Architecture
The NotchWork analytical engine
An orchestrated pipeline of 35 specialist AI agents across 7 phases — each with a single, tightly scoped analytical task tied to a specific published methodology. Outputs are entity-level ratings: S&P Issuer Credit Rating, Moody's Corporate Family Rating, and Fitch Issuer Default Rating.
Phase 01
Document ingestion
Two ingestion agents parse the uploaded annual report or 10-K/20-F and structure the issuer's qualitative and financial profile. All downstream agents draw exclusively from this structured output — no subsequent agent reads the source document directly.
Qualitative brief
Extracts the issuer's sector positioning, competitive dynamics, management strategy, and capital allocation framework. Produces the qualitative foundation consumed by every downstream analytical agent.
Reported figures
Reconstructs the issuer's income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement as reported, tagged by year and currency. Serves as the single authoritative source of record from which each agency's adjustment agent derives its own adjusted metrics.
Phase 02
Agency-specific adjustments
Three independent agents apply each agency's accounting treatment to the same reported figures. The resulting metrics diverge by design — each agency's adjustment framework reflects distinct methodological choices around lease treatment, cash flow definitions, and through-the-cycle calibration.
S&P adjustment agent
Applies S&P's analytical adjustments — operating lease capitalisation, pension deficit inclusion, off-balance-sheet obligations, and non-recurring item treatment — to produce the adjusted credit metrics that feed the S&P rating engine.
Moody's adjustment agent
Applies Moody's adjustment framework, including IFRS 16 lease nuances, normalised EBITDA, and Retained Cash Flow computation. Derives through-the-cycle metrics using three-year averages where the methodology requires. Feeds the Moody's scorecard engine.
Fitch adjustment agent
Applies Fitch's Navigator-aligned adjustment framework. For most corporate sectors, IFRS 16 lease liabilities are excluded from net debt — a key divergence from S&P and Moody's treatment. Produces adjusted FFO, FCF, and net leverage for the Fitch Sector Navigator engine.
Phase 03
Supporting context
Four context-enrichment agents run before the rating engines fire. The web intelligence agent activates automatically on every rating; three document agents activate when supplementary files are uploaded. Their outputs sharpen the analytical inputs available to both the pre-pass agents and the rating engines.
Web intelligence agent
Activates automatically on every rating. Queries live public sources for management commentary on financial policy and M&A appetite, government support signals, ESG developments, and recent rating actions across the three agencies. Relevant findings are structured and made available to all downstream analytical agents.
Peer benchmarking agent
Selects 6–10 sector and geography-comparable companies, retrieves their live S&P, Moody's, and Fitch ratings, and pulls key financial metrics for each. When peer reports are uploaded, their extracted data extends the peer universe. The resulting benchmarking output anchors the rating engines against observable market calibration.
Projections agent
Extracts management projections from an uploaded business plan or financial model and applies each agency's adjustment framework to the forward figures. Produces a forward-looking credit view covering leverage, coverage, and cash flow trajectories across the projection horizon.
M&A pro forma agent
Extracts target financials and deal terms from an uploaded information memorandum and constructs the combined post-acquisition credit profile — pro forma leverage, interest coverage, and free cash flow impact inclusive of the assumed financing structure.
Phase 04
Pre-pass analytics
Twelve specialist agents run in parallel across four analytical dimensions — ESG, liquidity, financial policy, and peer calibration — with three agency-specific agents per dimension. Each produces a structured assessment that is delivered to the relevant rating engine ahead of derivation.
ESG assessment · 3 agents
Three agency-specific agents independently assess ESG risk exposure under each agency's scoring framework: S&P's E/S/G Credit Factors (1–5 scale), Moody's Credit Impact Score (CIS-1 to CIS-5), and Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores. Each assessment is delivered to its respective rating engine as a structured input.
Liquidity analysis · 3 agents
Three agency-specific agents assess the issuer's near-term liquidity position independently. S&P's sources-and-uses framework produces a five-level liquidity designation. Moody's derives an SGL score for sub-investment-grade or a Financial Flexibility assessment for investment-grade issuers. Fitch evaluates coverage ratios alongside covenant headroom and FCF sustainability.
Financial policy · 3 agents
Three agency-specific agents assess management's financial objectives and track record. Each frames its conclusion within the relevant agency construct: S&P's Financial Policy modifier, Moody's Financial Policy Other Consideration, and Fitch's Financial Discipline Navigator factor.
Peer calibration — CRA · 3 agents
Three agency-specific Comparable Ratings Analysis agents benchmark the issuer's leverage and business risk profile against the peer universe assembled in Phase 03. Each produces a calibration range and anchor that the corresponding rating engine uses to ensure the derived rating is grounded in observable market levels.
Phase 05
Rating derivation
Three independent rating engines apply each agency's full corporate rating methodology end to end, incorporating adjusted financials, the qualitative brief, and all Phase 04 assessments. Outputs are entity-level ratings — S&P Issuer Credit Rating, Moody's Corporate Family Rating, Fitch Issuer Default Rating.
S&P rating engine
Applies S&P's Corporate Ratings Methodology in full. Derives the Business Risk Profile from competitive position, sector profitability, and country risk; maps the BRP/FRP intersection to an anchor; and applies all six modifiers — diversification, capital structure, financial policy, liquidity, management & governance, and ESG — to arrive at the SACP and Issuer Credit Rating.
Moody's rating engine
Applies the relevant Moody's sector-specific scorecard across 23+ methodologies. Scores each factor and sub-factor on the Aaa–C scale with prescribed weights, aggregates to a grid-indicated rating, and incorporates qualitative Other Considerations — ESG, liquidity, and financial policy — to produce a Baseline Credit Assessment and Corporate Family Rating.
Fitch rating engine
Applies the Fitch Sector Navigator framework. Scores Business and Financial Profile factors on the alphanumeric scale, integrates pre-computed ESG Relevance Scores, liquidity coverage, and financial discipline assessments, and derives a Standalone Credit Profile and Issuer Default Rating.
Phase 06
Structural overlays
Three sets of conditional agents activate after the rating engines complete, each triggered by a specific structural feature identified during derivation — government ownership, group membership, or holding company debt subordination. Each overlay runs independently and does not affect the standalone rating if it does not trigger.
GRE overlay · three agencies
Applies each agency's Government-Related Entity framework when state or government ownership is identified. Determines the degree of support uplift above the standalone credit profile under S&P's support and default dependence framework, Moody's joint default analysis, and Fitch's four-factor support assessment.
Group / parent overlay · three agencies
Applies each agency's group rating methodology when the issuer is part of a larger corporate family. Assesses the strength of parental linkage and determines any uplift or constraint to the standalone rating under S&P's Group Rating Methodology, Moody's affiliate support framework, and Fitch's Parent and Subsidiary Linkage criteria.
Structural subordination · three agencies
Applies a structural subordination adjustment when the rated entity is a holding company with material structurally senior debt at the operating company level. Each agency's agent determines the appropriate notching under its respective holding company criteria.
Phase 07
Output synthesis
Two output agents run after Phase 05 completes. Their role is to consolidate the analytical outputs into presentation-ready deliverables — a unified credit profile and a formatted Investment Banking memo.
Profile synthesis agent
Consolidates the credit strengths and challenges independently derived by the three rating engines into a single, deduplicated cross-agency view. Themes cited consistently across all three agencies are weighted accordingly. The output populates the Company Profile tab as the authoritative agency-neutral summary of the issuer's credit story.
PPTX content agent
Reformats the analytical outputs from Phase 05 into Investment Banking-ready slide copy before the PPTX memo is assembled. The memo covers all three shadow ratings — S&P, Moody's, and Fitch — each with its full rating derivation, key credit considerations, and sensitivity analysis.