Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Build the historical income statement from public filings
3 weeks
Select a real public company whose 10-K (or equivalent annual report) is freely available on SEC EDGAR or the company's investor relations page. Gather at least three years of historical financials and build the historical income statement with proper line item structure: revenue segmented by business line, gross profit, EBIT, and net income — not a simplified summary. Every cell must trace to a specific line item in the filing.
Proof required
Excel or Sheets file showing the historical income statement for your chosen company with at least 3 years of data, each major line item labelled, and a footer note citing the specific 10-K filing each year's data comes from.
What gets checked
- At least 3 years of historical income statement data from real public filings
- Revenue segmented by business line where disclosed — not a single revenue line
- Every major line item traces to a specific source in the annual report
Common mistakes
- Choosing a company with complex accounting (financial services, insurance) for a first model — these require specialist adjustments that derail the learning; choose a straightforward industrial or consumer company
- Summarising financials too heavily — collapsing all operating expenses into one line removes the analytical leverage of a 3-statement model
- Not organising the file from the start with separate tabs for source data vs model — retrofitting structure onto a messy file is harder than building clean from day one
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Confirm the income statement data matches the most recent 3 annual reports on SEC EDGAR — spot-check two or three line items
- Verify revenue is segmented appropriately for the company and not just a single total
Complete the linked 3-statement model with assumptions page
4 weeks
Build the balance sheet and cash flow statement, link all three statements so they balance (net income flows to retained earnings; change in working capital flows from balance sheet to cash flow; cash from the cash flow statement flows back to balance sheet cash). Add a clearly documented assumptions page controlling growth rates, margins, and working capital ratios. Add a simple sensitivity table showing how operating income changes with revenue growth assumptions.
Proof required
Completed 3-statement model file where changing a revenue growth assumption updates all three statements correctly, plus a screenshot showing the balance sheet balances (assets = liabilities + equity) for the forecast period.
What gets checked
- All three statements linked and updating correctly when assumptions change
- Balance sheet balances in all forecast periods (assets = liabilities + equity)
- Assumptions page documents every driver with the rationale for each assumption
Common mistakes
- Hardcoding numbers in the forecast rather than linking them to the assumptions page — the model cannot be used for scenario analysis if drivers are buried in formula cells
- Balance sheet not balancing — most common cause is a broken cash flow linkage; treat a non-balancing model as a bug to debug, not a shortcut to skip
- Copying historical ratios forward as assumptions without considering whether they are realistic forward-looking drivers
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- Change a revenue growth rate in the assumptions page and confirm all three statements update — if any hardcoded numbers exist, they will not update
- Confirm the balance sheet balances in all three forecast years
Build valuation and present to a financial professional
4 weeks
Build a discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation or comparable company analysis on top of your 3-statement model. For DCF: calculate FCFF or FCFE from the income statement and cash flow, apply a WACC (document each component), and compute a terminal value. Then present the complete model to a financial analyst or investment professional — they must be able to ask live questions about any cell in the model and your assumption rationale.
Proof required
Completed model including valuation with a documented assumption rationale, plus Q&A notes (200+ words) from the financial professional review session recording specific cells or assumptions they challenged.
What gets checked
- Valuation section present with WACC or trading multiple documented and sourced
- Reviewer is a financial professional (analyst, banker, CFO, or FP&A manager)
- Q&A notes document at least three specific challenges to assumptions or model logic
Common mistakes
- Using fantasy WACC inputs (e.g. 5% cost of equity) without researching comparable company beta or market risk premium — valuations with unrealistic discount rates are rejected immediately by professionals
- Treating the DCF as the primary output rather than a sensitivity analysis input — a real model shows how valuation changes under different scenarios
- Asking a non-financial reviewer (a developer, a friend) rather than someone who regularly builds or reviews financial models
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Confirm the reviewer has professional financial modelling experience (not general Excel proficiency)
- Review Q&A notes — confirm at least three specific cell-level or assumption challenges are documented
- Verify the valuation is linked to the 3-statement model: changing a revenue assumption should change the output value
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