The Language of Corporate Finance
Learn how businesses evaluate spending, track true operational health, and pick which big projects to fund. Cut through boardroom jargon like CapEx, EBITDA, and IRR to see the strategic logic behind financial decisions.
Like Duolingo, but for The Language of Corporate Finance. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Tracking the Money: Operations and Cash Flow and Choosing the Bets: Valuing Future Payoffs. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Language of Corporate Finance
- Operating expenses (OpEx) cover regular, day-to-day costs needed to keep the business running
- Capital expenditures (CapEx) buy durable physical or intangible assets intended to generate value across multiple years
- OpEx is deducted in full in the year the money is spent, immediately reducing that year's taxable profit
- CapEx spreads the cost out over several years through depreciation, so only a portion of the spend hits each year's income statement
- Buying equipment upfront (CapEx) drains cash immediately but eliminates future rental or subscription fees for that asset
- Subscribing or leasing (OpEx) keeps cash in the bank today, but adds permanent recurring overhead to monthly operating budgets
- Large cash outflows for assets can be capitalized onto the balance sheet rather than subtracted entirely from current quarterly earnings
- Depreciating asset costs over future years lets expanding companies report healthy current profits while making major investments
- OpEx spending usually sits inside a department's pre-approved operating budget, managed by local department heads
- CapEx involves long-term commitments that typically require formal capital committee review, executive approval, and proof of expected financial return
- Net income sits at the very bottom of the income statement after interest payments and taxes are subtracted
- A heavily indebted company can have excellent day-to-day operations but still show a net loss due to interest expenses
- Different capital structures and tax rates can make two operationally identical businesses look radically different on net income
- EBIT stands for Earnings Before Interest and Taxes, also known as operating profit
- EBIT removes the distortion of how a company is financed (debt vs. equity) and where it pays taxes
- Looking at EBIT reveals whether the day-to-day business engine works on its own merits
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Language of Corporate Finance the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is the primary purpose of a capital expenditure (CapEx)?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn The Language of Corporate Finance, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Tracking the Money: Operations and Cash Flow
- CapEx vs. OpEx: How Spending Hits the Books
- EBIT and EBITDA: Assessing Core Business Power
- 2
Choosing the Bets: Valuing Future Payoffs
- Present Value and NPV: Pricing Tomorrow's Cash
- IRR and Hurdle Rates: Ranking Competing Investments
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Language of Corporate Finance
How do I learn The Language of Corporate Finance?
Go in order: start with Tracking the Money: Operations and Cash Flow, then Choosing the Bets: Valuing Future Payoffs. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Language of Corporate Finance?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Language of Corporate Finance is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Language of Corporate Finance free?
Yes. The Language of Corporate Finance is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Language of Corporate Finance?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Language of Corporate Finance?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Language of Corporate Finance is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Language of Corporate Finance today.
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