Blog - Lauren Pearl · Lauren Pearl
articleinsightModeling backwards
31 January 2026Profit
Source excerpt
About Blog - Lauren PearlI was just watching an amazing video by modeling expert Chris Reilly on how he maps out financial models before building them.And it made me realize something about how traditional Big-Co FP&A is totally different from building financial models for startupsAnd how Finance best practices - in general - should be different for startups than they are in big companies.It all comes down to this:It's backwards.In Chris's video,He starts his modeling map based on the Raw Data (your historical statements)Next, he goes straight to building a 3-statement model (P&L, BS, and CF)He then builds a forecasting layer between the two (he calls this a Sub Schedule)Next up, he makes a control panel, from which he can control the modelAnd finally, a summary view that can be sent around to leaders, investors, etc.All in all, a brilliant breakdown of how to build a model for an established business.... But…
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