AI Business Case Builder
A defensible business case for your AI initiative. 3-year P&L impact model, NPV, IRR, payback, sensitivity analysis. The financial document that turns "we should do AI" into "here's the funding ask, and here's why it pays back in 14 months."
PRICE
€2,490
DELIVERY
8 days
FORMAT
Partner-led
BUY NOW — €2,490
SEE SAMPLE MODEL →
§ 01 · The problem
"The CFO killed the project. The numbers didn't hold up under scrutiny."
Most AI business cases die in the CFO's office. Benefits are estimated optimistically. Costs exclude integration, change management, inference. ROI assumptions can't be defended. The case looks compelling in committee — then collapses when finance asks the third question.
The Business Case Builder fixes the model before it faces finance. 3-year P&L impact with explicit assumptions. Total cost of ownership including the lines most cases forget. Sensitivity analysis that survives the CFO's stress test. The case that gets approved on first pass — because it was built to be defended, not pitched.
§ 02 · What you get
A financial model that survives the CFO's third question.
Five deliverables built around the way finance teams actually scrutinize investment cases. Designed to be defended, not just presented.
DELIVERABLE 01
3-year P&L impact model
Quarterly P&L lines: revenue uplift, cost reduction, productivity gains, offsets. Driver-based, fully traceable from assumption to bottom line. Excel/Google Sheets, ready for your FP&A team.
DELIVERABLE 02
Total cost of ownership
Build, license, inference, integration, change management, ongoing ops. The lines other cases forget — and the ones finance will ask about first. Calibrated against benchmarks from comparable deployments.
DELIVERABLE 03
NPV, IRR & payback
Three classic financial metrics, calculated against your WACC. The numbers your investment committee or CFO needs in the first slide — and the methodology trail behind them.
DELIVERABLE 04
Sensitivity & scenario analysis
Tornado chart on the top assumptions. Optimistic, base, conservative scenarios with break-even thresholds. The slide that pre-empts the "what if adoption is half?" question.
DELIVERABLE 05
Investment memo
6-8 page memo that wraps the numbers into a defensible narrative. Funding ask, key risks, mitigation, decision points. The document that goes to investment committee with the model attached.
§ 03 · The method
Five economic principles. One defensible model.
Most AI ROI calculations fall apart because they shortcut financial rigor for narrative drama. Our methodology applies investment-banking discipline to AI economics — without losing the strategic story.
PRINCIPLE 01
Driver-based, not headline-based
Every benefit traces back to a physical driver: hours saved × FTE cost, error reduction × cost per error, conversion uplift × deal size. No "30% productivity gain" without the math underneath.
PRINCIPLE 02
Full-stack cost recognition
Build cost is 30% of TCO. The other 70% is inference, integration, change management, ongoing ops, model retraining. Cases that skip these die in audit. We surface every line — including the uncomfortable ones.
PRINCIPLE 03
Conservative benefit recognition
Benefits are recognized when achievable, not when promised. Adoption curves modeled explicitly. Productivity gains discounted for the "absorbed by other work" effect. The numbers your finance team would put in the budget.
PRINCIPLE 04
Stress-tested via sensitivities
Tornado on top 5 assumptions. Break-even thresholds explicit. The CFO sees not just the base case — but what would have to be true for it to fail. Robustness is the new optimism.
PRINCIPLE 05
Calibrated against benchmarks
We cross-check every key assumption against benchmarks from comparable deployments. When your numbers diverge from the benchmark, we say why — and we say it before the CFO does.
§ 04 · Process & timeline
Eight days. Three sessions. Investment-committee ready.
Partner-led from scoping to committee-ready memo. Co-built with your FP&A team so the model stays maintainable after delivery.
DAY 01
Scoping session
90-min session: target initiative, key drivers, available data, WACC, decision context. We map the financial logic before touching Excel.
DAYS 02–04
Model construction
Build the driver-based model: benefits, TCO, NPV/IRR/payback. Benchmark calibration on key assumptions. First draft delivered for async review with your FP&A.
DAY 05
Stress-test session
90-min joint session with sponsor + FP&A. Challenge every assumption. Sensitivity analysis built live. Conservative scenario calibrated against finance's appetite.
DAYS 06–07
Memo & finalization
Investment memo drafted. Model refinements applied. All five deliverables finalized with cross-references. Audit trail documented.
DAY 08
Handover & rehearsal
90-min handover: walkthrough of model and memo, key risks rehearsal, anticipated CFO questions. You leave able to defend every line.
§ 05 · Who it's for
For leaders who need to defend the numbers, not just present them.
Built for four roles that own the financial accountability for AI investments — and want a case that survives the audit, not just the pitch.
CFO / FINANCE DIRECTOR
You're being asked to fund AI initiatives with thin business cases. You want investment-banking rigor applied to the numbers — and a co-pilot who speaks your language.
CHIEF AI OFFICER / HEAD OF AI
You have the technical conviction but your funding request keeps stalling at finance review. You need a model that anticipates the CFO's objections — and answers them before they're raised.
BUSINESS UNIT LEADER
You're championing an AI initiative inside your BU. You need a defensible business case to get prioritized in the next investment round — not just another deck competing for attention.
PE OPERATING PARTNER
A participation has a high-conviction AI project and you need a defensible business case before approving the funding. Third-party rigor on the financial model protects the investment thesis.
§ 06 · Frequently asked
Six honest answers to common questions.
Do we need to have a specific initiative in mind?
Yes — this Skill builds the case for one defined initiative. If you're still selecting between options, look at the Use Cases Prioritization Matrix (€690) first. Once you've picked the bet, this Skill makes the case bulletproof.
What if our data on costs and benefits is thin?
Most are. We work with what you have — and use benchmarks from comparable deployments to triangulate. The model surfaces what's known vs estimated explicitly. Finance teams respect transparency about uncertainty more than false precision.
Will the model integrate with our existing FP&A tools?
The model is delivered as Excel or Google Sheets — your FP&A team can integrate it into Anaplan, Adaptive, Tagetik, or any planning tool. We don't lock you into a proprietary format. The audit trail and assumptions are preserved.
What if the case doesn't pencil out?
It happens — and we say so explicitly. Better to discover a negative NPV in week one of modeling than month six of building. We've delivered cases that concluded "fund a smaller pilot first" or "the value isn't there at current cost." That's a valid outcome.
How does this differ from a generic ROI calculator?
ROI calculators give you a single headline number from a few inputs. This delivers a driver-based 3-year model with full TCO, NPV/IRR/payback, sensitivities, and an investment memo. The difference is what survives committee scrutiny vs what doesn't.
Can you present the case alongside us at investment committee?
By default, no — you own the case and present it. We brief you thoroughly during handover. If you'd like co-presence for the committee meeting, that's a separate engagement we can scope. We don't pad the base offering with optional services you may not need.
§ Ready when you are
Defend the case before the CFO has to kill it.
€2,490, eight days, partner-led. The financial model your investment committee approves — because it was built to be defended.
BUY NOW — €2,490
SEE SAMPLE MODEL →