Financial Model Audit and Error-Checking Workshop
- Structured financial modelling methods with real-world application
- Step-by-step program with accessible pacing for all experience levels
- Available internationally through Gilmavuret's virtual learning environment
What the course covers
A sequential breakdown of each topic. Read through stages in order or use the expandable sections to review specific areas.
Workshop Flow
- Part 1 — Common model error categories: formula, structural, and assumption errors
- Excel audit tools: trace precedents and dependents, formula evaluator, Watch Window
- Identifying hardcoded values and inconsistent references
- Part 2 — Live exercise: auditing a three-statement model with known errors
- Sign convention checks and balance sheet reconciliation
- Circular reference diagnosis
- Part 3 — Output reasonableness testing: ratio checks, growth rate sanity, cash flow patterns
- Reviewing a more complex model: LBO with waterfall
- Part 4 — Writing a model review memo: structure, severity classification, recommendations
- Group discussion: findings from the exercise models
Can I bring a model I am currently working on
Participants are welcome to bring their own models for review during the open session at the end. Confidential materials should be anonymized before sharing in a group setting.
Most financial modeling training focuses on building. This workshop focuses on reviewing, which is a distinct skill that gets less attention but is just as important in practice.
Where errors typically live
Structural problems in financial models tend to cluster in a few predictable places: hardcoded values buried in formulas, broken links between sheets, inconsistent sign conventions, and circular references that resolve incorrectly under certain assumptions. Participants work through three anonymized models pulled from real advisory engagements, each with seeded and genuine errors.
The audit process
The workshop covers a structured review approach: starting with a logic check of the model architecture, then a formula audit at the cell level, followed by output reasonableness tests. Participants practice using Excel audit tools including trace precedents, the Watch Window, and the formula evaluator.
Documentation
A model review is only useful if the findings are communicated clearly. The workshop includes a section on writing a review memo, prioritizing issues by severity, and distinguishing between errors that affect outputs materially and those that are cosmetic or minor.
Instructor Aleksandra Bourque has reviewed financial models for litigation support and transaction due diligence. She has a specific interest in how errors propagate through linked workbooks.
Quick facts
- International virtual delivery
- Flexible self-paced schedule
- Practical Excel-based exercises
- Certificate on completion
Financial modelling is a skill built through repetition with real data. The exercises here use publicly available company filings, so every number you work with connects to an actual business decision.
Enrolment
- Price: CAD $275
- Half-day session. No group discount applies. Registration includes exercise files and a model audit checklist template.
- Open to all time zones