ChatGPT Prompts for Financial Modeling & Analysis

Three-statement driver interrogation + model sanity-check

You have a working model (or a target's historicals) and want a fast, structured challenge of the assumptions before it goes to a VP or PM.

You are a skeptical senior analyst reviewing a three-statement model. I will paste the key financials and my forecast assumptions. Do the following, in this order:

1) Restate, in a TABLE, the operating drivers you infer from the historicals (revenue growth, gross margin, EBIT margin, capex % of sales, NWC as % of sales, cash conversion). Flag any that look internally inconsistent.
2) Interrogate my forward assumptions line by line. For each, tell me whether it is aggressive, conservative, or in-line versus the historical trend and typical sector ranges, and WHY. Ask me the 5 questions a VP would ask before signing off.
3) Build the implied bridge from this year's EBITDA to the terminal-year EBITDA and tell me what share of the growth is volume, price, margin, or acquisition.
4) List the 3 assumptions the valuation is MOST sensitive to and the ones that are cosmetic.
5) Give me a one-paragraph 'what would have to be true' summary I could defend in a model review.

Do not invent numbers. If something is missing, ask for it. Here are the financials and assumptions:
[PASTE HISTORICALS + YOUR ASSUMPTIONS]

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

DCF assumption interrogation + sensitivity map

You have a DCF and want the assumptions stress-tested before you trust the output.

You are a skeptical senior analyst reviewing a DCF for [COMPANY]. I will paste the key assumptions (revenue growth, margins, capex, working capital, tax, terminal growth, WACC, horizon). Do this:
1. Interrogate each assumption in a TABLE: is it internally consistent, consistent with history, and consistent with the industry? Flag any that look aggressive or conservative and why.
2. Identify the 2-3 assumptions the valuation is MOST sensitive to (the value drivers) and estimate the direction/size of the swing.
3. Sanity-check the terminal value as a % of enterprise value and flag if it dominates.
4. Recreate the exact questions a PM/MD would ask, with your suggested answer.
Use only the numbers I provide; where an input is missing, request it rather than assuming.

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

Multiples reconciliation: why the gap

Two comparable companies trade at very different multiples and you need to explain the gap defensibly.

You are a valuation analyst reconciling a multiple gap. [COMPANY A] trades at [multiple] and [COMPANY B] at [multiple]. I will give their financials. Produce:
1. A TABLE decomposing the gap into its economic drivers: growth, margins/ROIC, risk/cyclicality, capital intensity, accounting/non-GAAP differences, and any technical/float factors.
2. An estimate of how much of the gap each driver explains (label as approximate).
3. Whether the gap looks JUSTIFIED or a potential mispricing, with the reasoning.
4. The 2-3 data points to verify before concluding a name is cheap or expensive.
Use only figures I provide; flag every number to confirm and never fabricate a multiple.

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in what I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify externally before relying on it. Never use, infer, or request material non-public information (MNPI) or client-confidential data.

Unit-economics & cohort model review

You want to pressure-test a company's unit economics and cohort/retention assumptions.

You are an analyst reviewing the unit economics of [COMPANY / business model]. I will give the drivers (CAC, LTV, gross margin, churn/retention, payba

Working-capital & cash-conversion diagnostic

You want to know whether reported earnings are actually converting to cash.

You are a forensic-minded analyst assessing earnings quality for [COMPANY]. I will paste the relevant financials. Produce:
1. A cash-conversion read:

Financial-ratio trend diagnostic

You want a fast, structured read of a company's financial health and where it's trending.

You are an analyst running a ratio diagnostic on [COMPANY] across the periods I provide. Produce:
1. A TABLE of key ratios by category — profitability

Revenue bridge + variance decomposition

You need to explain a revenue (or margin) change by decomposing it into its real drivers.

You are an FP&A / equity analyst building a revenue bridge for [COMPANY], period [A] to [B]. I will give the data. Produce:
1. A BRIDGE decomposing th

Scenario & sensitivity table design

You want a well-designed sensitivity/scenario table that shows what actually drives the outcome.

You are a modeling analyst designing a scenario/sensitivity analysis for [model/decision]. I will give the model's key drivers and base-case outputs.

ROIC vs WACC value-creation check

You want to know whether a business actually creates value on the capital it deploys.

You are an analyst assessing value creation for [COMPANY]. I will provide the inputs (NOPAT or operating income and tax, invested capital, cost of cap

Capex & reinvestment-runway analysis

You want to understand how much a company must reinvest and whether growth is self-funding.

You are an analyst assessing the reinvestment economics of [COMPANY]. I will provide the data (capex, D&A, revenue, operating cash flow, growth). Prod

WACC build interrogation

Your discount rate drives the whole valuation and you want every component of the WACC challenged before you trust it.

You are a valuation reviewer interrogating a WACC build I paste: [COMPONENTS: risk-free, ERP, beta, cost of debt, tax rate, capital-structure weights]

Sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation build

A multi-segment company is mispriced as a whole and you want a defensible SOTP with the right method per segment.

You are an analyst building a SUM-OF-THE-PARTS valuation for [COMPANY] from the segment data I paste. Produce:
1. A SEGMENT MAP: for each segment, the

Credit / debt-capacity & covenant-headroom model review

You need to know whether a business can carry its debt and how much headroom it has before covenants bite.

You are a credit analyst reviewing DEBT CAPACITY & COVENANT HEADROOM for [COMPANY] from the data I paste (debt schedule, EBITDA/cash flow, covenants).

Model integrity / error & formula-audit review

Before a model goes to a VP or IC, you want a structured audit for the errors that quietly corrupt outputs.

You are a modeling reviewer auditing a spreadsheet model I describe or paste (formulas, structure, key outputs). Produce a MODEL-INTEGRITY review cove

Adjusted-EBITDA add-back bridge scrutiny

A company leans on 'adjusted' EBITDA and you want to scrutinize every add-back before you underwrite it.

You are an analyst scrutinizing an ADJUSTED-EBITDA bridge I paste (reported EBITDA -> add-backs -> adjusted). Produce:
1. An ADD-BACK-BY-ADD-BACK revi