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In this episode of The ModSquad on Financial Modeler’s Corner, Giles Male and Ian Schnoor put Elkar to the test, a financial modeling tool that's been getting attention for its speed and slick design. From solving structured Excel challenges to building full forecast models, they push the tool to its limits. What follows is a revealing look at how Elkar performs when accuracy, logic, and professional modeling standards are on the line. Along the way, they uncover surprising strengths, critical flaws, and even moments of unexpected comedy. Whether you’re curious about automation or cautious about AI in finance, this episode offers plenty to think about.
Expect to Learn
- What Elkar gets right: speed, formatting, and a sleek interface
- Where it breaks down: logic errors, disconnected assumptions, and unreliable outputs
- How Elkar stacks up against other AI tools like TabAI and Agent
- Why using AI without understanding modeling fundamentals can be dangerous
- What it takes to turn a promising AI output into a reliable financial model
Here are a few quotes from the episode:
- "Right now, Elkar is like a junior analyst, you see potential, but you can't let them run unsupervised." - Giles Male
- "AI tools like this might build something that looks like a model, but without logic, it’s a house of cards." - Ian Schnoor
In this episode, Elkar proves to be a fast and visually polished AI tool with clear potential, especially in formatting and task execution speed. However, when it comes to financial logic, assumption structuring, and balance sheet integrity, it consistently misses the mark. The tool even resorts to shortcuts like hardcoding values and plugging imbalances.
Follow Giles Male:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-male-30643b15/
Follow Ian:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianschnoor/?originalSubdomain=ca
Elkar: https://elkar.co
In today’s episode:
[06:48] - Exploring Elkar: Website, Pricing, and Features
[10:34] - Elkar Takes on the Esports Excel Challenge
[20:14] - Elkar Gets Caught Cheating
[24:18] - Elkar Struggles with Complex Logic
[35:45] - Cash Flow Logic & Balance Sheet Errors
[46:38] - From Hardcoding to Dynamic Assumptions
[53:45] - Balance Sheet Plugging and Logical Failure
[57:34] - Reviewing Elkar’s Working Capital Assumptions
[1:04:20] - Wrap up & Final Thoughts
108 episodes
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