In this episode of The ModSquad on Financial Modeler’s Corner, Paul Barnhurst and Giles Male put Shortcut under the AI microscope, testing one of the most hyped AI tools in the financial modeling world. With claims like “the most accurate Excel agent in the world” and the ability to outperform human champions in modeling tasks, Shortcut has made a big splash, but does it live up to its own bold promises? Paul and Giles run it through a rigorous series of real-world modeling challenges, from esports cases and financial forecasts to dashboard analysis and deferred revenue schedules. What they find is a tool with clear potential, and some serious red flags.

Expect to Learn

Where Shortcut impresses with formatting, speed, and usability
Where it fails, especially with modeling logic
How Shortcut compares to Excel Agent and TabAI across key modeling tasks
Why reversing formatting in a model is a huge red flag
What to consider when investing in premium AI tools for modeling

Here are a few quotes from the episode:

“Shortcut has potential, but right now it’s flash over fundamentals.” - Giles Male
“Could you imagine an analyst reversing formatting to make a number look negative? They’d be out the door.” - Giles Male

Despite the hype, Shortcut proved to be a solid tool with promise. It delivered impressive formatting and UI, yet had some serious issues like incorrect logic, hardcoded values, and non-balancing models, which held it back. A promising AI assistant, just not a replacement for real modeling expertise.

Follow Giles Male:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/giles-male-30643b15/

In today’s episode:

[01:15] - Intro & Where the AI Modeling Journey Stands

[05:11] - Shortcut: First Impressions & Bold Claims

[14:28] - Viral Demo Video Breakdown

[23:12] - Esports Challenge: Basic Excel Tasks

[31:19] - Intermediate Case: Modeling Accuracy

[36:10] - Building a 3-Statement Forecast

[44:24] - Red Flags: Formatting & Balance Sheet Errors

[50:27] - Deferred Revenue Test

[56:32] - Trial Balance Dashboard: Visuals vs. Substance

[1:07:22] - Final Thoughts & Shortcut's Ranking

Testing Shortcut AI's bold claims: Did it live up to the hype with Giles Male

The FP&A Guy Network