model-ready is a sequence you can run cold — inputs, totals, rules, numbers, widths.
The sources & uses came off the deal model raw and it goes in the committee book tonight: the two side headings sit in the corner of their blocks, the typed figures are bare black numbers, neither side is totalled, and both money columns are too narrow to read. Run the whole formatting pass over it, both sides, and hand back a page a VP can open. Everything the chapter taught, one artifact, no mouse.
Alt walks: tap Alt, release, then the letters in sequence — each key steps one ribbon menu. On a Mac, tap ⌥ and use the same letters (KeyTips, Excel 2024+).
Ctrl+1⌘1 on macOpen the Format Cells dialog
The master formatting dialog — number formats, alignment, borders in one place when a ribbon walk would take longer.
Alt h f c⌥ h f c on macFont color
Font color: blue inputs, black formulas — the oldest convention in banking models, still enforced.
Alt+=⌥ = on macAutoSum the adjacent range
AutoSum reads the block above or beside the cursor and proposes the SUM — foot rows and columns without typing a formula.
Ctrl+B⌘B on macBold
Bold marks structure: titles, total rows, anything the reviewer’s eye should land on first.
Alt h b p⌥ h b p on macTop border
Top border above a total row — the accounting ruling that says “this line sums the ones above.”
Alt h a n⌥ h a n on macAlign middle (vertical)
Middle-align vertically when rows get tall — wrapped headers stay centered.
Alt h o i⌥ h o i on macAutofit column width
The ##### fix: autofit the column to its widest entry in three keys.
the par-setting sequence, straight through:
headings A3:B3 + D3:E3 → ctrl+1 a · figures B4:B7 + E4:E7 → alt h f c blue · ctrl+1 n commas · alt+= down each money column through its total · total row B8:E8 → ctrl+b · alt h b p · alt h a n · alt h o i · ctrl+s