Three-Statement Models
Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow linked into one forecast. Driven, not hardcoded.
Build a financial model you can actually run the business on—and defend in front of investors, lenders, and buyers.
- 100+
- Models Built From Scratch
- $700M+
- Transaction Value Advised
- 30+
- Cross-Border Transactions
- 6
- Sectors of Deep ExpertiseSectors of Expertise
What we build
ControlFi combines financial expertise, rigorous modeling, and AI-assisted workflows to deliver forecasting, scenario planning, and performance insights built around your business.
Financial Forecasting and Planning
A forecast you can defend line by line, because every number traces back to a driver.
Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis
Base, upside, and a downside that genuinely changes collection timing and churn.
Cash Flow and Liquidity Models
Thirteen-week and long-range cash models. Runway, covenant headroom, and the week you actually run short.
Startup Financial Modeling
ARR, cohorts, CAC payback and burn, on the same engine that produces the statements.
Budgeting and Operating PlansBudgeting and Annual Operating Plans
The plan built once and maintained monthly, with variance against it that someone can act on.
FP&A and Board Reporting
Monthly packs that answer the board's questions before they ask, tied to the model underneath.
Headcount and Capacity Planning
Hiring plans costed properly — fully loaded, phased by start date, visible in the cash line.
Cap Table and Funding Models
Dilution, option pool, and what each round actually leaves you across the outcomes on offer.
Valuation Models
DCF, comparables and the VC method, built on the same forecast as the operating model.
M&A and Transaction ModelsM&A, Diligence and Transaction Models
Built to be attacked. Checks that fail loudly, assumptions visible, diligence questions answered first.
Model Reviews and Rebuilds
A structured audit of what you have, delivered as a written list of what is broken.
Not sure which financial model you need?
Book a Model ReviewWhat a correct model actually looks like
Four properties. A model missing any of them is not ready for anyone outside your company to see.
The balance sheet balances in every forecast period, without a plug
A plug is a hardcoded number forcing assets to equal liabilities plus equity. It does not fix the problem; it hides broken links.
Assumptions live in one place
A single inputs tab, color-coded, with nothing hardcoded inside a formula anywhere else in the workbook.
Checks fail loudly
A balance check, a cash tie-out and sum-of-parts checks, formatted to display red where they are non‑zero.A balance check, a cash tie-out and sum-of-parts checks, formatted to display red in any period where they are non-zero. Without them, you find errors when an investor does.
Historicals reproduce
At least 12 months of actuals, ideally 24, driving the assumptions rather than sitting beside them.At least twelve months of actuals, ideally twenty-four, driving the assumptions rather than sitting beside them.
Who this is for
Raising Equity
For fundraising readiness
Defend your assumptions and funding requirements with an investor-ready financial model.Defend your assumptions and funding requirements with an investor-ready financial model. Engage ControlFi to prepare for investor and term-sheet negotiations.
Debt or RefinancingSecuring or Refinancing Debt
For debt capitalFor debt financing and refinancing
Build a cash flow and debt model lenders can underwrite. Test covenant headroom and debt service coverage.Build a cash flow and debt model lenders can underwrite. Test covenant headroom and debt service under downside scenarios that genuinely stress collections.
Preparing for Sale
For M&A and exit readiness
Prepare for buyer due diligence with clean historicals and a defensible financial model.Prepare for buyer due diligence with clean historicals and a defensible financial model. Build sale readiness two to three years ahead—not two months before a transaction.
Evaluating Investments
For investors and funds
Assess a target's financial model with an independent view of management's assumptions with scenario analysis.Assess a target's financial model with an independent view of management's assumptions. Support due diligence with scenario analysis and cash flow forecasts.
Fixing an Existing Model
For reviews and rebuildsFor model reviews and rebuilds
Trace broken links across your three-statement financial model and identify unreliable assumptions.Trace broken links across your three-statement financial model and identify unreliable assumptions. Get a structured model review and a clear plan to repair or rebuild it.
How it works
- 1
Scope Call & Materials
What the model is for, who will read it, and what decision it has to support. A model built for a lender is not the same instrument as one built for a board.What the model is for, who will read it, and what decision it has to support. A model built for a lender is not the same instrument as one built for a board. We will ask for your historical accounts and any existing model before quoting.
- 2
Historicals & Structure
Load and reconcile the actuals first. If the historical balance sheet does not balance, it will never balance in the forecast — and that is a problem to find in week one.Load and reconcile the actuals first. If the historical balance sheet does not balance, it will never balance in the forecast — and that is a problem to find in week one rather than week four.
- 3
Drivers & Build
Revenue by driver, costs by category with headcount driving the largest, then the three supporting schedules that do the real work: fixed assets, debt, and working capital.Revenue by driver, costs by category with headcount driving the largest, then the three supporting schedules that do the real work: fixed assets, debt, and working capital. Most models that fail diligence fail in the schedules, not the income statement.
- 4
Statements, Links & Checks
The balance sheet, the cash flow statement on the indirect method, closing cash linked back, and the check row that makes the whole thing trustworthy.
- 5
Scenarios, Handover & Training
Scenario and sensitivity layers, then a walkthrough so you can run and defend it yourself. A model you cannot explain is a liability in a meeting, however well built.
Financial modeling vs the alternatives
| Option | Cost (UK) | Cost (US) | What you get | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A template | £0–£200 | $0–$250 | A structure to start from | Templates encode assumptions about a business that is not yours. The schedules and drivers have to reflect how your company converts activity into cash |
| Your analyst or accountantYour analyst or accountant builds it | Internal time | Internal time | Full context, no external cost | Most have never had a model attacked in diligence. They know the business—but may lack transaction-level scrutiny. |
| Modeling software | £100–£1,000/mo | $150–$1,250/mo | Fast, connected to your accounting system | Excellent at reporting what happened. Weaker at bespoke structures, transaction models and anything investors want |
| A specialist build | Project fee | Project fee | Built for your structure and your audience, and defensible | Overkill if you need a simple runway calculation |
What it costs
Financial modeling is usually priced as a project fee rather than a retainer, because it is a defined deliverable with a defined endpoint.
What moves the number:
- Whether your historicals are clean, or need reconstructing first — the single biggest variable, and the one most founders do not anticipate
- Structural complexity — one revenue line in one entity versus multiple products across jurisdictions with intercompany flows
- Audience — a board model, a lender model and a diligence model are different instruments with different standards of proof
- Whether it is a build, a rebuild or a review — a review is a fraction of a build, and is often the right place to start
Why ControlFi
100+ financial models built100+ financial models built and reviewed from scratch
Across 6 sectors: AI, FinTech, E-commerce, Logistics, MarTech, Software.Across 6 sectors: AI, FinTech, E-commerce, Logistics, MarTech, Software.
9+ years in corporate finance9+ years in M&A, investing and private markets
30+ cross-border M&A transactions and financings with $700M+ in total aggregate value.Founder advised on 30+ cross-border M&A transactions and private financings with $700M+ in aggregate value
The standard is published
Read the 3-statement model guide and judge the work before you commission any.
Work directly with builderYou work directly with the person who builds it
No associate, no handover, and a walkthrough at the end so the model is yours to run.No associate, no handover, and a walkthrough at the end so the model is yours to run.
More on financial modeling
Practical guides to building reliable models, forecasting cash flow, and understanding the numbers behind your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are financial modeling services?
Building, rebuilding or auditing the financial model a company runs on — typically a three-statement model linking income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, with scenario and sensitivity layers on top.
How do you spell "financial modeling"?
In American English, financial modeling uses one L. ControlFi uses American spelling consistently across its services and resources.
What is a three-statement model?
A model linking the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement so that a change to any assumption flows correctly through all three. The test of a correct build is that the balance sheet balances in every period without a plug. Full explanation here.
How long does a financial model take to build?
Two to five weeks for most builds, depending mainly on the state of the historical accounts. A model review is usually a few days.
Should I use a template instead?
A template is a reasonable starting structure, but it encodes assumptions about a business that is not yours. The schedules and drivers have to reflect how your company actually converts activity into cash — which is the part a template cannot supply.
Can you review a model I already have?
Yes, and it is frequently the right first step. A structured audit covering the three linking points, the supporting schedules, the error checks and a full hardcode sweep, delivered as a written list of what is broken and what it costs to fix.
What is the most common error you find?
A hardcoded figure typed over a formula to make one period look right. 83% of reviewed models contain at least one. It always propagates, and it survives every check except a line-by-line audit.
Do you build models in Excel or Google Sheets?
Excel by default, because iterative calculation, auditing tools and lender expectations all favor it. Google Sheets where collaboration matters more than complexity.
Do investors expect a three-statement model?
For most equity rounds, yes — its absence is itself a signal. For debt it is non-negotiable, because lenders are underwriting cash flow rather than growth.
What do I actually receive?
The model, an assumptions summary, scenario and sensitivity layers, and a walkthrough session. The model is yours, unlocked, with no dependency on me to run it.
Talk about your model
Book a Model ReviewHave a model? Get it reviewed. Need one? Start with a 30-minute scoping call.Have a model? Get it reviewed. Need one?
Start with a 30-minute review call.