Financial Modeling Expert (IB / PE / Consulting)

AI labs need finance work produced to a professional standard so their models can learn from genuine expert reasoning. Your judgment as a finance professional is the product.

You produce institutional-grade casework on a realistic, forward-looking mandate you propose yourself, for example a take-private of a German industrial by a UK sponsor, or a sum-of-the-parts review of a listed European conglomerate. Each task has two steps.

Step 1, the case brief. You submit a short brief: the company, the persona and audience, the thesis, a numeric recommendation, the model scope tab by tab, and your sourcing approach. An automated check and a senior reviewer approve it before you build anything. Most briefs take one round of feedback.

Step 2, the deliverable. Once the brief is approved you build and submit three things: a data room of the public source documents you used (filings, presentations, research, press), a full Excel model with a Source Log tab and a short Verifier sheet that names your key inputs and outputs, and a presentation document (deck or memo). The model and deck go through an automated quality audit, then a senior reviewer checks them against the acceptance criteria. On approval you are paid in full.

Six case types:

1. Pitch, Buyside Opportunity (M&A): banker-style acquisition pitch with target overview, strategic rationale, valuation (DCF plus trading and transaction comps), synergies, accretion/dilution, and financing.

2. Pitch, Strategic Options / SOTP: sum-of-the-parts review of a multi-segment business, segment-level modeling and valuation, break-up vs. hold, divestiture or carve-out scenarios.

3. Client, Sellside Materials (Teaser / CIM): marketing documents for a sale process, from a short teaser to a full information memorandum covering business, market, financials, and outlook.

4. Fairness Opinion: board-ready valuation triangulating DCF, comps, precedents, and an LBO check, with a football field and sensitivity tables.

5. Market Report: an industry study covering market sizing, growth drivers, competitive landscape, value chain, M&A activity, and outlook.

6. Preliminary Investment Committee Memo: a buy-side internal memo with investment thesis, business quality, returns math (entry/exit, IRR bridge), key risks and mitigants, and a diligence plan.

Choosing a case. Pick a company you know well, ideally US or European, and a deal that a real deal team could plausibly be working on today, with a named buyer, seller, board, or investment committee as the audience. Briefs on companies we already cover are rejected, so check with us before you start. Avoid banks and insurers (other financial institutions and fintech are fine), real estate, and oil and gas. Power and utilities, mining, and infrastructure are all fine.

AI use. AI tools may be used for background research only. The brief, the model, and the deck must be built by you. Every submission is audited automatically and reviewed by a senior finance professional. AI-generated deliverables are rejected and end the engagement, unpaid.

Key responsibilities

• Propose a realistic mandate and write a case brief that a senior reviewer can approve
• Build the complete financial model from scratch (three-statement, DCF, LBO, M&A, comps as the case requires), with every assumption sourced and logged
• Assemble the data room of public documents your model and deck rely on
• Produce the deck or memo to investment-committee standard, with every number reconciling to the model
• Respond to reviewer feedback and revise until the deliverable meets the acceptance criteria
• Work only from public or illustrative information, never confidential or client-identifying data

Requirements

• 4+ years in investment banking, private equity, or corporate development, VP or senior associate level, at a recognized institution
• Or ex-MBB engagement manager with hands-on transaction modeling experience
• Has personally built LBO, DCF, M&A, three-statement, and valuation models from scratch on live deals
• Domiciled in the US or Europe
• Builds the brief, model, and deck themselves; AI tools for background research only
• Willing to share past work samples or case studies as part of screening

Ideal qualifications

• 4+ years in investment banking, private equity, or corporate development, VP or senior associate level, at a recognized institution
• Or ex-MBB engagement manager with hands-on transaction modeling experience
• Have personally built models from scratch on live deals: LBO, DCF, M&A, three-statement, valuation
• Comfortable producing investor-grade PowerPoint alongside the numbers
• Deep working knowledge of US or European capital markets

Nice to have

• Sector depth in industrials, TMT, healthcare, consumer, power and utilities, or infrastructure
• Cross-border transaction experience
• A portfolio of past work samples or case studies you can share

What success looks like

• Case briefs approved in one round
• Deliverables that pass review on the first or second pass
• Models that are correct, clean, fully sourced, and defensible under scrutiny
• Decks that tell a story an investment committee would act on
• Steady throughput: your first task takes around 15-20 hours, later ones 10-15

Contract and payment

$1,000 per approved task. Paid on approval, no hourly billing. Reviewer feedback within 2 working days of each submission. Up to 5 resubmissions per task. Project-based and fully remote. Work on your own schedule. Most contributors deliver 2-3 tasks a month alongside a full-time role.