3-Statement Modeling Using Excel

Introduction

You're building a 3-statement model in Excel to forecast performance, cash needs, and valuation for FY2025, so start by mapping assumptions, timing, and working-capital drivers to avoid hidden breaks. The direct takeaway: link the Income Statement (profit and loss), Balance Sheet (position), and Cash Flow (movement) cleanly and test the model with balance checks, cash roll‑forwards, and at least one reconciliation that forces Assets = Liabilities + Equity. One-liner: build inputs, link formulas, and make checks before you present numbers. Here's the quick math: inputs → linked formulas → three-way reconciliation; defintely run 3 stress scenarios before you share the model.

Key Takeaways

• Link the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow cleanly and enforce a three‑way reconciliation so Assets = Liabilities + Equity every period.
• Separate Inputs, Workings, and Outputs sheets; never hard‑code assumptions and use clear version control and tab names.
• Provide supporting schedules (D&A, capex, debt, working capital, taxes) so every balance sheet line is traceable to workings.
• Drive revenue and costs from explicit, visible drivers (e.g., volume×price, ARPU, days outstanding) so assumptions are auditable.
• Test and fail loudly: run sensitivity/stress scenarios, cash roll‑forwards, balance checks, and automated error flags before presenting numbers.

What the 3 statements show and why they must tie

Income Statement (profit and loss)

You need the Income Statement to show how the business earned and spent money over a period: top-line revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), operating expenses, taxes, and net income. Treat it as a flow - it explains performance, not cash position.

Practical steps in Excel:

• Drive revenue from explicit inputs: volume × price, ARPU (average revenue per user), or year-over-year growth - expose the drivers on your Inputs sheet.

• Compute COGS either as a % of revenue or per-unit cost; use SUMPRODUCT for volume-driven businesses to keep math visible.

• Separate operating (SG&A) from non-operating items; link interest expense to the debt schedule and flag one-offs with an audit column.

• Calculate tax using a clear effective tax-rate schedule and link deferred tax movements to a tax workings tab.

• Use a single formula pattern for each line down the model and freeze key inputs with named ranges to avoid accidental edits.

Here's the quick math: revenue - COGS = gross profit; gross profit - operating expenses - interest - taxes = net income.

One-liner: make revenue drivers visible and traceable to every line.

Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet gives a snapshot of resources and claims at a point in time: assets, liabilities, and equity. It shows what the company owns and owes, and funds retained earnings (cumulative profits).

Practical steps and formulas you can use right away:

• Forecast fixed assets with a rollforward: opening PP&E + capex - depreciation = closing PP&E. Link each term to a capex schedule and D&A (depreciation & amortization) workings.

• Convert working-capital days to balances: AR = (revenue / 365) × 45 days (example), Inventory = (COGS / 365) × 60 days, AP = (COGS / 365) × 30 days. Put the day assumptions on Inputs so you can scenario them.

• Model debt with an amortization table: opening balance, interest (link rate × opening balance), scheduled repayments, and new draws. Link interest to the Income Statement.

• Roll retained earnings: prior retained earnings + net income - dividends = current retained earnings. Never type retained earnings directly on the BS; always link the rollforward.

• Use circular logic only intentionally: if interest depends on cash balances and debt depends on financing, isolate the circle (iterative calc or solve with a short-term cash sweep) and document it clearly.

What to check: total assets must equal total liabilities + equity every period; any divergence is a red flag - trace the precedent chain to the first bad formula.

One-liner: every balance sheet line should have a supporting schedule you can audit.

Cash Flow Statement and why tying matters

The Cash Flow Statement explains how cash moved: cash from operations (CFO), cash from investing (CFI), and cash from financing (CFF). It turns accrual accounting (Income Statement and Balance Sheet) into actual cash impact.

Practical build steps and checks:

• Start CFO with net income, add non-cash items (D&A, stock comp), then adjust for working-capital movements (ΔAR, ΔInventory, ΔAP). Link each change to the Balance Sheet schedules so the change equals the period-over-period balance difference.

• Record CFI from the capex and asset-sale lines on your capex schedule; keep signs consistent (capex usually negative cash).

• Record CFF from your debt and equity schedules: draws are positive cash, repayments negative; equity raises and dividends flow here and should match balance sheet equity movements.

• Reconcile cash: beginning cash + CFO + CFI + CFF = ending cash. Link ending cash to the Balance Sheet cash line; that link is your three-way tie.

• Build model checks that fail loudly: a single-cell check = (Total Assets - Total Liabilities - Equity), conditional-format if <> 0; a cash-reconcile flag if ending cash - BS cash <> 0; show the failed period in red and stop presenting until fixed.

Here's the quick math: net change in cash = CFO + CFI + CFF; ending cash must equal the Balance Sheet cash balance.

Why tying matters: mismatches hide formula errors, misstate cash availability, and lead to wrong decisions - if cash is off by $1, stakeholders will lose trust; if it's off by $1,000,000, you can run out of cash unexpectedly.

One-liner: cash must reconcile every period and fail loudly if it doesn't.

Model setup and workbook hygiene

You're building a 3-statement model in Excel to forecast performance, cash needs, and valuation; the direct takeaway: keep assumptions separate, build clear supporting schedules, and publish a clean Outputs sheet for stakeholders so numbers are traceable and testable. Here's the practical setup that prevents mistakes and saves hours of rework.

Inputs sheet for drivers and assumptions

Start by creating a single Inputs tab that holds every driver and assumption you want to change. Put one driver per row, a short description, units, and then columns for historical years and FY2025 and forward projections. Example rows: Base year revenue $120,000,000 (FY2025), ARPU $45, headcount 150, annual capex budget $8,000,000. Keep inputs human-readable - avoid formulas here.

Concrete steps:

• Label row, unit, source, and last-updated date
• Lock cells with protection and allow input range only
• Color-code inputs (e.g., light yellow) and never hard-code them in formulas
• Reference inputs everywhere with absolute references (use named ranges)
• Document assumptions inline: source (board deck), date, and confidence level

Best practices and gotchas: use named ranges to avoid broken links across sheets; avoid long formula chains that reference Inputs directly - use short, explicit references. If an input changes, trace precedents to confirm the change hits all dependent cells. What this estimate hides: a single wrong input can shift cash runway by months, so track source and reviewer.

One-liner: separate assumptions into a single Inputs tab so changes propagate cleanly.

Workings sheet for schedules

Keep all detailed schedules on one or more Workings tabs: depreciation & amortization (D&A), capex, debt amortization, taxes, and working capital schedules (AR, Inventory, AP). Each balance-sheet or non-trivial P&L line should point to a supporting schedule. That way auditors and analysts can trace every number to a clear calculation.

Specific workflows:

• Create a D&A table: opening PP&E, additions (capex), disposals, D&A expense, closing PP&E
• Build capex queue: type, timing (FY2025 Q1), cash flow sign convention
• Model debt: opening balance, interest expense (link to rates), principal repayments, new borrowings
• Working capital: model as days outstanding and convert to balances (AR days → AR balance)
• Tax workings: taxable income, losses carried forward, effective tax rate schedule, deferred tax movements

Step-by-step checklist: 1) lay out each schedule left-to-right by period; 2) use consistent signs (cash out negative); 3) add comment cells for non-obvious logic; 4) include a subtotal row that the Outputs sheet will reference. Example: AR days 45 → AR balance = revenue/365 × 45. What this hides: an implicit change to day assumptions can swing cash by millions, so flag material changes in the change log.

One-liner: every P&L, BS, or CFS line needs a supporting schedule on Workings.

Outputs sheet, version control, and publishing

Build an Outputs tab that summarizes the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement in presentation-ready form and includes 1-3 charts (revenue, EBITDA margin, cash runway). Link every Outputs cell to Workings or Inputs - no direct calculations on this sheet. Use row-level comments or footnotes to point back to the supporting schedule and source.

Version control and governance:

• Add a timestamp cell: last saved and model version (v1.0, v1.1)
• Keep a change log tab: date, author, description, impacted lines
• Name worksheets clearly: Inputs, Workings_DA, Workings_Debt, Outputs
• Save a locked PDF of key outputs for board/stakeholders
• Keep development and production files separate (ModelName_dev.xlsx, ModelName_prod.xlsx)

Practical checklist before you share: run the three checks (BS balances, cash reconciles, circular reference test), audit > trace precedents on key numbers, and run a +/-20% sensitivity on primary drivers. Small typo: make sure the version in the file name matches the timestamp - avoid having multiple v1.0s; that gets messy and defintely costly in time.

One-liner: separate inputs, workings, outputs - and version everything so your numbers are defensible and repeatable.

Next step: Finance - draft the Inputs sheet with FY2025 base year numbers and driver definitions and upload the v1.0 file to the shared folder by Friday; I'll review and build the initial Workings schedules on Monday.

Building the Income Statement in Excel

You're building the income statement to feed your 3-statement model and want clear, auditable math so forecasts and valuation don't fall apart. The direct takeaway: make revenue and cost drivers explicit on an Inputs sheet, link every line to a workings schedule, and show the math so audits and scenarios run cleanly.

Drive revenue with explicit drivers and show the math

Start by putting all revenue drivers on an Inputs tab: volumes, prices, ARPU (average revenue per user), conversion rates, churn, and channel splits. Don't hard-code any arithmetic in the P&L-point each revenue line to the Inputs cell holding the driver or to a small calculation on the Workings tab.

Practical steps:

• List drivers by period (FY2025, FY2026...) on Inputs.
• Use clear labels: Units_Sold, Price_per_Unit, ARPU_monthly, Active_Customers.
• Compute revenue on Workings, then link P&L line to Workings total.

Example math (show the formula and value): units 1,200,000 × price $75.00 = revenue $90,000,000 for FY2025; write the formula on Workings as =Inputs!B2Inputs!B3 and reference Workings!B10 from the P&L. Here's the quick math: always show units, price, and growth pillars in separate cells so reviewers can trace back.

Best practices and checks:

• Break revenue by channel so SUM(revenue_by_channel) = revenue_total.
• Add a column for one-off true-ups and flag with a comments column.
• Validate by reconciling modeled revenue to any external totals (CRM, GAAP revenue) each quarter.

What this estimate hides: using blended growth rates loses visibility into customer-level dynamics and churn; build both cohort/ARPU schedules and a topline driver.

One-liner: make revenue drivers visible and traceable to each line.

Forecast cost lines: COGS per-unit or percent, SG&A by headcount or percent

Model COGS either as a percentage of revenue or on a per-unit basis depending on product economics. Put assumptions (material cost per SKU, freight, variable overhead) on Inputs and a short COGS schedule on Workings that multiplies unit volumes by per-unit cost and adds fixed cost pools.

Concrete steps:

• COGS schedule: Units × Cost_per_Unit + variable overhead + freight.
• Gross margin: Revenue - COGS; compute both margin dollars and %.
• SG&A: build a headcount table with roles, counts, average comp, and benefits; add fixed SG&A (rent, software, marketing) separately.

Example numbers for FY2025: if COGS per unit is $30.00, COGS = $36,000,000 (1,200,000 × $30), giving gross profit $54,000,000 and gross margin 60%. For SG&A, if headcount is 120 with avg total comp $80,000, payroll = $9,600,000; add fixed SG&A $4,000,000 for total SG&A $13,600,000.

Modeling tips and pitfalls:

• Separate fixed vs variable costs-use % of revenue only for quick sensitivity runs.
• Link payroll to headcount drivers so hiring plans update SG&A automatically.
• Flag one-offs (restructuring, IPO costs) as separate P&L lines and exclude from run-rate margins unless recurring.

Audit check: change a single driver (units or headcount) and trace its impact to gross profit and operating profit in the P&L; if anything doesn't move, you have a broken link.

One-liner: drive COGS and SG&A from inputs so cost behavior scales transparently with volume and hiring.

Add non-operating items and compute taxes with links to deferred tax workings

Put non-operating items on the P&L but calculate them on dedicated Workings schedules so they're auditable. Interest expense should come from a debt amortization schedule; one-offs use a flag column and a uniform sign convention (expenses negative, income positive).

Steps for interest and one-offs:

• Debt schedule: opening balance, new borrowings, repayments, interest rate, interest expense = opening_balance × rate.
• Link interest expense cell on P&L to the total interest line on the debt schedule; do not hard-code rates in the P&L.
• Place one-offs on a separate table with date, amount, recurring? Y/N, and a comment explaining impact and tax treatment.

Taxes and deferred tax linkage:

• Compute taxable income on Workings (pre-tax GAAP adjustments → taxable base).
• Apply an effective tax rate schedule on Inputs (FY2025 effective rate, FY2026...); example combined effective rate 26% for FY2025-model current tax = TAXABLE_INCOME × rate.
• Model deferred tax assets/liabilities from temporary differences (e.g., D&A timing differences) and link the movement to the Balance Sheet deferred tax line.

Example: if pre-tax income is $30,400,000 in FY2025 and effective rate is 26%, current tax = $7,904,000. Show the formula on Workings as =MAX(0,Taxable_Income)Inputs!TaxRate and post the result to the P&L and to a tax payable line on the Balance Sheet.

Practical cautions:

• Document treatment of NOLs (net operating losses) and carryforwards-link their utilization by year.
• Keep tax-rate assumptions in Inputs and show sensitivity (±200 bps) so impact on net income is visible.
• Be explicit about permanent differences (tax-exempt income) and book vs taxable adjustments.

What this estimate hides: deferred tax timing can mask cash tax payments-always reconcile cash taxes in the CFS.

One-liner: compute taxes on a taxable-income schedule and link deferred tax movements to the Balance Sheet.

Next step: you build the Inputs sheet with unit, price, headcount, capex, and tax-rate assumptions; assign Finance to draft the first pass by Friday.

Building the Balance Sheet and key schedules

Assets and PP&E reconciliation

You need a clear PP&E (property, plant & equipment) roll-forward so every capex and depreciation movement is traceable to a schedule.

Steps to build it in Excel:

• Record beginning gross PP&E on the Workings sheet.
• Link all capex commitments from the Capex schedule (by project and year) into the Capex line.
• Calculate D&A (depreciation & amortization) on a separate D&A schedule by asset class, linking useful lives and methods.
• Compute ending gross PP&E = beginning gross PP&E + $25,000,000 capex - accumulated disposals (if any).
• Compute ending net PP&E = ending gross PP&E - ending accumulated D&A; on the Balance Sheet link the net number directly to this cell.

Concrete FY2025 example math (put these as cell formulas, not numbers typed in formulas): beginning net PP&E = $150,000,000; capex = $25,000,000; D&A = $18,000,000; ending net PP&E = beginning + capex - D&A = $157,000,000.

Checks and best practices:

• Match gross capex on the Capex schedule to cash paid for capex on the Cash Flow workings.
• Reconcile accumulated D&A on the D&A schedule to the Balance Sheet accumulated D&A line.
• Flag disposals: remove gross asset and related accumulated D&A; post any gain/loss to the Income Statement.

One-liner: tie PP&E to a detailed capex and D&A schedule so every movement has a cell you can click to trace.

Working capital modeling - AR, Inventory, AP days

Convert days (DSO, Inventory days, DPO) into balances so changes flow onto the Balance Sheet and into the Cash Flow Statement.

Core formulas to implement (use the Inputs sheet for days and TTM revenue/COGS):

• Accounts Receivable = TTM Revenue / 365 × DSO
• Inventory = TTM COGS / 365 × Inventory Days
• Accounts Payable = TTM COGS / 365 × AP Days
• Net Working Capital = AR + Inventory - AP

FY2025 worked example (use exact cell links): TTM Revenue = $420,000,000, DSO = 52 days → AR = $59,836,000 (formula: =420000000/36552).

Continue: TTM COGS = $252,000,000 (60% of revenue), Inventory days = 48 → Inventory = $33,140,000; AP days = 35 → AP = $24,164,000. Net working capital = $68,812,000.

Practical advice and pitfalls:

• Put DSO/Days on the Inputs sheet and never hard-code them in formula cells.
• Use TTM (trailing twelve months) revenue/COGS as the denominator to smooth seasonality; for seasonal models, model monthly or quarterly flows.
• Decide between period-end vs average balances and document your choice; switching method changes cash timing materially.
• Show the working capital change on the Cash Flow Statement as the delta of the Balance Sheet lines; this is how CFO (cash from operations) ties out.

What this hides: day changes interact with seasonality and one-offs (refunds, vendor credit adjustments), so always stress-test +/- 5-10 days to see cash impact.

One-liner: model AR, Inventory, AP from explicit days on the Inputs sheet so the Balance Sheet numbers are traceable to simple formulas.

Debt, interest amortization, and equity roll-forwards

Make a financing schedule that drives the Balance Sheet debt lines and the Interest and Financing sections of the Income Statement and Cash Flow.

Debt schedule structure (columns per period):

• Opening balance
• New borrowings (link from financing plans)
• Scheduled repayments / principal repayments
• Interest expense (formula below)
• Ending balance = opening + new borrowings - principal repayments

Interest calc: choose method and be consistent. Common choices: interest = opening balance × nominal rate, or interest = average(balance) × rate for more accuracy when intra-period movements matter.

FY2025 financing example: opening term loan = $80,000,000; scheduled principal repayment = $10,000,000; new borrowing = $0; interest rate = 6.25%; interest expense = $5,000,000 (formula: =800000006.25%). Ending debt = $70,000,000.

Equity and retained earnings roll-forward (simple, auditable):

• Opening retained earnings (from prior BS)
• + Net income (link from Income Statement)
• - Dividends or buybacks (link from Financing schedule)
• = Ending retained earnings (link back to Balance Sheet)

FY2025 retained earnings example: opening = $120,000,000; net income = $28,500,000; dividends = $6,000,000; ending retained earnings = $142,500,000 (formula: =120000000+28500000-6000000).

Reconcile and control points:

• Ensure net increase in debt on Financing schedule equals cash from debt in CFF (cash flow financing).
• Ensure share issuances/buybacks flow to equity lines and cash flow financing; treat transaction costs as financing expense if needed.
• Run a Balance Sheet balance check: Assets = Liabilities + Equity every period; add an error flag cell that shows the difference and conditionally formats if non-zero.
• Document assumptions for rates, maturities, covenants-debt covenant breaches change refinancing and must be modeled explicitly.

One-liner: every Balance Sheet line should have a supporting schedule you can open and audit; if you can't click to the detail, you don't have a model you can trust.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday - owner: Finance.

Cash Flow statement construction and linking checks

You're building the cash flow statement so it explains how net income becomes cash, and so cash in the Balance Sheet always matches the CFS ending cash. Direct takeaway: build CFO from net income, CFI from capex/sales, CFF from financing schedules, then force a strict reconciliation and automated fail flags.

One-liner: cash must reconcile every period and fail loudly if it doesn't.

Operating cash flow construction

Start each period with reported or forecast net income, then add back non-cash charges and adjust for working capital. In Excel keep each adjustment on its own line and link every number to a supporting schedule so reviewers can click through.

• Non-cash items: add D&A, stock-based comp, impairments; link to the D&A schedule.
• Working capital: treat increases in AR/inventory as cash uses (negative) and increases in AP as cash sources (positive).
• Tax paid: use a tax-payments schedule (taxable income × tax rate) rather than applying an effective rate to net income directly.
• Presentation: use a single CFO subtotal row labelled Net cash from operating activities and format inflows as positive values.

Example (FY2025, illustrative): start with net income $2,500,000, add D&A $300,000, subtract AR increase $150,000, add inventory decrease $50,000, add AP increase $100,000 → Net CFO $2,800,000. Here's the quick math: 2,500,000 + 300,000 - 150,000 + 50,000 + 100,000 = 2,800,000. What this estimate hides: timing mismatches (collection lag) and one-off working-cap moves; flag those separately.

Excel tips: use SUMPRODUCT for days-to-balance conversions, lock driver cells with data validation, and put a precedents trace for each CFO line so an auditor can click through.

Investing and financing cash flows

Keep CFI and CFF driven by their own schedules: capex schedule for investing flows, debt and equity schedules for financing flows. Be obsessive about sign conventions: cash paid out (capex, debt repayment, dividends) should be negative; proceeds (asset sales, new debt, equity raises) positive.

• CFI: pull capex amounts and asset sale proceeds from the capex schedule; show gross capex and proceeds separately.
• CFF: pull new borrowings, repayments, interest paid (if classified here), dividends, and equity issuance from the financing schedule.
• Sign rule: pick one convention (inflows positive) and stick to it across schedules and the summary CFS.
• Linking: each financing line must tie to Balance Sheet debt and equity movements (new debt increases debt opening balance; repayments reduce it).

Example (FY2025, illustrative): Capex $600,000 (outflow) and asset sale proceeds $50,000 → Net CFI -$550,000. Financing: debt repayment $200,000, dividends $100,000 → Net CFF -$300,000. Keep capex as negative in CFI so net-change math remains intuitive.

Practical checks: ensure capex posted in CFI equals gross additions to PP&E on the Balance Sheet and that any asset sale removes the asset and books gain/loss into the Income Statement schedule.

Reconcile and model checks

Reconcile every period with a single, prominent check row: Ending cash from CFS minus Cash on Balance Sheet = Difference. That difference must be zero (or within a tiny tolerance). If not, the model should flag and stop the review-defintely don't just ignore small mismatches.

• Create a one-line reconciliation: =CFS_EndingCash - BS_Cash; format with conditional formatting red if ABS(diff) > 1.
• Balance sheet balance: add a check row for Total Assets - (Total Liabilities + Equity) and flag if ABS > 1.
• Circular reference test: identify circulars (interest on average debt feeding income which updates cash which can change debt paydown). Resolve by either:

• Calculating interest on opening debt (no circular), or
• Allowing Excel iterative calculation with conservative settings (Maximum Iterations 100, Maximum Change 0.0001) and document it clearly, or
• Using a macro/solver to iterate externally and paste results back in (preferred in audit-sensitive models).

More checks to automate: retained earnings roll tie (prior retained earnings + net income - dividends = current retained earnings), debt opening/closing balances tie to the financing schedule, and net change in cash on the CFS equals ending cash - beginning cash on BS. Add a Watch Window for these three cells.

Implement error flags: use a formula like =IF(ABS(Diff)>1, "CHECK CASH", "") and conditional formatting to force visible failures. Add an assumption cell for tie tolerance (e.g., 1) so reviewers can relax/tighten threshold.

Stress tests: run a scenario where CFO drops by 30% and capex increases by 25%; if ending cash goes negative, auto-populate a proposed financing line in CFF (bridge loan) with the amount needed to reach a user-defined minimum cash balance. That gives you a clear remedial action during review.

Final action: Finance, draft the 13-week cash view and wiring of CFS checks by Friday so you can validate these reconciliations against short-term bank statements.

Conclusion

You need a compact deliverable set, clear tests, and one immediate owner to move the model from draft to reliable decision-use. The direct takeaway: produce Inputs, Workings, Outputs, and a 3-way reconciliation, then stress-test cash and formula integrity before sharing numbers.

Deliverables

Start by producing four files/tabs that map to stakeholders and audit needs. Name and timestamp each file so reviewers know which version they're opening.

• Inputs sheet: drivers, assumptions, scenario switches; keep every assumption cell formatted and colored.
• Workings schedules: D&A, capex, debt, taxes, working capital; each schedule on its own tab.
• Outputs summary: annual P&L, Balance Sheet, CFS and a 13-week cash table and two charts (revenue bridge, cash runway).
• 3-way reconciliation: period-by-period check that Net Income -> Retained Earnings -> Cash flow reconcile.

File naming best practice: Inputs_v1_202511xx.xlsx, Workings_v1_202511xx.xlsx, Outputs_v1_202511xx.xlsx. Keep an inline change log in a tab called ChangeLog.

One-liner: separate inputs, workings, outputs so errors are visible and traceable.

Testing

Run three kinds of tests: formula audits, scenario sensitivities, and operational stress tests. Each test must either pass a numeric tolerance or fail loudly with a red flag cell.

• Formula audit: use trace precedents/ dependents and lock calculation cells; set tolerance to $1,000 or 0.1% of period assets for balance checks.
• Sensitivity scenarios: run -30%, -10%, base, +10%, +25% revenue cases; vary cost leverage and capex to see inflection points.
• Cash stress: build worst-case (sales down 30%, collections slow by +30 days, capex deferred 50%) and measure runway in months.
• Circular ref test: identify circulars (debt-funded interest, tax shields) and document whether you use iterative calc; if you do, add a dedicated flag and convergence limit.
• Automation checks: conditional formats for negative cash, #REF, and mismatch flags; add an errors tab that lists failed checks per period.

Here's the quick math example: if beginning cash = $5,000,000 and average monthly net burn = $400,000, runway = 12.5 months. What this estimate hides: one large receivable or a covenant due can cut runway by weeks.

One-liner: test scenarios, trace every formula, and let the model fail loudly if numbers diverge.

Next step

You build the Inputs sheet and driver assumptions so the model has a single source of truth. Include growth drivers, price/volume math, AR/AP days, payroll headcount, capex phasing, and scheduled debt events.

• Deliver Inputs template: drivers grouped by Commercial, Operational, and Financing.
• Populate baseline FY2025 assumptions (growth rates, margins, working capital days) and label sources for each cell.
• Lock cells that are outputs, not inputs; color inputs consistently and add a short rationale note per driver.

Assign Finance to draft the first pass of Inputs and a preliminary 13-week cash view by Friday; Finance should include source links and one benchmarked sanity check per driver. Defintely include a reserve assumption for timing risk.

Finance: draft first pass by Friday.