Harsh IB interview questions?

What’s the toughest interview question you’ve ever asked or been asked?

One of my go-to questions for Analyst candidates who breeze through the standard set is:

"A company has high interest costs on the P&L but low interest payments on the Cash Flow Statement. How can that be?"

(The answer, of course, is that the company likely has a Payment in Kind (PIK) note.)

What are some of the trickiest interview questions you've had?

3 Comments
 

PIK is an add-back on the CFS (since it’s a non-cash item), not a direct payment (ie not a cash outflow)

 

You buy a bond with a 10% coupon and 10 years to maturity while the YTM is 15%. 1 year later, you sell it when the YTM is 25%. What is your return and MoM on this investment?

 

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