Financial Data Pack Builder

Build professional, standardized financial data packs for private equity, investment banking, and asset management. Transform financial data from CIMs, offering memorandums, SEC filings, web search, or MCP server access into polished Excel workbooks ready for investment committee review.

Important: Use the xlsx skill for all Excel file creation and manipulation throughout this workflow.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Every data pack must achieve these standards. Failure on any point makes the deliverable unusable.

1. Data Accuracy (Zero Tolerance for Errors)

2. ESSENTIAL RULES

RULE 1: Financial data (measuring money) → Currency format with $ Triggers: Revenue, Sales, Income, EBITDA, Profit, Loss, Cost, Expense, Cash, Debt, Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Capex Format: $#,##0.0 for millions, $#,##0 for thousands Negatives: (123.0)NOT−123

RULE 2: Operational data (counting things) → Number format, NO $ Triggers: Units, Stores, Locations, Employees, Customers, Square Feet, Properties, Headcount Format: #,##0 with commas Negatives: (123) consistent with rest of table

RULE 3: Percentages (rates and ratios) → Percentage format Triggers: Margin, Growth, Rate, Percentage, Yield, Return, Utilization, Occupancy Format: 0.0% for one decimal place Display: 15.0% NOT 0.15

RULE 4: Years → Text format to prevent comma insertion Format: Text or custom to prevent 2,024 Display: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023A, 2024E

RULE 5: When context is mixed, each metric gets its own appropriate format Example:

Segment Analysis, 2022, 2023, 2024
Retail Revenue, $50.0, $55.0, $60.0
  Stores, 100, 110, 120
  Revenue per Store, $0.5, $0.5, $0.5

Revenue and per-store metrics use $, Store count uses number format.

RULE 6: Use formulas for all calculations → Never hardcode calculated values All subtotals, totals, ratios, and derived metrics must be formula-based, not hardcoded values. This ensures accuracy and allows for dynamic updates.

3. Professional Presentation Standards

Formatting Standards:

Color Scheme - Two Layers:

Layer 1: Font Colors (MANDATORY from xlsx skill)

Layer 2: Fill Colors (Optional for enhanced presentation)

How the layers work together (if fill colors are used):

Font color tells you WHAT it is. Fill color tells you WHERE it is (if used).

IMPORTANT: Font colors from xlsx skill are mandatory. Fill colors are optional - default is white/no fill unless the user requests enhanced formatting or colors.

Always apply:

Never include:

Structural Consistency

Use the standard 8-tab structure unless explicitly instructed otherwise:

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Historical Financials (Income Statement)
  3. Balance Sheet
  4. Cash Flow Statement
  5. Operating Metrics
  6. Property/Segment Performance (if applicable)
  7. Market Analysis
  8. Investment Highlights

Tab 1: Executive Summary

Purpose: One-page overview for busy executives

Contents:

Format: Clean, bold headers, minimal decoration, critical numbers emphasized

Tab 2: Historical Financials (Income Statement)

Purpose: Complete profit and loss history

Contents:

Format:

Tab 3: Balance Sheet

Purpose: Financial position at period end

Contents:

Format:

Tab 4: Cash Flow Statement

Purpose: Cash generation and use analysis

Contents:

Format:

Tab 5: Operating Metrics

Purpose: Non-financial KPIs and operational data

Contents (industry-dependent):

CRITICAL FORMAT NOTE: NO dollar signs on operational metrics. These are quantities, not currency.

Format:

Tab 6: Property/Segment Performance (if applicable)

Purpose: Detailed breakdown by business unit, property, or segment

Contents:

Format: Consistent with financial tabs for revenue/EBITDA, number format for operational metrics

Tab 7: Market Analysis

Purpose: Industry context and competitive positioning

Contents:

Format: Mix of narrative text and tables, cite sources for market data

Tab 8: Investment Highlights

Purpose: Narrative summary of key investment thesis points

Contents:

Format: Clear headers, bullet points, concise paragraphs

STEP-BY-STEP WORKFLOW

Phase 1: Document Processing and Data Extraction

Step 1.1: Analyze source data

Step 1.2: Extract financial statements

Step 1.3: Extract operating metrics

Step 1.4: Extract market and industry data

Step 1.5: Note key context

Phase 2: Data Normalization and Standardization

Step 2.1: Normalize accounting presentation

Step 2.2: Apply format detection logic For each data point, determine format based on full context:

Step 2.3: Identify normalization adjustments Common adjustments to document:

Step 2.4: Create adjustment schedule For every normalization:

Step 2.5: Verify data integrity

Phase 3: Build Excel Workbook

CRITICAL: Use xlsx skill for all Excel file manipulation. Read xlsx skill documentation before proceeding.

Step 3.1: Create standardized tab structure Create workbook with tabs:

Step 3.2: Build each tab with proper formatting Apply formatting rules systematically:

Step 3.3: Insert formulas for calculations

<correct_patterns>

Row Reference Tracking - Copy This Pattern

Store row numbers when writing data, then reference them in formulas:

# ✅ CORRECT - Track row numbers as you write
revenue_row = row
write_data_row(ws, row, "Revenue", revenue_values)
row += 1

ebitda_row = row
write_data_row(ws, row, "EBITDA", ebitda_values)
row += 1

# Use stored row numbers in formulas
margin_row = row
for col in year_columns:
    cell = ws.cell(row=margin_row, column=col)
    cell.value = f"={get_column_letter(col)}{ebitda_row}/{get_column_letter(col)}{revenue_row}"

For complex models, use a dictionary:

row_refs = {
    'revenue': 5,
    'cogs': 6,
    'gross_profit': 7,
    'ebitda': 12
}

# Later in formulas
margin_formula = f"=B{row_refs['ebitda']}/B{row_refs['revenue']}"

</correct_patterns>

<common_mistakes>

WRONG: Hardcoded Row Offsets

Don't use relative offsets - they break when table structure changes:

# ❌ WRONG - Fragile offset-based references
formula = f"=B{row-15}/B{row-19}"  # What is row-15? What is row-19?

# ❌ WRONG - Magic numbers
formula = f"=B{current_row-10}*C{current_row-20}"

Why this fails:

</common_mistakes>

Step 3.4: Apply professional presentation

Phase 4: Scenario Building (if projections included)

Management Case: Present company's projections as provided in source materials:

Base Case (Risk-Adjusted): Apply conservative adjustments to management projections based on company-specific risk factors:

Downside Case (optional but recommended for LBO analysis): Stress test scenario based on industry cyclicality and company vulnerabilities:

Documentation requirements for scenarios: Create assumptions schedule showing:

Phase 5: Quality Control and Validation

Step 5.1: Data accuracy checks Validate:

Step 5.2: Format consistency checks Verify:

Step 5.3: Structure and completeness checks Confirm:

Step 5.4: Professional presentation checks Review:

Step 5.5: Documentation and assumptions checks Ensure:

Phase 6: Final Delivery

Step 6.1: Create executive summary Write concise, impactful summary including:

Step 6.2: Final file preparation

NORMALIZATION PATTERNS

Common Adjustments to EBITDA

1. Restructuring charges

2. Stock-based compensation

3. Acquisition-related costs

4. Legal settlements and litigation

5. Asset sales or impairments

6. Related party adjustments

Conservative vs Aggressive Normalization

Management Case:

Base Case (Recommended for investment decisions):

INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC ADAPTATIONS

Technology/SaaS

Key metrics to capture:

Format notes: ARR is currency ($), customer count is number (no $), rates are %

Manufacturing/Industrial

Key metrics to capture:

Format notes: Units, capacity are numbers (no $), utilization is %, revenue/costs are currency

Real Estate/Hospitality

Key metrics to capture:

Format notes: Rooms/sqft are numbers, occupancy is %, ADR/RevPAR are currency

Healthcare/Services

Key metrics to capture:

Format notes: Locations/visits are numbers, revenue per visit is currency, rates are %

FINAL DELIVERY CHECKLIST

Complete this checklist before delivering the data pack:

Structure:

Data Accuracy:

Formatting - Years and Numbers:

Formatting - Professional Standards:

Content Completeness:

Documentation:

Final Output: