Close Baseline Pack
Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓ The Close Baseline Pack seals the exact model used at financial close into a content-addressed, tamper-evident archive.
- ✓ It issues a baseline certificate and a custody record, giving the deal a deterministic answer to which version was actually closed on.
- ✓ It attaches to an existing engagement at the point of close and is not sold as a standalone campaign, which is permanently forbidden for this product.
- ✓ The sealed baseline becomes the reference point that later Resubmission Diff Pack and Annual Re-Verification Pack engagements compare against.
- ✓ Custody is renewable on an annual basis, and a renewed custody line is treated as a strong signal that a client values the verified record.
Purpose¶
The Close Baseline Pack seals the financial-close model as the deal's verified reference version of record. At the moment of close, the model runs the structural pipeline, and the model file, its structural record, the findings set, and the deliverable are sealed into a content-addressed archive, with a custody record and baseline certificate issued and a verification entry made live. Its revenue is modest, but its strategic role is to feed the verified record that later products depend on.
Who It Is For¶
The customer base is sponsors and lenders at financial close. The buyer is deal-side, and the commercial window is narrow: close happens once, and the attach opportunity is measured in days. It is typically agreed as a line item in the deal-side engagement letter, months ahead of the actual close date.
Problems Solved¶
- Closing binders frequently end up with the closing model represented only by an informally named file attachment, with no deterministic way to confirm which version was actually relied on at close.
- Deal teams need a tamper-evident, content-addressed archive of the exact model, its structural findings, and its supporting record at the point of close.
- Later engagements, including resubmissions on refinancing and annual reviews, need a trustworthy reference point to compare the current model against.
- Custody of the close-version model needs to persist beyond the immediate transaction, with a defined and renewable retention term.
Workflow¶
At financial close, the closing model runs the same structural pipeline used throughout the deal. The model file, its structural record, the findings set, and the deliverable are sealed into a content-addressed archive using a cryptographic hash computed over a fixed bundle layout. A custody record is created capturing the archive hash, seal timestamp, and retention term, and a baseline certificate is issued alongside a verification registry entry. The product is attach-only, sold as a line item within an existing engagement letter, and is not marketed as a standalone offering.
Outputs¶
The deliverable is the BAS baseline certificate: a single page stating the deal, the model's hash, the seal timestamp, version stamps, and a verification URL, followed by a condensed structural summary, coverage and provenance lines, and a custody terms page. The verification registry entry is marked as verified at close, and custody is renewable annually, with each renewal signalling that the client continues to value the sealed reference version.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Close Baseline Pack?
A product that seals the model used at financial close into a tamper-evident, content-addressed archive, issuing a custody record and a baseline certificate as the deal's verified reference version.
Who buys the Close Baseline Pack?
Sponsors and lenders at financial close, typically as a line item in the deal-side engagement letter agreed well before the close date itself.
What problem does it solve?
Closing binders often end up with the closing model represented only by an emailed file with an informal name, with no deterministic way to confirm exactly which version was relied on at close. The Close Baseline Pack replaces that with a verifiable, sealed archive.
Is the Close Baseline Pack sold as a standalone product?
No. It is attach-only at the point of financial close on an existing engagement; standalone marketing of the product is permanently forbidden.
What does the baseline certificate contain?
A single page stating the deal, the model's hash, the seal timestamp, version stamps, and a verification URL, alongside a condensed structural summary and a custody terms page.
What happens to the sealed archive after close?
It is retained under a custody record with a defined retention term, renewable annually, and later products such as the Resubmission Diff Pack and the Annual Re-Verification Pack retrieve it as their comparison baseline.
How is the archive protected against tampering?
The archive is content-addressed using a cryptographic hash over a fixed bundle layout, so any modification to the sealed contents is detectable by recomputing and comparing the hash.
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