[en] Observations of Stokes spectral profiles enable the magnetic fields on the Sun's surface to be determined. Inversion is the process whereby the profiles are reduced to magnetic field vectors. One of the most robust, accurate and rapid methods available for inversion uses the least-squares fitting of analytical Stokes profiles. As this technique is suitable for the automated reduction of large sets of data, it has been adopted for use with the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter, presently under development. The limitations of inversion by analytical profile fitting have not been firmly established. Confident analysis of magnet field vectors depends upon the precise interpretation of reduced data. In this work, a framework is introduced which allows such an assessment to be made. The magnetofluid-static sunspot models presented here provide a self-consistent range of physical conditions similar to those in sunspots. Inversion can then be carried out on Stokes profiles synthesized from these known realistic conditions. The capabilities of an inversion technique can be evaluated by comparison between the models and the deduced values