The amount of time it takes to learn Excel for a finance person depends on several factors, including a person’s prior knowledge and experience with the program. For a finance role that is new to the program, it can take anywhere from two weeks to three months to learn the basics of Excel for finance. Those advanced users with prior experience may be able to grasp the material in less time. If a person is willing to dedicate the necessary time and effort, they can become proficient in Excel for finance in a relatively short period of time.