Transaction Valuation & Diligence Analyzer
Analyze target financials, identify valuation risks, and structure M&A diligence programs
by bigsholConsulting & Professional ServicesFinancial AdvisoryFinancial ConsultantTransaction AdvisoryWhat You Can Do
This skill accelerates financial due diligence by analyzing multi-year financial statements, normalizing EBITDA and key metrics, extracting transaction risks from footnotes and MD&A, benchmarking valuation multiples, and structuring risk-prioritized diligence programs. You can process historical financials, identify earnings quality issues, flag contingent liabilities, analyze carve-out interdependencies, and synthesize findings into executive summaries—preserving your judgment on commercial strategy while handling the analytical groundwork.
Features
extract and normalize historical P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash flows
identify non-recurring items, adjust for one-time costs, and calculate normalized multiples
flag accounting policies, revenue recognition issues, and metric sustainability risks
systematically identify valuation risks from financial footnotes, MD&A, and contingencies
structure work programs by risk materiality and issue complexity
compare multiples against comparable transactions and peer companies
assess trends in receivables, payables, inventory, and cash conversion efficiency
flag potential earnout adjustment risks and performance metric dependencies
Example Output
Example 1: EBITDA Normalization Summary
- Reported EBITDA (Year 3): $45.2M | Normalized EBITDA: $52.8M
- Adjustments: $3.2M severance costs, $2.1M facility closure, $2.3M non-recurring legal settlements
- Implied multiple: 8.2x normalized EBITDA vs. 6.8x reported
Example 2: Risk Priority Diligence Program
- Critical: Revenue concentration (1 customer = 28% of sales) → customer concentration audit, contract renewal terms
- High: LIFO inventory accounting (potential step-up of $4.1M) → inventory valuation review, tax exposure assessment
- Medium: Warranty reserve adequacy → historical claim analysis, reserve sufficiency testing
Example 3: Carve-out Interdependency Map
- Shared manufacturing facility (40% allocated cost) → lease renegotiation, capacity constraints
- IT systems integration (70% of carve-out users) → migration complexity, continuity risk
What's Included
- SKILL.md instruction file for Claude configuration:
- Financial Statement Analysis Template: standardized format for extracting and normalizing key metrics across transaction types
- Risk Identification Checklist: comprehensive framework for flagging valuation, operational, and contingent liability risks
- Diligence Program Builder: structured approach to categorize and prioritize work streams by materiality
- Valuation Benchmarking Framework: comparable transaction and peer multiple analysis structure
- Executive Summary Template: board-ready findings summary with key conclusions and recommendations
Who It's For
- M&A advisors and investment bankers conducting target financial analysis and valuation support
- Transaction attorneys identifying financial risks and structuring diligence scope
- Private equity professionals assessing investment thesis and earnings quality pre-acquisition
- Corporate development teams evaluating acquisition targets and carve-out feasibility
- Financial consultants and valuation specialists synthesizing diligence findings for boards and investors
Best For
- Analyzing multi-year financial statements and normalizing EBITDA for valuation
- Extracting and categorizing transaction risks from complex financial documents
- Benchmarking target company multiples against comparable transactions
- Structuring risk-prioritized diligence programs for M&A and carve-out transactions
- Assessing earnings quality, working capital trends, and contingent liability exposure
- Identifying carve-out interdependencies and earnout adjustment triggers
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