Field notes on AI in business
Practical writing on AI, automation and the day-to-day work of running a business. From the team that builds and runs AI systems.
Altman z score
How to Use the Altman Z-Score to Avoid Distressed Companies
The Altman Z-Score flags financial distress from five ratios you can pull off any filing. Here is how to calculate it, read the trend, and screen with it.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Due diligence
AI-Washing: How Investors and Acquirers Can Verify a Company's AI Claims
The SEC has already fined companies for faking AI. A field guide for investors and acquirers: the questions, evidence, and red flags that verify AI claims.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Credit ratings
How Credit Rating Agencies Actually Assess Company Risk
What actually goes into a Moody's, S&P, or Fitch rating: the scale, the key ratios, the committee process, and how to use ratings without outsourcing your judgment.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Trade data
How Trade Data Reveals Supply Chain Relationships and Industry Structure
Trade data shows the physical reality of supply chains, who ships what to whom, and it fills gaps that company disclosures tend to leave vague. Here is how to use it.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Dcf analysis
Understanding DCF Sensitivity: Why Small Assumptions Create Large Valuation Swings
Tiny changes in DCF assumptions can swing a valuation wildly. Here is why that happens and how to use sensitivity analysis so the model works for you.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
AI strategy
Seats, Tokens, or Outcomes: Making Sense of AI Tool Pricing Before You Buy
Per-seat, usage-based, and outcome-based AI pricing can price the same workload wildly differently. A buyer's guide to the math, hidden fees, and negotiation levers.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
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Data quality
Why Financial Data Quality Matters More Than Quantity for Analysis
More data will not rescue an analysis built on bad numbers. Where financial data breaks, how errors compound through models, and the checks that catch them.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Market segmentation
Market Segmentation: A Practical Guide for Investors and Operators
Total market size is the number everyone quotes and the least useful for decisions. Here is how to build segments that show where the value actually sits.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Magic formula
How the Greenblatt Magic Formula Combines Value and Quality
How Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula ranks stocks on earnings yield and return on capital, what the live results look like, and how to actually run it.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Due diligence
How AI Maturity Affects What Your Business Is Worth When You Sell
Acquirers now price AI maturity into deals. Here's what diligence teams examine, how tribal knowledge and messy data cost you at exit, and what to fix first.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Demographics
How Demographic Shifts Will Reshape Industry Demand Over the Next Decade
Population trends are the rare forecast input you can trust. How aging, migration, and generational spending shifts will move industry demand next decade.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Benjamin graham
The Benjamin Graham Formula: Still Relevant After 75 Years
Graham's intrinsic value formula uses two inputs to estimate what a stock is worth. It won't nail a fair value, but as a screen and sanity check it still earns its keep.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
1,319 articles