What are some of the more technical questions I can expect during the finance interview? I have heard from many people to expect how to valuate companies, etc. Should I start describing formulas verbally or should I bust out my drawing skills?
| +152 | How to stop feeling like shit for not making it in IB? | 57 | 4h | |
| +115 | If Tik Tok is forced to sell, what banks do you think would be involved in the deal? | 58 | 24m | |
| +80 | Updated LA Banking Scene (2024) | 57 | 1h | |
| +38 | Ranking banks that went under | 20 | 8h | |
| +34 | Burnt Out M&A ASO | 18 | 6h | |
| +32 | A strategy for SA applicants late to the game like myself | 15 | 12h | |
| +29 | Relevance of A-Levels for U.K. London recruiting | 21 | 19h | |
| +26 | Series 79 Help / Tips to Pass The First Attempt | 11 | 2d | |
| +26 | Intern Ettiquette | 4 | 16h | |
| +23 | What are hours like at BBs in London? | 47 | 14h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
you can expect an array of accounting questions... remember, accounting is more key to this job than finance
the lay-up tech question asked at almost every interview is: how does depreciation flow through the sheets? so you just want to go through and verbally explain what the effect is of a depreciation charge on each of the sheets and compare it to a "status quo" scenario where there is no dep'n
another common, like you said, is how do i value a company. you already know a few, so just talk about it high-level... "well there are a variety of ways to value a company, three of which are commonly used: 1) comparable company analysis - where you'll take multiples of comparable companies and compare them to your own... for example P/E, EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales... if you want, you can explain why you use Enterprise Value instead of Equity or Market Cap 2) comparable transaction analysis - where you'll compare deals in the industry similar to your own and explore the metrics/valuation used for the target and see how that compares to your own company 3) discounted cash flow - essentially every company is worthless without cash as a going conern yada yada, so we can discount a company's future cash flow by taking its weighted average cost of capital (which they may ask about in more detail).. and discount them to the present value... also talk about exit multiples and terminal values (perpetuity growth rates, etc)
those are the two most basic ones... accounting questions i've been asked: -minority interest -deferred tax assets/liab -lifo/fifo -how are 3 statements linked
obviously, if you have no background in acct / fin, they'll take that into account, but you should have a basic understanding
thanks again freecashflow, you have been extremely helpful in this and other threads
or fool*
To FreeCashFool,
Are those all things one should know going into an undergrad BB internship interview, and where is a good place/book to learn all of that stuff? I will have just started taking an intro to finance class one-month prior to my interview so I would like to prepare as much this summer. Thanks!
you have a BB internship interview during the fall? my experience was that the BB's only recruit for interns during the spring around feb-march or so... you can use some of your free time over winter break to prepare for those
at any rate, if you have no background, you should have a basic understanding at the least... you can pick up the Vault Guide to Finance Interviews, as it breaks things down pretty well (although it's not as comprehensive as you might like)
with accounting you should just understand the basics... hopefully you'll have taken an intro accounting class by then, but the finance guide will also mention some basic accounting. it seems like you don't have that strong of a background in either so i wouldn't sweat it if you can learn the fundamentals from your finance course... and pick up an accounting textbook and go through it if you can
with regards to strange interview questions, you can expect a number of brainteasers / trick questions / mental math q's... the purpose of these is to see how you think, not that you get the right answer. so think out loud, show them your logic, you should be good... the brainteasers / guesstimates are, however, rarer in banking than in consulting
What are some of the more bizarre questions that one can face in an interview for an analyst position? Also, does anyone have comments on the brainteaser questions, what is the best way to answer these sorts of questions?
I heard that in a lot of cases they recruit engineers who probably don't have any finance background (since the engieers are marketing their quantative skills to the employers).
What kind of questions would they ask such candidates since they don't really have any accounting background?
they'll focus more on WHY you want to do banking and whether they think you're a fit. they may question your desire if you've taken no finance or accounting classes if they've been available to you. otherwise, get some story together how you are intrigued by markest and the financial world, how a deal is finanaced, how a merger or spin-off is done. There is an incredible amount to learn but you love throwing yourself int things "head-first". You know your learning curve will be steep, but that is how you like it., etc etc
It's 3:15 - what's the angle between the hands on the clock?
You have a 3 liter jug, a 5 liter jug and a continuously running hose. Using those 3 things, how do you get exactly 4 liters in the 5 liter jug?
these are right out of vault finance interviews guide. just pick a copy up
Do you get to use a pencil and scratch paper for any of the questions?
These suck I don't know how to do any of these, should I not try to become an I-Banker? (Serious question) It's a dawg eat dawg world.
3:15: if the hour hand doesn't move, it's 0 degrees, but because it does, it moves 15/60 (or 1/4) of 360/12 degrees so it's 30/4 so 7.25 degrees
jugs: fill up the 5 liter, pour into 3-liter, you've got 2 liters left over pour the 2 liters into the 3 liter fill up 5 liter again, pour what you can into 3 liter (1-liter) 5 liters - 1 liter = 4 liters
these aren't skills necessary for banking, they're just to test your thought process... think out loud, and you'll be okay. they'll use these to throw you off your game too, so just be calm and poised... they'll also ask mental math q's that should be relatively easy (e.g. 5^5 or 12*24)...
I don't know how to do those math's in my head, am I doomed? It's a dawg eat dawg world.
but 30/4 = 7.5
so the degree between the hands of a clock at 3:15 is 7.5 degrees
0 degrees.
fill 3 liter, empty into 5 liter, fill 3 liter again, fill into 5 liter, the 3 liter will have 1 liter left, empty 5 liter, empty the reaming 1 liter from the 3 liter into the 5 liter, fill the 3 liter, empty into the 5 liter and the 5 liter will contain 4 liters.
or you can figure out the rate at which water is emptying out of the hose, if it's constant function, take an integral.
or, take the dimensions of the 5 liter jug, assuming it's a cylindrical shape, the volume fct will be 5 = PI(radius sqaured)height, given the radius and volume solve for height, mark off at which height the jug will contain 4 liters.
how do you value a company answer trading comps tx comps dcf lbo
Networking is more important than the actual interview. If you network well, you will get an offer even if you screw up your interview
Care to back this up with some real evidence? This is bull. You will network with 2 people at a bank at most. During a supersaturday, you will interview with 8-10 people.
what is tx comps? i have taken only 2 accounting classes, and am in an engineering/business combined program...
will they focus more on fit since I have more of an engineering background?
tx comps = transaction comps, aka M&A Comps, Precedent Transaction Analysis, etc.
I've interviewed with 3 BBs thus far. I have a liberal arts degree, and I must say that I was never asked detailed finance questions. I did, however, study the different valuation methods and financial statement relationships. I made a point to bring that up during the interviews and they seemed impressed by it. Who knows, it never hurts to be prepared.
I agree I'm working through an excel modeling book it goes through all the valuation models, I'm going to be as prepared as possible.
Molestiae incidunt eligendi quis hic enim. Fugiat itaque explicabo velit illo et. Ipsum quisquam voluptas et mollitia.
Qui natus vel eligendi tempore quia. Pariatur hic et et eaque. Consequuntur in debitis et.
Quidem culpa sed sint impedit dolores nihil. Laudantium voluptas minus qui. Et tempora aperiam iure ratione maiores. Et aspernatur ex voluptas et omnis minus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Voluptas quia pariatur possimus rem. Ex nihil ea a maxime quod. At nihil recusandae eos omnis dolorem voluptatem.
Aliquid qui animi modi voluptates et. Ab animi id ea et qui.
Optio alias ut quae. Non non vel dolores dignissimos.
Quae nam aut enim. Beatae recusandae hic deleniti praesentium omnis pariatur incidunt ut. Nesciunt vel quia et sit. Voluptatum et ea quia repudiandae facere. Enim molestias consequuntur cumque quia. Adipisci asperiores fuga aut sint. Sed repellat voluptatibus nihil et autem.