excel test
My interviewer wants me to take a 2 hour long excel test. I've done financial modeling training before, but I don't know what to expect. What test is going to take me two hours? do they expect me to make a model on the spot? Has anyone taken one this long before?
If you have told them that you have done/are good at building financial models they may ask to do build one. Can't say I've heard of an excel test during an interview though. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.
Really? I've been to two interviews where they gave me an excel test, but they lasted 10 and 20 minutes.
that this is more common with PE interviews. as you know a good model takes a lot long to build than two hours so I'd stick to the basics. good luck!
It was a two hour test. They gave me a blank spreadsheet and asked me to build a simple lbo model. Since you only have two hours, its very basic but they might want to see if you have the basic understanding.
Yeah, I had to build some basic LBO or fully-integrated (P&L + BS + CF) models in 2-3 hours. Usually they set up a basic spreadsheet for you with some annual financials and also give you a sheet of paper with a bunch of parameters and assumptions that you have to implement when you put together your projections, capital structure, and so forth. If you're not interviewing for PE, it's doubtful that they would ask you to build a transactional model like M&A or LBO; I'm thinking that they just want to test your knowledge of how the three main financial statements link together (and maybe ask you to build a simple DCF as well).
I will second what Numi says. Knowing how to build a linked and fully functional 3 statement model is really great. Not only does it reinforce your understanding of how things flow and change, but it is a back bone for a lot of modeling. I don't know about everyone else, but every time I built a DCF I really just went off the income statement and built it out from there. When I interned at a mezz shop most everything they did started with a linked 3 statement model --> DCF --> etc.
Thanks for the heads up Anthony, I'm all income statement all the time. I'm going to start paying more attention now to how the linked 3 statement models work.
What type of position is this? Are you an experienced hire, or entry level?
I had to take one for an entry level structured credit analyst, and it was pretty simple. It was just a basic proficiency test, use formulas, make pivot tables, sensitivity analysis, chart/graph making, etc. Nothing too crazy, just wanted to make sure you could hit the ground running. If this is an entry level job, just brush up on your short cuts and know how to use some most of the functions and you should be good. Mine was only an hour, so take that for what it's worth......
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