What Goes into an Audit-Ready M&A Databook
An investor-ready databook is not a slide deck with numbers on it. It is a single source of truth where every figure can be traced from summary schedule back to bank statement or ledger entry. When buyer counsel asks “where does this come from?”, the answer should take minutes, not days.
The core schedules
A complete databook carries monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statements alongside net working capital (NWC) and Net Debt schedules. Each schedule links to the next: the P&L drives retained earnings, the BS ties to cash, cash ties to CF, and CF closes into debt balances. Broken links are the first thing reviewers find.
Reconciliation is the product
What separates an audit-ready databook from a spreadsheet dump:
- Tie-outs: trial balance totals agree to management accounts and statutory filings.
- Bank reconciliation: revenue and expense lines reconcile to bank statements and invoices.
- Flux analysis: month-over-month movements explained so reviewers don't have to guess.
- Standardized management accounts: consistent chart of accounts across periods, with adjustments documented.
The executive note
Alongside the Excel databook (linked schedules & formulas), we deliver a source-to-summary reconciliation pack and a 2–3 page executive note flagging red flags and opportunities. That note is usually what gets read first — it should be defensible line by line.
How fast can it be done?
Typical engagements run 5–10 business days under NDA-first confidentiality. For urgent deals we offer a 72-hour first-cut databook when scope allows — standardized core schedules first, deeper workstreams layered after.