VIU Capital™ · Engine B · Institutional Protocol
Canonical CSV
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Governing field definitions, scaling conventions, identity validation, and submission requirements for Engine B institutional diagnostic processing.
01
Overview
Engine B is a deterministic, Six-Pillar bankability diagnostic engine. It accepts issuer financial data in a strictly defined canonical CSV format and produces a VIU Bankability Score™ for each submitted period. The engine enforces all input rules programmatically — files that do not conform are rejected before any diagnostic processing begins.
This protocol defines the exact structure, field semantics, scaling conventions, and validation rules required for a successful upload. It is the authoritative reference for all client data preparation teams, financial analysts, and third-party integrators submitting issuer data for Engine B evaluation.
Deterministic by Design
Engine B is not a model — it is a function. The same input always produces the same output. There is no analyst override, no qualitative adjustment, and no manual intervention in the scoring process. Data quality at the point of submission is therefore the sole determinant of diagnostic accuracy.
02
File Format Requirements
- Format: Comma-separated values (.csv) — UTF-8 encoded, no BOM
- Header row: Required on line 1 — exact column names in exact order (see Section 03)
- One row per issuer per fiscal year — multiple periods for the same issuer are submitted as multiple rows
- No blank rows, no subtotals, no summary rows — data rows only after the header
- No currency symbols, commas within numbers, or percentage signs — numeric fields are plain integers or decimals
- No quoted strings unless the field value contains a comma
- Line endings: LF or CRLF both accepted
- Maximum file size: 10MB per submission
Column Order is Enforced
Engine B validates columns by name AND position. Reordering columns will cause a rejection even if all field names are correct. Always use the canonical header sequence defined in Section 03.
03
Field Definitions
The canonical header is exactly 17 columns in the order below. REQUIRED fields must be populated. CONDITIONAL fields depend on issuer type. ZERO-OK fields accept 0 for unlisted or unavailable data.
Canonical Header
EXACT HEADER — COPY VERBATIM
ticker,name,sector,revenue,ebitda,net_income,total_assets,equity,debt,cash,capex,cfo,price,shares,beta,sector_pe,fiscal_year
| Column | Type | Definition & Engine Rule |
|---|---|---|
| ticker REQUIRED | string | Issuer identifier. 2–6 uppercase characters. Used as the primary key across multi-period submissions. Must be consistent across all rows for the same issuer. |
| name REQUIRED | string | Full issuer name as it should appear on the diagnostic output. Appears verbatim on the Engine B report header. |
| sector REQUIRED | string | Issuer sector classification. Used for peer benchmarking and sector_pe cross-referencing. Must be consistent across all periods for the same issuer. Examples: Agro-Industrial · Electrical Equipment · Financial Services · Technology · Healthcare · Energy |
| revenue REQUIRED | integer | Total revenue for the fiscal year. Full absolute value in the issuer's reporting currency. Must be a positive integer. If source data is in thousands (USD '000), multiply by 1,000 before submission. |
| ebitda REQUIRED | integer | Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation. May be negative for loss periods. Full absolute value. EBITDA = Gross Profit − Operating Expenses (before D&A). Do not use EBIT. |
| net_income REQUIRED | integer | Net profit after all items including tax and interest. May be negative. Full absolute value. |
| total_assets REQUIRED | integer | Total assets from the balance sheet. Must equal Total Liabilities + Total Equity. Engine B validates this identity on every row. |
| equity REQUIRED | integer | Total shareholders' equity (Share Capital + Retained Earnings + Reserves). Used to compute Debt/Equity and the balance sheet identity. |
| debt REQUIRED | integer |
TOTAL LIABILITIES — not financial debt. Engine B defines debt as total_assets − equity. This includes all current liabilities, long-term debt, deferred liabilities, and any other non-equity obligations.
Identity enforced: debt = total_assets − equity. Any deviation causes immediate rejection.
⚠ Common error: submitting only LT Debt + ST Borrowings. This will fail the identity check.
|
| cash REQUIRED | integer | Cash and cash equivalents from the balance sheet. Used in Altman-Z and liquidity ratio calculations. Must be a non-negative integer. |
| capex REQUIRED | integer | Capital expenditure for the period. Submitted as a positive integer (the engine applies the sign). From the investing activities section of the cash flow statement. Use 0 if no capex was incurred. Do not submit as negative. |
| cfo REQUIRED | integer | Net Cash from Operating Activities — the bottom line of Section A of the cash flow statement. May be negative. This is the direct operating cash flow, not EBITDA. Do not substitute EBITDA for CFO. They are distinct inputs mapped to distinct pillars. |
| price ZERO-OK | decimal | Share price at fiscal year end in the issuer's reporting currency. Required for P/E, P/B, and P/S ratio calculations under Pillar II. Submit 0 for private (unlisted) issuers. Valuation ratios will return 0.00; EV/EBITDA remains active. |
| shares CONDITIONAL | integer | Shares outstanding at fiscal year end. Required for market-cap-dependent valuation ratios under Pillar II.
For listed issuers: submit actual shares outstanding as a positive integer.
For private/unlisted issuers: submit 1 (not 0). The engine requires a non-zero placeholder to avoid division-by-zero in market capitalisation calculations. All share-price-dependent ratios (P/E, P/B, P/S) will return 0.00. EV/EBITDA remains active.
⚠ Submitting 0 for shares on a private issuer may cause calculation errors in Pillar II sub-ratios. Use 1 as the canonical private issuer placeholder.
|
| beta ZERO-OK | decimal | Equity beta relative to the issuer's primary market index. Used in Pillar V — Risk & Resilience calculations.
For listed issuers: source from the issuer's primary exchange. Typical ranges: 0.60–0.85 (defensive), 0.85–1.20 (cyclical), 1.20+ (high-volatility).
For private/unlisted issuers or where beta is unavailable due to jurisdictional data constraints: submit 0. The engine applies a neutral beta treatment and processes Pillar V from balance sheet and cash flow inputs only. This will reduce the Pillar V score but will not cause a rejection.
Jurisdictional note: in markets where equity beta data is not publicly published or where the issuer has no listed comparable, submitting 0 is the correct and accepted approach.
|
| sector_pe ZERO-OK | decimal | Sector-level price-to-earnings multiple used as the valuation benchmark in Pillar II normalisation. Source from current market data for the issuer's sector where available.
Where available: use a peer-derived or published sector P/E. Common ranges: Consumer/Agro 10–15 · Industrial 12–18 · Technology 20–35 · Financial Services 8–14.
Where unavailable due to jurisdictional constraints, private issuer status, or absence of listed comparable peers: submit 0. The engine applies a floor treatment for Pillar II normalisation. When sector_pe = 0, Pillar II will score at the engine floor of 25.0 — preserving the diagnostic output without rejection.
Jurisdictional note: in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and other markets where sector P/E multiples are not publicly available for Agro-Industrial or equivalent sectors, submitting 0 is the canonical accepted approach.
|
| fiscal_year REQUIRED | integer | Four-digit fiscal year of the data period (e.g. 2023, 2024, 2025). Audited actuals and forward forecasts use the same format — the engine does not distinguish between A and F designations in the CSV. Each issuer-year combination must be unique. Duplicate rows for the same ticker and fiscal_year will cause a rejection. |
04
The Balance Sheet Identity Rule
Engine B enforces a hard balance sheet identity on every row before any diagnostic processing begins. This is the single most common cause of rejection.
ENGINE B — IDENTITY VALIDATION
debt = total_assets − equity Equivalently: total_assets = debt + equity Any row where this identity does not hold to the integer is rejected immediately. No partial processing occurs.
What this means in practice: the debt column must contain Total Liabilities — the full liability side of the balance sheet — not financial debt alone.
Correct vs Incorrect — KAGA Group FY2025 Example
Scenario
debt value submitted
Result
LT Debt + ST Borrowings only
(48,000 + 22,000) × 1,000
(48,000 + 22,000) × 1,000
70,000,000
✗ REJECTED
104,600,000 ≠ 70,000,000 + 16,100,000
104,600,000 ≠ 70,000,000 + 16,100,000
Total Liabilities (correct)
total_assets − equity
total_assets − equity
88,500,000
✓ ACCEPTED
104,600,000 = 88,500,000 + 16,100,000
104,600,000 = 88,500,000 + 16,100,000
⚠ Most Common Rejection Cause
Analysts sourcing debt from the notes to financial statements (long-term borrowings, bank facilities) rather than the balance sheet summary will almost always submit a value that fails the identity. Always derive the debt field as total_assets minus equity directly from the balance sheet totals.
05
Scaling Convention
Engine B expects all monetary fields in full absolute currency units — not thousands, not millions. Financial statements that report in USD '000 or USD millions must be scaled up before submission.
SCALING REFERENCE
Source reports in USD '000 → multiply all monetary fields × 1,000 Source reports in USD 'M → multiply all monetary fields × 1,000,000 Source reports in full USD → submit as-is Example — KAGA Group Revenue FY2025: Source (USD '000): 104,890 Submitted to Engine B: 104,890,000
- Scaling applies to all 9 monetary fields:
revenue · ebitda · net_income · total_assets · equity · debt · cash · capex · cfo - Non-monetary fields (
beta · sector_pe · price) are submitted as decimals with no scaling - Mixed scaling within a single file — some rows in USD '000 and others in full USD — will produce incorrect diagnostic outputs that Engine B cannot detect. The submitter is responsible for consistency
- Currency must be consistent across all rows in a single file. Multi-currency submissions require prior conversion to a single reporting currency
06
Private and Unlisted Issuers
Engine B fully supports private, unlisted, and state-owned issuers. Market-dependent fields are handled via a defined protocol that preserves Pillar II (Valuation) scoring through EV/EBITDA while zeroing out price-based ratios.
Fields — Private Issuer Canonical Values
| Field | Canonical Private Value | Engine Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| price | 0 | P/E, P/B, P/S ratios return 0.00. EV/EBITDA computed from balance sheet proxy. Does not cause rejection. |
| shares | 1 | Submit 1, not 0. The engine requires a non-zero placeholder to prevent division-by-zero in market capitalisation calculations. All share-price-dependent ratios return 0.00. EV/EBITDA remains active from balance sheet inputs. |
| beta | 0 | Submit 0 where beta is unavailable or where listed comparable data does not exist for the jurisdiction. Engine applies neutral beta treatment. Pillar V scored from balance sheet and cash flow inputs only. No rejection. |
| sector_pe | 0 | Submit 0 where sector P/E is unavailable for the jurisdiction or sector. Engine applies floor treatment. Pillar II scores at the engine floor of 25.0. No rejection. |
Jurisdictional Data Constraint — Accepted Protocol
In markets where equity beta data and sector P/E multiples are not publicly available — including Sub-Saharan African markets, Central Asian jurisdictions, and sectors without a liquid listed peer universe — submitting beta=0 and sector_pe=0 is the canonical accepted approach. The engine processes these submissions without rejection and produces a complete Six-Pillar diagnostic. Pillar V is computed from balance sheet and cash flow fundamentals. Pillar II scores at the engine floor of 25.0.
Private Issuer Diagnostic Coverage — Confirmed
A private issuer submitted with price=0, shares=1, beta=0, sector_pe=0 receives a complete Six-Pillar diagnostic across all available pillars. Pillars I, III, IV, V, and VI are balance-sheet and cash-flow driven. Only Pillar II share-price sub-ratios return 0.00. EV/EBITDA remains active and functional from balance sheet EV proxy.
07
Multi-Period Submissions
Engine B is designed for multi-period analysis. Submitting multiple fiscal years for the same issuer in a single file is the recommended approach — it enables the engine to compute growth rates, trend signals, and period-over-period pillar progression.
- Each period is a separate row with the same
tickerand a distinctfiscal_year - Rows may include audited actuals (e.g. FY2023A, FY2024A) and forward forecasts (FY2025F, FY2026F) — the engine processes both identically
- Minimum 1 period required. Maximum periods per issuer per submission: 20
- Multiple issuers may be included in a single file — rows are grouped by
ticker - The engine generates one diagnostic output per issuer per period — a 6-period submission for one issuer produces 6 diagnostic reports
Multi-Period Best Practice
Submit the maximum available history alongside forecasts. A three-period diagnostic (two actuals + one forecast) produces a materially more robust bankability assessment than a single-period submission. The KAGA Group case study — FY2024A, FY2025A, FY2028F — demonstrates how trajectory validation across periods changes the credit conclusion.
08
Rejection Reference
Engine B returns a rejection code and affected row number when a file fails validation. Common rejection causes, error signals, and corrections:
Rejection Cause
Engine Signal
Correction
debt ≠ total_assets − equity
IDENTITY_FAIL
Set debt = total_assets − equity (Total Liabilities)
Column missing or wrong name
SCHEMA_MISMATCH
Copy header verbatim from Section 03
Column order incorrect
SCHEMA_MISMATCH
Restore canonical column order exactly
Duplicate ticker + fiscal_year
DUPLICATE_PERIOD
Remove duplicate row; one row per issuer per year
Monetary values in thousands (not scaled)
No rejection — silent error
Multiply all monetary fields × 1,000 before submission
beta = 0
ACCEPTED
Engine applies neutral beta treatment. No rejection. Use where jurisdictional data unavailable.
sector_pe = 0
ACCEPTED
Engine applies Pillar II floor (25.0). No rejection. Use where no listed peer universe exists.
price > 0 but shares = 0
INVALID_FIELD
Both must be 0 (private) or both non-zero (listed)
Non-numeric value in numeric field
TYPE_ERROR
Remove symbols (%, $, ,) — plain integers only
capex submitted as negative
INVALID_FIELD
Submit capex as positive integer; engine applies sign
09
Worked Example — KAGA Group
The following is the accepted canonical CSV for KAGA Group (Agro-Industrial), covering FY2023 through FY2028F. Six individual CSV files were submitted — one per period — each cumulative from FY2023. All files passed Engine B validation and produced six diagnostic outputs. The complete trajectory demonstrates credit enhancement from Critical to Strong across a six-year horizon.
This is a private, unlisted Agro-Industrial holding entity operating in a jurisdiction where equity beta data and sector P/E comparables are not publicly available. The canonical private issuer values — shares=1, beta=0, sector_pe=0 — are applied throughout and accepted by the engine without modification.
ACCEPTED — KAGA GROUP · FY2028 FILE (6 PERIODS CUMULATIVE) · ALL ROWS PASS
ticker,name,sector,revenue,ebitda,net_income,total_assets,equity,debt,cash,capex,cfo,price,shares,beta,sector_pe,fiscal_year KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,67700000,13000000,3300000,83000000,13000000,70000000,4200000,9800000,8000000,0,1,0,0,2023 KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,86100000,17000000,7400000,93700000,13700000,80000000,6800000,10400000,11600000,0,1,0,0,2024 KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,104890000,22290000,11410000,104600000,16100000,88500000,8500000,11200000,14830000,0,1,0,0,2025 KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,114900000,24500000,12860000,111900000,18800000,93100000,9900000,11700000,18420000,0,1,0,0,2026 KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,125900000,26800000,14300000,120000000,22200000,97800000,11400000,12300000,19800000,0,1,0,0,2027 KGF,KAGA Group,Agro-Industrial,138900000,29700000,16300000,129200000,26600000,102600000,13200000,13000000,27500000,0,1,0,0,2028
Gold values = debt field (Total Liabilities). Each satisfies: total_assets − equity = debt exactly. Source data was in full currency units. Green values = canonical private issuer placeholders: shares=1 (non-zero engine placeholder), beta=0 (jurisdictional constraint), sector_pe=0 (no listed peer universe). KAGA Group is a private Agro-Industrial holding entity — no exchange listing, no public beta, no sector P/E reference available in jurisdiction.
09b
KAGA Group — Credit Enhancement Trajectory
The KAGA Group submission demonstrates the Engine B multi-period diagnostic as a credit enhancement instrument. Six CSVs were submitted sequentially — each adding one additional fiscal year — producing six independent diagnostic outputs that document the issuer's complete bankability trajectory.
Diagnostic Output — All Six Periods
| Period | Score | Zone | Key Pillar Movement | CSV Submitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 21.43 | CRITICAL | Risk & Resilience 0.0 · Balance Sheet 8.4 · Cash Flow 19.1 | ve2023testF1.csv |
| FY2024 | 32.01 | EXPOSED | Risk & Resilience 10.4 · Balance Sheet 12.1 · Cash Flow 24.2 | ve2024testF1.csv |
| FY2025 | 40.43 | EXPOSED | Risk & Resilience 22.7 · Balance Sheet 13.5 · Cash Flow 46.2 | ve2025testF1.csv |
| FY2026 | 45.85 | EXPOSED | Risk & Resilience 26.3 · Balance Sheet 14.8 · Cash Flow 81.1 | ve2026testF1.csv |
| FY2027 | 47.16 | EXPOSED | Risk & Resilience 29.7 · Balance Sheet 15.8 · Cash Flow 83.2 | ve2027testF1.csv |
| FY2028 | 50.84 | STRONG | Risk & Resilience 34.0 · Balance Sheet 17.0 · Cash Flow 94.7 | ve2028testF.csv |
CREDIT ENHANCEMENT — CRITICAL TO STRONG · 5-YEAR TRAJECTORY
FY2023 21.43 CRITICAL ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ FY2024 32.01 EXPOSED ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ FY2025 40.43 EXPOSED ██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ FY2026 45.85 EXPOSED ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ FY2027 47.16 EXPOSED ████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ FY2028 50.84 STRONG █████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Trajectory driver: Cash Flow Quality (19.1 → 94.7) and Risk & Resilience (0.0 → 34.0) — five-year compounding. Pillar II fixed at engine floor 25.0 — jurisdiction constraint.
Protocol Insight — Cumulative Submission Strategy
KAGA Group was submitted as six separate CSVs — each file cumulative from FY2023, adding one period per submission. This approach allows a credit committee to track bankability progression in real time as each fiscal year closes. The engine produces one diagnostic per submission, creating an auditable score trail across the full operating history of the issuer.
Jurisdiction-Constrained Submission — Confirmed Accepted
All six KAGA Group CSVs were submitted with shares=1, beta=0, sector_pe=0. All six passed Engine B validation without modification. All six produced complete institutional tearsheet outputs. This confirms the accepted protocol for private issuers operating in jurisdictions where beta and sector P/E data are not publicly available.
10
Pre-Submission Checklist
Verify all items below before submitting a CSV to Engine B. A file that passes this checklist will not be rejected on structural grounds.
- ✓Header row is present on line 1 and matches the canonical sequence exactly — 17 columns, exact names, exact order
- ✓All monetary fields are in full absolute currency units — no USD '000 or USD millions submitted without scaling
- ✓debt = total_assets − equity on every row — verified to the integer
- ✓debt represents Total Liabilities — not LT Debt, not financial debt, not net debt
- ✓cfo is Net Cash from Operating Activities — not EBITDA, not operating profit
- ✓capex is a positive integer — sign applied by the engine
- ✓For private issuers: price = 0 and shares = 1 (not 0 — use 1 as the engine placeholder); beta = 0 where jurisdictional data is unavailable; sector_pe = 0 where no listed peer universe exists. All three combinations are accepted by Engine B.
- ✓No duplicate ticker + fiscal_year combinations
- ✓No currency symbols, percentage signs, or comma-formatted numbers in numeric fields
- ✓Sector classification is consistent across all periods for the same issuer
- ✓All monetary fields share the same reporting currency — no mixed-currency rows
- ✓File is saved as .csv with UTF-8 encoding — no BOM, no Excel .xlsx format
Protocol Enquiries
Questions regarding field definitions, sector classification, or multi-issuer batch submissions may be directed to [email protected]. Include your ticker, source statement format, and a description of the submission in your enquiry.