Financial Modeling and Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity

CHAPTER 6

The Debt Schedule, Circular References, and Finalizing the Model

The debt schedule is designed to track every major type of debt a company has, and the associated interest and payment schedules for each. It also helps track the cash available that could be used to pay down those debts and any interest income that could be generated from cash or cash equivalents available. Simply put, a debt schedule helps us better track the debt and interest. There is also a very important “circular reference” that is created once the debt schedule is complete and properly linked through the rest of the model. This circular reference is crucial in helping us determine various debt situations, such as the absolute maximum amount of debt a company can raise, making sure there is still enough cash to meet the interest payments.

Note: Once the circular reference is created, you may receive an Excel error message. Please refer to the “Circular References” section of this chapter on how to resolve circular reference errors.

It is important to note that the debt schedule should be the very last statement to build due to this circular reference. Make sure you have a properly balancing balance sheet before beginning the debt schedule. If you do not have a balancing balance sheet, moving on to the debt schedule will only complicate things further.

DEBT SCHEDULE STRUCTURE

Please refer to the “Debt Schedule” tab in the model. Rows 6 through 10 will help us track the amount of cash we have available ...