Dissent Advisory course
The VendorDatabook
Build the pages the buyer’s advisers read first: an EBITDA bridge where every adjustment carries its evidence, normalised costs, a working capital trend that shows the season, and net debt with the items a buyer will deduct.
120 minutes core
You will be able to
- 01
Build an EBITDA bridge from reported to management-adjusted to diligence-adjusted, and hold each adjustment to an evidence bar.
- 02
Normalise founder pay, related-party rent, ESOP cost and a statutory run-rate, and show how far each assumption moves the result.
- 03
Read 21 months of net working capital through a festive peak, define what is in it, and say why no single month is the normal level.
- 04
Set out net debt at the stub date with borrowings, overdue dues, employee obligations, capex creditors and cash-like items, and show the swing each classification causes.
- 05
Footnote every figure to its source, run the consistency checks, and build the summary page the buyer reads first.
Five chapters.
One company throughout.
- I
Management adjusts, the buyer decides
Each adjustment carries its evidence or it does not survive.
- II
Normal is a claim that needs evidence
Founder pay, one-offs, related-party rent, ESOP cost, run-rates.
- III
Working capital has a season, not a number
The monthly trend, the festive peak, and definitions.
- IV
Debt is what the buyer will deduct
Borrowings, overdue dues and the debt-like items.
- V
A databook is footnotes that tie
Sources, consistency and the page the buyer reads first.
Build alongside the course
The databook the course builds: sources traced to the tie-out, the EBITDA bridge for three periods, normalisation with its sensitivity, 21 months of working capital, net debt at 31 December 2026, the footnotes and the consistency checks. Rebuild each chapter’s numbers alongside it, or give it to an AI tool with the specification on sheet 08_AI_Spec, then compare on 09_Answer_Check.
Download Excel workbook, 10 sheets, including a ReadMe →Straight answers.
- What is The Vendor Databook?
- It is a 120-minute course on building the databook a buyer will test: the adjusted EBITDA bridge, the monthly working capital trend, and net debt, with every adjustment tied to evidence.
- Who is it for?
- Sell-side analysts and company finance hires who will hand a databook to a buyer’s diligence team. It assumes you can read a P&L, a balance sheet, and a trial balance.
- How long does it take, and is there a certificate?
- About 120 minutes. A pass on the final assessment earns a Dissent Advisory certificate with prefix DA-VDBK.
- Does it cover Indian specifics?
- Yes. Adjustments and working capital use Indian statutory items from the Kalasu Series B case, including the findings carried forward from the readiness sweep and the tie-out.
- Which pathway is this part of?
- It is D3 of Pathway D, Sell-Side Diligence, after the tie-out and before Exposures and Disclosure.
Educational content only. Not a substitute for engagement-specific financial or legal advice.
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