skills/cim-builder/references/review_checklists.md

# Review Checklists

Use before presenting a CIM, teaser, management presentation, refresh package, or external-ready language.

## Table of contents

- [MD review checklist](#md-review-checklist)
- [Financial and model review checklist](#financial-and-model-review-checklist)
- [KPI review checklist](#kpi-review-checklist)
- [Source and citation review checklist](#source-and-citation-review-checklist)
- [Confidentiality checklist](#confidentiality-checklist)
- [Compliance / legal review flags](#compliance--legal-review-flags)
- [Deck / report quality checklist](#deck--report-quality-checklist)

## MD review checklist

Narrative:

- Is the equity story specific, memorable, and buyer-relevant?
- Does the executive summary communicate the whole investment case quickly?
- Are investment highlights quantified and distinct?
- Does the market section prove right-to-win, not just large TAM?
- Does the growth plan have evidence, owner, timing, and investment requirements?
- Are risks framed credibly rather than hidden?

Buyer lens:

- Does the CIM speak to strategic buyers and sponsors differently where needed?
- Can a sponsor underwrite organic growth, margin expansion, debt capacity, and exit path?
- Can a strategic buyer identify synergy, product adjacency, customer overlap, and integration risk?
- Can lenders understand downside EBITDA, cash conversion, customer concentration, and covenant risk?

Process readiness:

- Are sensitive items staged by process phase?
- Are claims supportable in the data room?
- Are management follow-ups prioritized?
- Are page-level sources captured?
- Are buyer-specific talking points available?

## Financial and model review checklist

- Revenue ties to source financials and model.
- Gross profit and EBITDA tie to source financials and model.
- Adjusted EBITDA bridge is sourced and categorized.
- LTM period is defined and used consistently.
- Fiscal year labels and calendar year labels are consistent.
- CAGRs, growth rates, bps changes, margins, and percentages recalculate.
- Segment/product/customer splits reconcile to total revenue or are footnoted.
- Forecast bridge ties to management plan.
- Pipeline/backlog support ties to CRM or management data.
- Cash conversion, working capital, and capex are not ignored.
- Charts match tables.
- Units and rounding are clear.

## KPI review checklist

- Each KPI is defined.
- Formula is shown or documented.
- Source system is identified.
- Period is clear.
- Inclusion/exclusion rules are clear.
- KPI reconciles to financials where possible.
- Known limitations are disclosed internally.
- Metrics are not mixed across inconsistent definitions.

## Source and citation review checklist

- Major claims have a source.
- Market data is recent enough or flagged as stale.
- Management interview claims are identified.
- Customer quotes are approved or labeled as placeholders.
- Third-party research is cited with date and methodology where relevant.
- Assumptions are labeled.
- Conflicting sources are flagged.

## Confidentiality checklist

- Blind teaser does not reveal identity through logos, customer names, locations, unique products, or metadata.
- NDA-only information is separated from public-safe information.
- Customer names, contract terms, pricing, employee data, IP, legal issues, regulatory matters, and trade secrets are staged appropriately.
- Public-company MNPI and wall-crossing issues are flagged.
- Existing files are preserved; new versions are created for edits.
- No deletion or overwrite occurs unless explicitly requested.

## Compliance / legal review flags

Flag for firm, counsel, or compliance review when materials include:

- securities offering language.
- projections or forecast claims.
- non-GAAP or adjusted metrics.
- customer testimonials or quotes.
- market leadership claims.
- regulatory, tax, legal, environmental, or compliance conclusions.
- public company information or MNPI.
- claims about buyer interest, process status, or valuation expectations.
- broad distribution or solicitation language.
- third-party logos or copyrighted research excerpts.

Do not provide legal conclusions. State that final legal, compliance, and firm-specific disclosures must be reviewed by appropriate advisors.

## Deck / report quality checklist

- The selected format matches the work: written CIMs, teasers, and storyboards default to standalone HTML; native decks are used for explicit presentation requests.
- Titles are action-oriented and specific.
- Each page has a so-what.
- Sections flow logically.
- Bullets are concise.
- Charts are readable.
- Footnotes are present where needed.
- Dates, units, and labels are consistent.
- No placeholder remains in external-ready output unless clearly intended.
- Internal notes are removed from external-ready materials.
- All materials use the requested style guide if supplied.
- Standalone HTML contains no generic dashboard navigation, render-contract metadata, stale internal file paths, or irrelevant model-file controls.
- Standalone HTML was rendered and visually inspected with local headless-browser screenshots; native decks were rendered and visually inspected as slides.