financial-modelling

Phase 1 of the financial model build lifecycle — the requirements-gathering phase. Deeply interactive: conducts a structured multi-round conversation with the user to understand their business, industry, model purpose, and decision context. Asks layered questions, suggests industry-standard structures the user may not have considered, and iteratively refines the scope. Includes an optional sub-skill for effort estimation and quoting. Trigger on 'scope a model', 'new model', 'model requirements', 'what should the model include', 'I need a financial model for', or at the start of any financial model build.

Phase 2 of the financial model build lifecycle — the sheet-structure-and-data-flow phase. Translate the scope into a concrete blueprint: sheet structure, section layout, data flow between sheets, and calculation approach. (Note: this is the structural blueprint, NOT the formatting spec — that is Phase 3 / fm-3-design.) Actively suggests best-practice structures, challenges weak assumptions, warns about common pitfalls, and leverages deep industry knowledge to propose calculation approaches the user may not have considered. Heavily references scope.md from Phase 1. Trigger on 'plan the model', 'model structure', 'sheet layout', 'how should we structure this', 'data flow design', or after completing scope.

Phase 3 of the SumProduct financial model build lifecycle — the formatting-specification phase. Defines Cell Styles, Named Ranges, Number Formats, Data Validation, Conditional Formatting, Column Layout, Heading Staircase, Freeze Pane, and Heading 1 band rules so Phase 4 (Build) can execute mechanically. Use when defining model formatting standards, designing Cell Styles, planning Named Ranges, specifying Data Validation, or creating formatting conventions. Trigger on 'design the styles', 'define formatting', 'Cell Style spec', 'named range plan', 'data validation design', 'create template workbook', or after completing the Plan phase.

Phase 4 of the financial model build lifecycle — the pywin32 .xlsx construction phase (requires an existing Design spec from Phase 3). Construct the Excel workbook via pywin32 COM, executing the Design spec mechanically - creating sheets, applying Cell Styles, entering formulas, setting Named Ranges, Data Validation, Conditional Formatting, Navigation hyperlinks, and Print Setup. Use this skill when building the actual Excel file, constructing formulas, wiring sheets together, or executing a model design. Trigger on 'build the model', 'construct the workbook', 'create the Excel file', 'wire the formulas', or after completing the Design phase.

Phase 5 of the financial model build lifecycle — the audit-and-fix-retest-loop phase. Test the built model by running the full audit-skill suite, classify findings, manage the fix/retest loop — automatically categorising issues, routing fixes back to Phase 4 (Build), tracking fix status, and re-testing until the model passes. Includes pre-test sanity checks, full audit suite execution, finding classification, fix-and-retest loop management, and final sign-off. Trigger on 'test the model', 'run audit checks', 'quality check', 'validate the model', 'check for errors', or after completing the Build phase.