Sources and CFI Alignment
Scope of alignment
The repository's four-course structure is the organizing syllabus. “Based on the CFI track” is interpreted as alignment to publicly described financial-modeling and valuation subject areas, with original instruction for SMB acquisitions. No private CFI syllabus, course files, examinations, or licensed case materials were supplied or used. This is not an official CFI program, and no claim of lesson-for-lesson equivalence is made.
| This curriculum | Public CFI reference | Alignment and original extension |
|---|---|---|
| Course 1, Modules 1–6 | Introduction to Business Valuation | Valuation methods and discounted cash flow; original SMB forecasting, reinvestment, private-company risk, and capstone |
| Course 2, Modules 1–6 | 3-Statement Modeling | Integrated financial forecasts; original cash-to-accrual conversion, owner replacement, normalization, and quality-of-earnings cases |
| Course 3, Modules 1–6 | LBO Modeling: Sources and Uses and Introduction to Leveraged Buyouts | Transaction funding and leveraged acquisition mechanics; original monthly debt, seller-note, coverage, and liquidity exercises |
| Course 4, Modules 1–6 | Introduction to Business Valuation and Introduction to Mergers and Acquisitions | Comparable and transaction valuation and acquisition process; original SMB peg, negotiation, commercial LOI, and decision cases |
The reference pages above describe broad topics. All lesson prose, numbers, exercises, answer keys, rubrics, and Harbor cases on this site are independently authored. Public topic alignment does not imply that CFI teaches or endorses the particular SMB judgments or financing assumptions used here.
SBA financing references
- SBA 7(a) program overview: primary reference for the program and eligible uses, including changes of ownership.
- SBA lender resources: starting point for current lender guidance, notices, and training.
- SBA SOP 50 10 publication page: starting point for loan-origination policies and procedures. Confirm the applicable edition and subsequent notices directly with the lender.
Course 3 provides a dated policy discussion based on SOP 50 10 8.1 with Technical Updates, effective October 1, 2026, consulted November 5, 2026. Module 2 distinguishes current acquisition requirements from illustrative loan quotes and buyer covenants. Appendix 15 governs acquisition-specific matters; Section A addresses core guarantees and insurance. The FY 2027 fee notice supports the capstone upfront-fee calculation. The fictional Prime rate, prospective taxes, financial forecasts, and lender CFADS covenant remain teaching assumptions. Confirm governing effective-date provisions and transaction-specific lender conditions before relying on a financing structure. Conventional earnout and rollover illustrations are not proposed as eligible terms for the SBA Initial Acquisition capstone.
Course 4 market and transaction references
Course 4 distinguishes attributed public observations from constructed case data. The BizBuySell Insight Report and data tables were consulted November 5, 2026 for the Q3 2026 reported-sales context. The BVR DealStats Value Index digest, Q3 2024 explains a published transaction-price framework. No paid DealStats export was obtained or reproduced. The Pepperdine Private Capital Markets collection and 2026 edition landing page identify the survey source; unavailable report-table values are not asserted.
The 2.0x–3.5x SDE and 4.0x–6.5x EBITDA bands are teaching orientations, not verified current industry distributions. Every Apex comp and the $3.8 million negotiation are fictional. Ranges, probabilities, insurance cost illustrations, escrow amounts, true-up timelines, and indemnity terms are expressly stipulated assumptions.
Legal examples use IRS Form 8594 instructions, a Delaware opinion discussing the SIGA litigation, a New York asset-liability decision, the FTC noncompete rule-status page, and Marsh's R&W insurance overview. Each supports the limited attributed context, not an execution-ready agreement or a universal legal rule. Current SBA limits from Course 3 also apply to the Course 4 Initial Acquisition case.
Tax and legal scope
The IRS Instructions for Form 8594 explain asset-acquisition allocation and related reporting. Course 4 refers to this requirement at a high level; it does not determine an individual transaction's tax treatment. The illustrative 25% tax rates elsewhere are modeling assumptions and do not represent a statutory combined rate for all SMBs.
LOI enforceability, liability assumption, note priority, security, guarantees, escrow, and contractual remedies depend on final documents and applicable law. The commercial issue lists in this curriculum are educational prompts for adviser review, not jurisdiction-specific legal conclusions or execution-ready contracts.
Evidence standard for learner work
Keep source files and record document title, issuer, period, publication date, access date, and exact location for material inputs. Label historical facts, seller assertions, verified adjustments, buyer assumptions, and unresolved items separately. For actual comparable transactions, preserve price definition, earnings period, consideration terms, included assets, closing status, and source quality. The fictional comp tables in Course 4 are never a substitute for current market evidence.
Audit and reproducibility
The detailed public-topic crosswalk supplements this course-level map. Student artifacts are in assignments and workbooks; solutions are explicitly separated in the instructor section. Repository audit records retain source provenance, calculation comparisons and verification limits. No private CFI course materials were accessed or reproduced.