Help with Circular Reference

I am essentially trying to create a bonus structure for a CEO. Let's say his potential bonus is $100k and its based on how actual EBITDA performs against budget. For simplicity, its a sliding scale where if actual EBITDA at year end comes in at 70%, then he would get 70% of his bonus (with a hypothetical floor of 50% and ceiling of 100%). This circularity comes from the fact that EBITDA is determined by the bonus payout, and the bonus payout is determined by EBITDA, which is determined by the bonus payment, and so on. I would've structured it differently to be based on pre-bonus EBITDA, but I have to make it post-Bonus.

The issue I've run into is that unlike a circular reference on a debt balance/CF available to paydown debt, which we're all very familiar with, this one is completely blowing up my spreadsheet and won't iterate towards a value: its either $0 or a billion or negative billion. I'll preface that this isn't even a full model - its primarily just a few basic inputs that I copy over from their financials and then just lookup against a bonus scale.

Aware this question is a long-shot, but if anyone has any advice, would be much appreciated.

4 Comments
 

Thank you for the comment - I sincerely appreciate it. Your formula gave me the idea to just embedd the everything that drives circularity only one cell. My previous model linked to the value across a few different places, which worked great in my initial non-circular attempt, but was causing too many issues when I introduced circularity. I believe its fixed now. Anyways, I appreciate your help!

 

Architecto ut expedita perferendis velit dolorem quidem. Praesentium autem et minus eveniet ut voluptates ab sapiente. Temporibus magni illo tempore qui aut consectetur sit explicabo. Autem rerum voluptatem et velit velit unde. Quos at iste consequatur esse.

Ad omnis voluptatem ipsum itaque illo sit provident. Est in ratione odit. Totam dignissimos quod ea omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Bain Capital 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (98) $365
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (355) $62
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”