial Real Estate

This Learning Path provides the skills necessary to succeed as a Credit Analyst by underwriting commercial real estate loan requests, typically under the supervision of a Senior Credit Analyst, Credit Administrator, or experienced senior lender.

To reach this level of skill, for each credit request, an analyst will need to identify the following:

  • The borrowing causes
  • The cash sources of debt service
  • The risks associated with each cash source of debt service
  • The relevant risk mitigants

How these issues are resolved determines the loan recommendation and structure.

A proper understanding and application of the Uniform Credit Analysis (UCA) cash flow statement is critical for successful completion of the Learning Path and its associated certification. For someone new to commercial real estate underwriting, the 12 - 24 month Learning Path for this role includes 6 components covering 21 courses:

  1. Introductory Courses
  2. Accounting Essentials Skill Series (4 courses)
  3. Fundamental Financial Skills Courses
  4. Commercial Real Estate Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses)
  5. Federal Tax Return Forms
  6. Practical Skill-Building Courses

An individual can take either of the introductory courses and/or the Accounting Essentials Skill Series in any sequence.

The two introductory courses provide a common framework to evaluate potential loan candidates, and a general overview of key terminology, and the analytical methods used in commercial real estate lending.

If the individual has a demonstrable working knowledge of accounting, he or she may skip the Accounting Essentials Skill Series. However, refreshing these skills may be necessary to achieve mastery of the material in this Learning Path.

The two fundamental financial courses teach the basics of spreading financial statements and provide an introduction to the UCA cash flow statement construction and use.

The Commercial Real Estate Underwriting Skill Series introduces the sequential steps in the credit decision process: an assessment of the borrower, the guarantor, and the collateral - and the necessary analytical techniques necessary to master each step. The analyst will gain understanding of CAP rates, MAI appraisal valuations, property NOI projections, break-even analysis, risks unique to CRE and the covenants to mitigate those risks.

The three sessions of the Federal Tax Returns Analysis Skill Series focus upon tax knowledge needed to analyze cash flow of individual guarantors.

The two practical skill-building courses provide a general overview of essential CRE loan documentation and the methods to create professional-grade credit write-ups.

Upon successful completion of this Learning Path, the employee will be eligible to receive a Certificate of Completion.

Senior Credit Analyst

Completion of this Learning Path provides the credit skills necessary to underwrite a commercial business loan request, without assistance or guidance, based on an assessment of available hard and soft data.

Courses in this curriculum are targeted at individuals that typically have 2 or more years of experience as a Credit Analyst. To achieve certification as a Senior Analyst, they must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the proper use and application of cash flow statements in the credit decision process. They will also understand how to use the information in federal income tax returns in the analysis of borrowers and guarantors through successful completion of the Primary Learning Path.

The courses in the Primary Learning Path consist of:

  1. Cash Flow Statements vs. Proxies for Risk Assessment Skill Series (4 courses minus the first course if already taken)
  2. Federal Tax Return Analysis Skill Series (8 courses minus those already taken)
  3. Advanced Cash Flow Courses
    Require completion of five of the seven courses for certification Take at least three of the following advanced courses:
  4. Projections and Risk Assessment
  5. Practical Skill Building Course

Secondary Learning Path curriculum:

  1. Selected Specialty Lending Courses
  2. Commercial Real Estate/Construction Lending

Business Banker - C & I Focus

This Learning Path provides Business Bankers with the appropriate credit skills for identifying lending opportunities through a high-level review of financial analysis. Bankers will learn how to interpret the key performance ratios and the results of cash flow analyses to arrive at a sound credit recommendation.

The entire Learning Path is designed for Business Bankers with limited experience in that role. For those with more highly developed and active business banking credit skills, selected sessions in this learning path can enhance those skills. This curriculum does not include skills that permit the individual to perform the in-depth work that a Credit Analyst or Senior Credit Analyst would perform within the organization.

Recommended prerequisites are: UCA Cash Flow and Tax sessions (3) that are part of the C & I Analyst curriculum (or demonstrated competencies in those areas).

For someone new to the industry, the 12 - 24 month Learning Path for this role includes 4 components covering 19 courses:

  1. Accounting Essentials Skill Series (4 courses) - optional
  2. Commercial & Industrial Business Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses)
  3. Practical Financial Skills Courses
  4. Advanced Risk, Projections and Repayment Courses

Commercial Real Estate Lender

This Learning Path provides CRE lenders with the appropriate credit skills for: identifying and analyzing income property lending opportunities, evaluating borrowers and guarantors, and assessing collateral as sources of repayment to arrive at a sound credit recommendation.

The learner will: gain an understanding of CAP rates and MAI appraisal valuations, learn how to generate property NOI projections and complete break-even analysis to identify the amount of debt a property’s NOI can support. In addition, they will learn to underwrite loans to meet institutions underwriting standards, identify repayment risks and the covenants to mitigate those risks.

This Learning Path is designed for CRE Lenders that will be active in underwriting their loans. For Business Bankers that are active in CRE lending, completion of the sessions are unique to this Learning Path and will round out their training.

Recommended prerequisites are: UCA Cash Flow and Tax sessions (3) that are part of the C & I Analyst curriculum (or demonstrated competencies in those areas).

For someone new to the industry, the 12 - 24 month Learning Path for this role includes 4 components covering 19 courses:

  1. Accounting Essentials Skill Series (4 courses) - optional
  2. Commercial Real Estate Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses)
  3. Practical Financial Skills Courses
  4. Advanced Risk, Projections and Repayment courses

Private Banker

The Learning Path for a Private Banker consists of two parts that build core skills for underwriting high-net-worth individuals, financing their commercial real estate (CRE) investments, and lending to professional service firms.

The Primary Learning Path provides Private Bankers with the credit skills for underwriting individual high-net-worth borrowers and financing the CRE investments of those individuals.

The Secondary Learning Path provides Private Bankers with the commercial credit skills for underwriting professional service corporations.

Primary Learning Path for Private Bankers (14)


Secondary Learning Path for Private Bankers (11)

Corporate Banker

The Learning Path for a Corporate Banker consists of two components that provide more advanced analytical training necessary for lending to larger, more complex businesses, and offers a curriculum in specialty lending areas.

The Primary Learning Path provides Corporate Bankers with training to enhance their existing commercial credit skills with advanced courses in UCA cash flow, financial projections and risk assessment. Prerequisites include a mastery of UCA cash flow statements and/or completion of the Cash Flow Statements Vs. Proxies for Risk Assessment Skill Series.

The Secondary Learning Path provides Corporate Bankers options for specialty lending areas.

Primary Learning Path for Corporate Bankers (8)

  1. Advanced Cash Flow Courses
  2. Projections and Risk Assessment


Secondary Learning Path for Corporate Bankers

Selected Specialty Lending Courses (7)


Non-profit and Municipality Lending Specialty (11)

These sessions are specialty training targeted for Business Bankers/Commercial Bankers and Corporate Bankers engaging in Non-Profit or Municipal Lending.

Prerequisites include: mastery of UCA Cash Flow and Federal Tax Analysis and/or the curriculum for these job functions.


Health Care Provider Lending Speciality (2)

These sessions provide intermediate and advanced level specialty training for Private Bankers or Business Bankers/Commercial Bankers.

Prerequisites include: mastery of UCA Cash Flow and Federal Tax Analysis and/or the curriculum for these job functions

Construction Lender

The Learning Path for a Construction Lender focuses on the skills needed to analyze contractors and their related entities.

The Primary Learning Path equips Construction Lenders with the skills to evaluate contractors and their related entities—many of which own income-producing real estate—making a strong foundation in commercial real estate (CRE) analysis essential.

The Secondary Learning Path is designed for Construction Lenders that lack familiarity with analyzing Federal Tax Returns for their obligor or for their guarantors. They will focus on UCA cash flow analysis and EBITDA as a measure of Debt Capacity.

Primary Learning Path for Construction Lender (14)


Secondary Learning Path for Construction Lender (11)

Consumer & Retail Lender

The Learning Path for a Consumer or Retail Lender focuses on using tax returns to enable participants to analyze the cash flow of individuals that are self employed.

The Primary Learning Path for a Consumer or Retail Lender is focused on using tax returns to enable participants to analyze the cash flow of individuals that are self-employed.

The Secondary Learning Path for Consumer or Retail Lenders focuses on credit career development.

Primary Learning Path for Consumer or Retail Lender (3)


Secondary Learning Path for Consumer or Retail Lender (10)

Special Assets

The Learning Path for a Special Assets problem loan workout professional focuses on risk assessment, financial projections, evaluating guarantor liquidity and cash flow as secondary sources of repayment, as well as collateral analysis and loan documentation.

This Learning Path is designed for Special Assets officers that have some experience in commercial lending and background analyzing commercial credits.

The Primary Learning Path for Special Assets is designed with a focus on the essential areas for problem loan assessment and management: projections for the future primary source of repayment, evaluating guarantor liquidity and cash flow sources for the secondary source of repayment, collateral assessment as the tertiary source of repayment, risk assessment, and loan documentation.

The Secondary Learning Path for Special Assets is focused on skills needed to evaluate borrower’s cash flow and essential fundamentals that would be needed for those with limited commercial underwriting experience.

Note: Given the specific focus of Special Assets professionals, only specific courses within certain Skill Series have been recommended, as the entire Skill Series is designed for dedicated lending functions.

Primary Learning Path for Special Assets (14)

  1. Projections and Risk Assessment
  2. Evaluating Guarantors
  3. Evaluating Real Estate Collateral
  4. Documentation Review


Secondary Learning Path for Special Assets (11)

  1. Federal Tax Forms
  2. Working Capital, Cash Flow, Financial Statements

Loan Review

The Learning Path for a Loan Reviewer is designed with a focus on credit risk assessment. Shockproof Learning Paths also include recommended courses for individuals working in Loan Documentation, Loan Support and Internal Audit.

The Primary Learning Path recommended for Loan Review is designed with a focus on evaluating credit risk and assessing the quality of loan documentation. This Learning Path is desigined for a Loan Reviewer with Commercial Lending experience. Additionally, specialty lending expertise options are recommended to be taken if they apply to your portfolio.

The Secondary Learning Path is intended for Loan Reviewers that lack Business Banking C & I or CRE lending experience. This curriculum provides the option of C & I or CRE underwriting training. The curriculum choice would be driven by the concentrations of C & I or CRE in the portfolios subject to review. Some reviewers may benefit from completing both curriculums.

Primary Learning Path for Loan Review Roles (17-21)

  1. Projections and Risk Assessment
  2. Advanced Cash Flow Courses
  3. Documentation Fundamentals
  4. Commercial Real Estate/Construction Lending
  5. Selected Specialty Lending Courses:


Secondary Learning Path for Loan Review Roles (20):

  1. Choice of C & I or CRE underwriting curriculum or both Commercial Real Estate Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses) OR Commercial & Industrial Business Underwriting Skill Series (8 courses)
  2. Federal Tax Return Analysis Skill Series (8 courses)
  3. Cash Flow Statements Vs. Proxies for Risk Assessment Skill Series (4 courses)

Board Member Learning Path - Commercial Business & Real Estate

Board Members come from diverse professional backgrounds and often have varying levels of credit expertise. This Learning Path equips Board Members—especially those with limited exposure to commercial business or commercial real estate lending—with the foundational knowledge needed to recognize key credit issues in any loan request that comes before the Board.

The Board Member Learning Path is organized into four components combining short background readings (“Credit Refreshers”) and targeted courses. Components 1 and 2 consist of concise Credit Refreshers designed to build baseline knowledge with minimal time commitment.

These Refreshers prepare Board Members to get the most out of the courses in components 3 and 4. The combination of readings and courses ensures that Board Members can confidently identify and evaluate the key credit issues present in both commercial business and commercial real estate lending requests.

  1. Commercial Business Credit Refreshers

    Short readings (generally under two pages each) introducing essential concepts:

    • Accounting Profit vs. Business Profit
    • Accrual Financial Statements vs. Tax Returns
    • Traditional Cash Flow
    • The ABCs of Cash Flow
    • Covenants and the First Way Out
  2. Commercial Real Estate Credit Refreshers

    Brief overviews of fundamental real estate credit topics:

    • Simple Stress Testing
    • The Income Capitalization Approach
    • Debt Constant Analysis
    • EBITDA Considerations
    • Collateral Value vs. Cash Flow
  3. Commercial Business Courses (2)
    • The Five Cs of Credit

      Overview of the core credit assessment pillars applicable to both business and real estate loans.

    • Tax Returns vs. Accrual Statements in Assessing Borrower Risk

      Highlights the limitations of cash-flow proxies and contrasts them with the Uniform Credit Analysis (UCA) cash flow method, emphasizing:

      • Borrowing causes
      • Cash sources of debt service
      • Total financial requirements
      • Sources of repayment
  4. Commercial Real Estate Courses (2)
    • Commercial Real Estate

      Explains how rental income, vacancy, expenses, and cap rates determine NOI and property value. Includes typical stress tests assessing vulnerability to market shifts.

    • Global Cash Flow

      Reviews how property and guarantor cash flow are combined to determine total cash available for servicing debt.

We're adding new Learning Paths all the time, so reach out to us if you can't find what you're looking for: support@shockproof.com