BLAXLAND CONSULTING LIMITED

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖𝗣 – 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Diane is a senior adviser to private equity portfolio companies.  She helps investors and portcos to deliver robust growth against value creation plans - including via post-merger integration.  She has a sweet spot in Tech-enabled B2B Services including Professional Services in the UK and EMEA.

Her experience includes:

- pre-deal MDD and post-deal operating reviews of portcos - eg for Blackstone, Mercia, Silverfleet, LDC, Rockpool, Foresight
- rapid recovery of post-merger integration and transformation, ahead of an IPO (backed by TPG)
- commercial risk analysis for a PE portco, triggering an exit via secondary buyout (backed by ICG)
- recovery of an off-shore proposition, re-positioning for growth ahead of a merger
- design and global rollout of a post-merger data integration model.

Her skills include P&L management, business strategy, sales, operations, business transformation, and change management – drawing on her experience in startups, scaleups and global business.

Founder

Career Coaching by Diane Blaxland

🚩 How will you know if my Career Coaching is right for you? Five quick signs: 

•	there is a gap emerging between your career and your satisfaction level 
•	addressing the gap is increasingly important to you 
•	there are risks if you do something, and risks if you do nothing 
•	you have some advice, but you want to take a wider, longer term view 
•	talking it through with an experienced executive feels like a good place to start 

#ExpertLeaders #Careers #PersonalDevelopment

Catalysis Advisory Ltd

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗘 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 (𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲)
🔺 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗚𝟮𝗖 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗕𝟮𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵

Business Advisor

Johnson Controls Inc

$5b EMEA region of $20b Business Services division of $40b Fortune100 listed company

Director Change Management, EMEA

Blaxland Consulting

Advising clients on operational and commercial change.

CPA Global

£100m global Business Services company, backed by Private Equity

Director Strategy

Williams Lea

£20m Division of this £1b global Business Services company, part of DAX30 company DeutschePost

Managing Director 

Clifford Chance LLP

£100m+ M&A practice of this £1bn global Professional Services firm

Head Business Development Operations

Blake Dawson Waldron

A$350m international Professional Services firm (now part of £1b Ashurst LLP)

Business Development, Sales & Marketing management

CEO & Founder Expert Leaders™ | Career Direction & CV Coaching | £1B PSF | $40B Fortune100 | PE scaleups | London Business School

I help professionals step into clarity, confidence, and growth - especially when navigating complex career transitions in challenging or unfamiliar markets.

My clients are technically brilliant, ambitious … and many are internationally experienced. They’re often MBAs, engineers, M&A/finance experts, consultants, lawyers, or technology & data/AI specialists. 

They're ready to step into senior leadership, but something isn’t landing. Their pitch isn’t quite resonating. The growth opportunities they seek feel just out of reach.

That’s where I come in.

With more than 10 years in senior leadership - including as Managing Director responsible for 550 people - I’ve led growth, transformation, and turnaround across organisations from under £10m to over $5Bn. 

I’ve advised private equity investors and portfolio companies on operations, building robust solutions to complex problems. 

And I bring that same level of focus, clarity, and strategic thinking into my coaching practice.

My sweet spot lies in tech-enabled B2B services - including engineering, data/AI, finance, legal, and consulting. 

Highlights of my work include: 

▪️Steering post-merger integration for a $6Bn PE-backed global professional services firm, resolving operational failures, client complaints, and transformation across 15 countries.
▪️Leading the recovery of a £1bn NHS Trust’s lab project post-dispute, bringing together investors, clinicians, scientists, suppliers, and engineers to co-create a viable solution.
▪️Delivering commercial risk analysis that identified a -70% risk to a target exit valuation for a PE-backed £100m B2B services firm, unlocking a £1Bn exit in under three months.
▪️Repositioning a struggling new BPO offshore (India) proposition for profitable growth, delivering 50% savings to the client in a new £3m contract while also tripling profit margins.
▪️Rolling out a post-merger Sales/Marketing/Finance integration model for a £1Bn global professional services firm across 30 offices in 20 countries, deployed to 4,000+ staff.

All of that senior experience now feeds directly into my career coaching.

Many of my clients are mid-career or post-MBA, and sense a need to reframe their narrative, sharpen their presence, and navigate a system that may not easily understand their value. 

We don’t just talk. We rehearse. We edit. We test. We build influence from the inside out.

Whether you're preparing for interview, pitching for promotion, or making a full pivot, I’ll help you to tailor your story, build trust, and move forward with strategic clarity.

🎯 Diane Blaxland

👇50% off all Financial Modeling Courses this week only.

Theory is great until someone sends you 17 blurry PDFs and says "hey what's our business worth?"

This is the wake-up call that happens in the real world.

Businesses still need cash to operate, and they need profit if they eventually want to sell, but 9 times out of 10 the underlying data is a mess, and the "finance team" isn't sophisticated enough to build a forecast.

That's where YOU come in, right?  Just jump in and "stand up the model."

It's easy enough to understand on paper, but when you open that blank spreadsheet, suddenly, you can just freeze up.

Having spent over 15 years in Private Equity & FP&A, I know exactly how that feels.

When it's just you, some incomplete data, and AI isn't helping at all, how do you move forward?

That's where I can help -- I teach you to build (and own) the financial models that run real companies -- completely from scratch.

(𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯, especially in an unstructured environment).

This is financial modeling in the real world.

🌐 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 https://www.financialmodelingeducation.com/ 


———

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁:

🏆 Trusted by over 91,000 students with 4.9/5.0 Star average rating

🏆 Over 100,000 followers on LinkedIn & other social media platforms

🏆 Recognized by Business Insider and Financial Modeling World Cup

🏆 Featured by Wharton Online, Wall Street Prep, & LinkedIn Learning


———

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝘀:

"𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵..."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌐 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 https://www.financialmodelingeducation.com/

Chris Reilly

Private equity & FP&A veteran that teaches you to build the financial models that run real companies | 🎓 91,000+ students

This simple Gantt chart helped me navigate a bunch of due diligence in PE.  Grab a copy & modify as needed 👇

~~~
📥 Here's the template 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDJqaFfR 
~~~


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀:

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗿

Examine the initial pitch highlighting the company's value proposition.


𝟮. 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗡𝗗𝗔

Protect sensitive information with a Non-Disclosure Agreement.


𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗜𝗠

Analyze the Confidential Information Memorandum for key business insights.


𝟰. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 & 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

Create and maintain a financial model to assess the deal's viability.


𝟱. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

Determine the growth potential within the target industry.


𝟲. 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Assess company culture compatibility for integration.


𝟳. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗜𝗢𝗜 / 𝗟𝗢𝗜

Express acquisition interest with an Indication of Interest or Letter of Intent.


𝟴. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀

Engage in discussions with the target company's leadership.


𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 (𝗤𝗼𝗳𝗘) 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀

Examine the consistency and quality of the company's earnings.


𝟭𝟬. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Validate the target's market position and competitive advantage.


𝟭𝟭. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴

Secure necessary funding to execute the acquisition.


𝟭𝟮. 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀

Evaluate potential risks in operations and technology.


𝟭𝟯. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗦𝗚 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Consider the company's environmental, social, and governance performance.


𝟭𝟰. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗥

Assess the competence and fit of the company's leadership and employees.


𝟭𝟱. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

Verify adherence to relevant laws and regulations.


𝟭𝟲. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Examine key relationships for potential risks and synergies.


𝟭𝟳. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Plan for a smooth and efficient post-acquisition transition.


𝟭𝟴. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 & 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴

Finalize terms, financing, and overall deal structure.


𝟭𝟵. 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹

Complete the acquisition and begin the integration process.


💡𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘:

This won't cover everything, so 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱.

You can see the "modeling portion" lasts throughout diligence.

I can teach you to build it here: https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Learn the cash conversion cycle by following one pair of shoes 👇


Imagine one pair of shoes 👞👞 moving through a company's financials:

1. The company records a $100 Purchase of shoes in Inventory.

"Purchase" 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 mean "paid in cash" -- under accrual accounting, this is when shoes arrive, not when they're paid for.


⸻⸻⸻


2. The company records that SAME $100 Purchase in its Accounts Payable account as a liability.

In simple terms, "We've received the shoes in the store, but we still have to pay our supplier for them in cash eventually."


⸻⸻⸻


Two months later, the company must pay CASH to the supplier for the shoes.

So the steps are:

3.1 The company gets rid of its Accounts Payable by paying off the $100 liability, and;

3.2 The company records a $100 cash outflow in its Statement of Cash Flows

💡𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧: Even though this company will eventually sell the shoes and make a profit (in a future step), RIGHT NOW they don't have any cash from the sale, so they have to come out-of-pocket to cover the $100 liability (you can see ending cash is negative).


⸻⸻⸻


A month later, the company finally sells the pair of shoes for $250.

4.1 The $250 Revenue is recorded on the Income Statement and simultaneously in Accounts Receivable, and;

4.2 The Inventory account is reduced by $100, because that was the COST of the shoes they SOLD. So this $100 appears on the Income Statement as well in COGS.

HOWEVER, just because the company SOLD the shoes, doesn't mean they've been paid in CASH (yet). You can see "Change in Cash" in April is actually $0. It's just when the transaction took place, but has nothing to do with cash (this is the essence of accrual vs. cash basis accounting).


⸻⸻⸻


5. A month later, the company finally receives $250 CASH for the shoes they sold, so the Accounts Receivable is reduced by the $250.


⸻⸻⸻


6. The Cash account has $250 of actual dollars sitting in it (b/c in reality $100 would have needed to go into the business in March to pay off the purchase liability).


⸻⸻⸻


At the end of the day the company made a profit:

$250 price - $100 cost = $150 profit

HOWEVER, it had to go through the cash flow cycle of its working capital to get there, which in this example took 5 months end-to-end.


⸻⸻⸻


The "business lesson" here is to make sure you are collecting Receivables before you're making Payables, so that your sales are self-funding and you don't have to come out-of-pocket to pay bills.

It's a long and intricate process, but if you understand it, you can help a company bridge the difference between its accrual-based books and tactical day-to-day cash management.


⸻⸻⸻


𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀:

📥 Start with this 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 👉 https://lnkd.in/ew4nwaVx  

🎓 Master the 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

I'm thrilled to share that Financial Modeling Education recently wrapped up a major financial model rebuild for Artifact Uprising®, a high-quality creator of custom photobooks and prints.

Like many fast-growing companies, the team was managing several large, "clunky" files that made agile planning a bit of a workout.

Leveraging the latest financial modeling best practices, we consolidated their legacy files into a single, low-lift financial engine.  The new model now runs internal planning and can be easily updated in a few minutes.

“The transformation was exceptional. We went from managing disconnected, hard-to-audit files to running all internal planning through a single, well-structured model. This new tool significantly improved our budgeting and reporting processes, increased transparency, and made forecast iteration fast and reliable.” — Aaron Sallade, CFO

A huge thank you to the Artifact Uprising team for trusting me with the numbers!

Financial Modeling Education is a self-study program that teaches professionals to build 3-statement models & 13-week cash flow forecasts used to acquire and manage portfolio companies.

Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/e6B7y9yk

Artifact Uprising® is a lifestyle brand known for premium quality custom photo books, prints, frames, and gifts. Defined by elevated design and responsibly sourced materials, the company helps customers move their photos off their devices and into their lives.

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How I model salary increases in my headcount schedules (no plugging required) 👇


❌ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

One of the trickier parts of building a headcount schedule is how to model annual raises.

Do we build some kind of trigger around December?

What if the Fiscal Year is different from the Calendar Year?

(maybe we 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝙋𝙇𝙐𝙂 𝙄𝙏?? 🤞)

We can get stuck building overly-complicated formulas to get this done.

A couple solutions...


✅ 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭 (shown in image)

We can build a formula to raise (i.e., ^) the annual salary increase to the amount of time that has gone by since the employee was hired.

So, for an employee who starts in 2021 with a 5% raise in 2023, it would look like this:

= Compensation x (1 + 0.05)^(2023-2021)

= Compensation x (1 + 0.05)^2

= Compensation x 1.1025

The 1.1025 "factor" is what the 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 base compensation needs to be multiplied by in order to get the base compensation for year 3.

This is a much cleaner and scalable way to model the schedule.


✅ 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮 (not shown)

Create a row above your schedule and manually input a 1 when you want the first raise to start.

- Copy/paste that 1 for 12 months, then
- Bump it to a 2 for another 12 months, then
- Bump it to a 3 (and so on...)

This allows you to create a global raise that starts for everyone at the same time regardless of when they were hired.

(more of a "clean slate" approach, if you will).


⚖️ 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁?

𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭 is great for building a forecast model: people are hired on different dates, probably in different years.  You'd want those raises to calculate automatically based on hiring date.

𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮 is great for existing headcount where you might say out loud, "next year we're implementing a 6% raise for all employees on February 1st."

(in this case, your "1" would start right above the February column and you'd progress from there).

Both approaches help prevent manual overrides, plugging, and errors.

Hope this helps 🙂.


𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 ⤵️

📥 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁: grab this headcount template › https://lnkd.in/ez2h-tsN 

🎓 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: learn to build the model › https://bit.ly/FMECourses

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗜 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝘄 came from the Big 4.

I had to scroll to row 6,400 to change an input (not joking).

Thought my PC would catch on fire 🔥.

It was “complicated therefore good,” but the 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.


———


Instead, I’d suggest…

Keep it simple.

As simple as humanly possible.

Why?

I promise it will grow organically.

Every Excel file does.

Which means -- the risk for error grows too.

Can someone open your file and roughly understand it?

Will a "non-excel person" open it and not curse at it?  That’s a win.

If my PC fan sounds like a jet engine, the file is too complicated.


———


The true challenge: how to solve the problem, in as few steps as possible, in a way people can understand.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

𝗜𝗡𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗦 ↓

▪️ User-friendly on the front-end (clear inputs, protected sheets, etc.)

𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 ↓

▪️ Scalable formulas on the back-end (SUMIFS, LOOKUPs, etc.)

𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗦 ↓

▪️ Easy-to-print summaries (that don't require any modeling)


———


Ultimately, we rebuilt the model on just a few tabs.

It worked fine.

Challenge yourself to do less.

Keep. It. Simple.


———


💡 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽...

📥 Three statements, one page › https://lnkd.in/gBUHu3WF 

🎓 Video tutorials taught by a human › https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Here's how I reflect EBITDA adjustments back into my P&L so I can start with clean numbers... 👇


🎓 𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗗𝗔 𝟭𝟬𝟭

The purpose of Adjusted EBITDA is to show the 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 profitability of the company.

We build this schedule so we can 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 profitability to similar companies.

How?  We reflect "adjustments" back into our P&L so our forecast is based on the 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 numbers.

(often called "pro forma")

I've laid out the steps for 5 hypothetical adjustments below:


💵 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Adjustments A1 and A2

Management is saying that on a "pro forma basis" the Management Salaries will be $500,000, so in their adjustments they've "added back" $458,589

We take that same $458,589 and subtract it from the "As Reported" column to show the "Pro Forma" number of $500,000


💻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀

Adjustments B1 and B2

Same idea as above, reflect the $70,329 adjustment in "Office and General" so that "Pro Forma" it is $155,046 (instead of the $225,376 As Reported)


💼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝘀

Adjustments C1 and C2

Reflect the $25,000 adjustment in "Professional Fees" so that "Pro Forma" it is $49,932 (instead of the $74,932 As Reported)


📞 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀

Adjustments D1 and D2

Reflect the $20,000 adjustment in "Selling" so that "Pro Forma" it is $1,056,855 (instead of the $1,076,855 As Reported)


🔍 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵

Adjustments E1 and E2

Reflect the $49,840 adjustment in "R&D" so that "Pro Forma" it is $449,861 (instead of the $499,701 As Reported)


✔️ 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁

In the "Pro Forma" column, my "EBTIDA, as defined" is now equal to "Management-Adjusted EBITDA" from the "As Reported" column.

So now:

   1️⃣ I have clean, 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 numbers from which to base my next forecast
   2️⃣ I can compare EBITDA to other companies


💡𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 1

In the past year, we still spent real cash on these items.  Anddddd it's gone.

(and that's often the frustration with EBITDA: it's definitely NOT cash)

The purpose here 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 to disguise cash or fluff earnings, it's to create a normalized view of what we think will happen in the future.


💡𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 2

I'm 𝗻𝗼𝘁 just taking these adjustments as law.

I would only reflect these adjustments after a thorough discussion with the management team and only to the extent they provided an extremely defensible position for including them.

"Just because" or "vibes" are not good enough reasons.

It's our job as the PE / FP&A Professional to push back on these adjustments and make sure they're reasonable, because if we don't think they are, the next buyer won't either.

If we're 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, this schedule is the starting point for putting these adjustments into action and building our pro forma forecast.


💡 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽:

Building a schedule like this is "must know" in PE & FP&A.

I can teach you using step-by-step videos: https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Great to join Paul Barnhurst on Financial Modeler's Corner!  We talked AI, dynamic arrays, and the future of modeling.

A couple key takeaways:

🔹 Build at least ONE three-statement model from scratch before touching AI - you'll learn accounting, finance, and business understanding simultaneously.
 
🔹 AI in experienced hands is powerful - but those hands need fundamental knowledge to validate outputs and catch hallucinations.

Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gNrtTMvX

I'm in the middle of building my first PortCo model in PE, and it's the worst model in history.

So bogged down with data, I had to build it with two separate files.

Needed my phone camera to take screenshots of one version, open another, and make changes.

I'm proud of my modeling skills, but quickly realize I'm in over my head -- I've got a ton of detail in the P&L, but still haven't even come close to touching the balance sheet.  Really starting to freak out because the company needs this model for next year's budget.

I partnered with another associate who'd been working on the deal longer to help me get it over the finish line.

He built the balance sheet -- was it as "sophisticated" as my income statement builds?  Definitely not.

Oddly enough though, it worked fine.  In fact, it was 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳 to follow than my stuff.

One balance sheet and cash flow statement, all on the same tab, working fine with my income statement.

𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩*𝘵, I'd thought -- if I'd just known 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, it would have saved me a ton of time.

I learned that day that finance and accounting knowledge beats fancy excel builds every time.

The model solved what they needed: 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗&𝘓 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?

I committed to doubling-down on understanding the accounting links between the three statements.

My next model: better, not great.

My next one: better than that.

Eventually, I was dialed.  Had it down in my head, but it took a long time to get there.

Today, 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵.

Funny how things change.

Those days are long behind me know, but the advice is unchanged, perhaps more than ever:

I think every finance & accounting professional should build 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 one three statement model, completely from scratch, in Excel (or Google sheets if you're a true rebel).

The 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 you will achieve from that is unmatched.  Once you know what you're doing, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 you can use AI & automations to speed things up.

A couple ways I can help with that...

If you already have a sense of what to do, use this checklist as a double-check: https://lnkd.in/eVTU67fY 

If you'd like help starting at square one, from scratch, you can follow videos here: https://bit.ly/FMECourses 

Who's brave enough to admit their worst model??

If you use EBITDA, you don't know what you're doing.
.
.
.
Actually, wait.  𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲...

Love it or hate it, Adjusted EBITDA is a common metric used in FP&A and Private Equity to calculate the 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 profitability of a company.

Why?

   (1) so the company can be compared to others, and;
   (2) it serves as a basis for valuation.

I'm aware it's 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 (heard this plenty).

But, it's also 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨.

So, what adjustments are fair?

Unreasonable?

Absurd?

Guess what... "It depends."


Since EBITDA is 𝙣𝙤𝙩 part of GAAP, every single adjustment is 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 and 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.

Therefore, it must be scrutinized by both buyer and seller to determine whether or not it is "reasonable."

(and "reasonable" is different on a case-by-case basis)

So rather than saying EBITDA is the worst thing in finance...

In the article below, I've put together a detailed walkthrough of how a company 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 propose and 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 its EBITDA adjustments, and what a potential buyer might have to say in return.

(similar to how things might go in the early days of a M&A transaction)

It's too long for a social media post so I've linked to it below.


💡 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽...

📥 Template with EBITDA › https://lnkd.in/exez-uUT 

🎓 Learn the logic of 𝘸𝘩𝘺 › https://bit.ly/FMECourses

Open article: What's With These EBITDA Adjustments? by bit.ly

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 -- NEW GUIDANCE ISSUED: “YOU CAN JUST PLUG GOODWILL”

Financial Modelers around the world rejoiced as FAZB recently released the long-awaited ASU-🚀 casually titled: “𝗙 𝗜𝘁, 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹.”

Effective immediately, companies may set goodwill to “whatever makes the balance sheet stop screaming.”

"I'm so effing psyched!" said Chris Reilly of midwestern PE firm Igneous Rock Partners.  "I was up all night trying to get the balance sheet to balance, and now I can just plug that sh*t and go to sleep."

When asked about the sudden departure from ASC 350 and ASC 805, FAZB spokesperson Linda Fairvalue said, “At some point you realize everyone already has a hidden row labeled ‘Other Adjustments.’  We’re just aligning GAAP with Excel.”

Private equity firms praised the modeling efficiency.  “Our LBOs now run faster than AI,” said a Managing Partner at Igneous.  “We used to meticulously prep opening-day balance sheets, allocate purchase price, and amortize intangibles while testing goodwill for impairment.  Now we just half-ass it with a few tasteful plugs and email the banker.  Weekend restored.”

“The old approach was logic,” the Partner added.  “𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺.  This will materially improve our Nocturnal Rate of Return.”

Auditors responded with skepticism:  "I mean, I don't really know what these idiots are doing, but I guess so long as you color code the plug, I don't really give a sh*t."

For now, Igneous Rock Partners is riding high on the new methodology, having already sent out 28 LBO models this week with vibes that are "completely lit AF."

At press time, the MPs of Igneous we're overhead saying, "It's no longer goodwill.  Now, it's Greatwill."



———

Want to model with logic instead of lit vibes?

Go here 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

I used to call these "beginner mistakes," but honestly I see it from 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. Let's call them "𝟱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴-𝘂𝗽𝘀," and some tips to help 👇


❌ 𝟭. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

Many beginners think "more complicated = better."

In reality, the opposite is true.

Try to make a model that is easy to understand and modify.

Use clear labels, consistent formatting, and basic formulas.

✅ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩: Stick to the 80/20 essentials (Revenue, Gross Profit, EBITDA, and Cash).  Everything else can start with an average.  Add more details when needed.


❌ 𝟮. 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Most understand the Income Statement, but don't grasp the connection to the Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement.

Profit ≠ Cash, so the model will be misleading.

✅ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩: Make sure your model has all three statements and understand the difference between accrual and cash accounting.


❌ 𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀

One of the biggest "no no's" in modeling.

Punching numbers directly into formulas makes it difficult to update and audit.

✅ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩: Use simple color-coding to start: Blue = input. Black = formula. All formulas should reference an input of some kind vs. embedding it inside the formula itself.


❌ 𝟰. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀

Boss: "What happens if we lose two points on margin?"

Me: "...🤔"

We often forget scenarios, which at its core is the 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 of Financial Modeling.

You need to understand how changes in assumptions impact the business.

✅ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩: Build sensitivity analysis in your model to test different scenarios.  The CHOOSE function is great to get this done.  The goal is to help the Ops team: 𝘪𝘧 𝘟 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘠.


❌ 𝟱. 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Without proper documentation, it’s hard to understand the logic and assumptions behind your model, especially after some time has passed or when sharing with others.

Everything else in life comes with an instruction manual, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭??

✅ 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩: Write down your assumptions, include a formatting guide and user manual.  You can consolidate everything on a separate sheet (like a table of contents).  Pretend you're sending it to your parents.  Makes everything easier to follow.

Hope this helps 🙂.


𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲...

Financial modeling with AI won't help you unless you understand the fundamentals.

📥 Start with this 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUN-E-Qc 

🎓 Advance with this 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 👉 https://bit.ly/FMECourses

What’s 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 the first financial statement you should build when creating a model from scratch? More questions here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eccYpT-R

What’s TYPICALLY the first financial statement you should build when creating a model from scratch?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

Which part of a three statement model trips you up the most?
Full quiz here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eccYpT-R

Which part of a three statement model trips you up the most?

Founder of Alessian, Financial Modelling and FP&A for PE-Backed Businesses

In 2026, when AI is everywhere, what does it really take to be a great modeller? Here’s my take:

1) Strong modelling fundamentals are the baseline

You can’t skip the basics. Being able to structure assumptions properly, build flexible scenarios, and stress-test a model is still very important in any finance role.

2) Interpretation matters more than ever now

Numbers alone don’t make decisions. The real skill is knowing what they mean, spotting patterns, and translating them into actionable insights for Boards, investors, or management.

3) Tech and automation are not replacements

AI, automation tools, and advanced dashboards can handle routine reporting, basic FP&A packs, and recurring analyses. They make you faster and more accurate, but they can’t replace your judgement or strategy.

4) Bespoke modelling still needs a human touch

Every deal, investment, or strategic scenario has its nuances. No tool can fully capture the judgement required to make a model robust under pressure. Human oversight is critical.

If you’re looking to get hired in finance today, my advice is simple. Focus on the fundamentals first.

Strong technical skills and the ability to interpret results are non-negotiable.
Everything else, AI tools, dashboards, coding, and automation, is a nice-to-have that amplifies your impact.

But without the core skills, all the tech in the world won’t make you a great modeller.

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The Battle

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Chris Reilly

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