IB Technical Question

So I have two main questions.

the first one is this. I was reading the biws guides and there was a question regarding the acquisition of another company. U had to add their assets, liabilities, and create some goodwill. Afterwards, they told u there was a 2 percent foregone interest on the 1000 dollars in cash you used to buy the other company. They wanted u to show this effect on the three statements. They included the expense on the income statement but when they went to the cash flow statement they didn’t add back the loss in foregone interest. I don’t get why they didn’t add it back because the foregone interest loss to my understanding is a non cash expense. I viewed it like an opportunity cost essentially. Can someone explain this please

My second question is during the classic 10 dollars of depreciation and its effect on the three statements question(use 40 percent tax rate) when you get the net income down 6 go to cf from ops and add back 10, would you not also subtract 4 for increase in deferred tax asset since ur at a net loss? You still would actually pay cash for those taxes but you know have this tax asset right?

7 Comments
 

Thanks so much! I just read through but I’m still very confused so would you mind explaining both questions if you could. Once again thank you.

 

Sure-

1: for modeling purposes, it is a cash expense. the target company isn’t actually incurring it, but I suspect that’s not what you’re trying to measure. you’re measuring the acquirer’s returns - and for them, it is a cash expense in that it’s a genuine foregoing of cash incurred in order for them to own targetco

2: can you clarify the q

 

1. I see, I haven’t got to any of the other guides yet like LBO I started with accounting first so that’s why I was confused why it is recognized as a cash expense on the cash flow statement. I understand why for modeling purposes it would be counted as a real cash loss since you are literally missin out on potential cash to make the acquisition. Is it weird that they still did that on the cash flow statement though? Shouldn’t that be different than modeling cash returns in a LBO? To clarify, I’m referring to the cash flow statement of the acquiring company. It was my understanding that the cf statement tracks literal cash in and out which this expense doesn’t actually cause any cash outflow for the company

2. I guess my question put simply is so you create a deferred tax asset when you have only a 10 dollar depreciation loss. 

 

1: not rly weird if the point of the exercise is to have an integrated financial model that takes buyer’s trx financing considerations into account

2: still don’t fully understand the q, but are you familiar with tax basis vs. book basis accounting (especially w/r/t acquisition-linked asset step-ups in book basis of assets?) if not, read up on it and I bet you’ll find your answer

 

Nulla tempore autem quam possimus. Aut sunt sunt velit et eligendi. Illum aut laboriosam eveniet quia. Vel vel temporibus sunt cum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”