# Financial Modeling

> Build financial models that project performance, support decisions, and remain transparent, auditable, and flexible under scenarios. Use when creating forecasts, business cases, investment models, or operating plans in spreadsheets or planning tools.

- Skill: `itsual/financial-modeling` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/financial-modeling`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/financial-modeling/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/financial-modeling

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# Financial Modeling

## Overview

A good financial model translates assumptions about the business into integrated projections. It should be easy to audit, hard to break, and useful for decisions — not a black box.

## When to Use

- Annual operating plans and forecasts
- Business cases and investment proposals
- Fundraising and investor models
- Scenario and sensitivity analysis

## Core Practices

- Separate inputs, calculations, and outputs
- Integrate P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow when material
- Use clear drivers (volume, price, conversion, headcount)
- Build scenarios and sensitivities explicitly
- Document key assumptions and sources
- Error-check with balances, signs, and reasonableness tests

## Principles

- Models exist to improve decisions, not impress with complexity
- Transparency beats clever formulas
- Circular references and hidden hardcodes are liabilities
- Version and ownership must be clear

## Verification

- [ ] Assumptions are isolated and labeled
- [ ] Statements tie out when integrated
- [ ] Sensitivities answer the real decision questions