A Series C CFO called on a Monday morning. Board presentation was Thursday. They had a term sheet from their lead investor for $28M — but no financial model to support the valuation. The prior model had been built by the founding team three years earlier and was fundamentally broken: hardcoded assumptions, no scenario analysis, disconnected from the actual business.
The existing Big 4 relationship had quoted 6 weeks and $85,000 to rebuild the model. The CFO had four days.
We ran an 8-hour intake session to map the business: revenue model, cost structure, headcount plan, and the three scenarios the board would ask about. By end of day Monday we had a fully wired 3-statement model in Excel — P&L, cash flow, and balance sheet integrated and error-free.
Tuesday we built the ARR waterfall: new bookings, expansion, churn, net retention, and a monthly cohort view that showed investor-grade retention metrics. Wednesday morning we built the headcount plan by department, linked it to opex, and produced the scenario analysis — base, bull, and bear — with clear assumption documentation.
Wednesday evening we delivered the complete board-ready model with executive summary and a model guide so the CFO could walk investors through every assumption with confidence.
"Michael had a full 3-statement model, scenario analysis, and board deck in my inbox in 48 hours. I've worked with Big 4 teams that couldn't do that in 6 weeks."
The board presentation went without a model revision request — unusual at Series C. The $28M round closed at the target valuation within three weeks of the presentation. The CFO has since retained the model as the company's master financial plan, updating it monthly with actuals.
Total engagement cost: $11,500. Total time: 72 hours. The model replaced a $85,000 Big 4 quote and a 6-week timeline.