Build an acquisition financial model that can explain and test itself

Four related schedules with distinct purposes

Closing funds flow

A point-in-time schedule showing who pays whom at closing: purchase price, debt payoff, transaction expenses, escrows, holdbacks, and wires. It is an execution and reconciliation document, not an operating forecast.

Sources and uses

A capital-structure bridge showing how much money the transaction requires and where that money comes from, such as new debt, buyer equity, seller financing, or rollover.

Operating cash-flow forecast

A recurring monthly or annual forecast of revenue, operating costs, debt service, and liquidity after closing. Calling this a funds flow obscures its different time horizon and purpose.

Cap table

A pre- and post-transaction ownership schedule. The synthetic example uses Party A and Party B so readers can inspect ownership mechanics without exposing personal information.

Why a generated workbook helps

The reusable opportunity is not a universal deal formula. It is a disciplined compiler and verification pattern that makes a custom workbook easier to review, revise, and hand off.

Read the accompanying article, How to build an acquisition financial model that can explain and test itself, for the terminology, source-aware modeling pattern, and evidence behind the workflow.

The workflow the skill enforces

1. Define inputs once

   Record each economic assumption once, with a stable name, status, unit, and source identifier. A later email, lender quote, diligence response, or agreement provision gets its own source record instead of inheriting a generic sender label.

2. Build final workbook topology directly

   Render the final sheets in a fixed order. Keep financial logic in readable domain records and formula functions, while a small presentation layer handles cell placement and styling.

3. Recalculate outside the Python writer

   Writing an XLSX file is not the same as calculating it. Recalculate with a compatible spreadsheet engine, reopen the result, and scan formula outputs for errors.

4. Verify behavior and structure

   Compare sheet order, key formulas, and expected checks against a deterministic snapshot. For behavior-preserving refactors, compare recalculated workbooks cell by cell before accepting the change.

Verification

A green check is evidence only if it can turn red

Each invariant should sit beside a human-readable assertion. Examples include sources equaling uses, ownership totaling 100%, debt payoff reconciling, and the cash balance rolling forward correctly.

The verifier applies negative controls: it perturbs the workbook in ways designed to violate each assertion and confirms that the relevant check fails. This catches decorative checks, circular confirmations, and formulas that always return “PASS.”

Source provenance is model data

Every input can identify the exact communication or document supporting it, together with whether it is confirmed, estimated, derived, or still outstanding. Stable, granular source identifiers prevent a new message from silently changing the attribution of an older fact.

Limits and safe use

• The skill provides a workbook-building and verification method. It does not decide deal terms or determine whether a transaction is advisable.
• It is not legal, tax, accounting, investment, valuation, or lending advice. Qualified advisers should review the facts, agreements, tax treatment, accounting treatment, and financing terms for the actual transaction.
• It does not transmit wire instructions, initiate payments, access a bank account, or execute a closing. Independently verify all payment instructions through an approved, secure process.
• Spreadsheet-engine differences can affect formulas. Recalculate and inspect the generated file in the software that will be used for review and closing.
• Synthetic examples are starting points, not market terms. Replace them with authorized, independently verified inputs for the specific transaction.

Download the synthetic acquisition financial model (.xlsx)