corporate finance Q

found this interview Q on glassdoors... I don't have any formal education in corporate finance/ financial statements etc. but wondering if the below makes any sense:

the interviewer asked : "what happens if depreciation increases by 10%?" Interviewee replied: "Pre-tax operating income on the income statement decreases by 10. As a result of the subsequent tax shield, net income only falls by 6, so retained earnings falls by 6. On the cash flow statement, the depreciation is added back as a non-cash expense, so overall cash from operations increases by 4. On the Balance Sheet, PP&E decreases by 10, so 4-10 = -6 for retained earnings, and the balance sheet balances"

So if an interviewer were to ask you such a question they would need to give you more info in order to provide a response like this? or are you expected to come up with some hypothetical numbers for cost of debt, etc ? and I don't understand why pre-tax income should fall by 10% since (a) percentages are not symmetrical and (b) depreciation is a percentage of expenses and you have no idea what the numbers are.

Can someone provide Q's for corp finance dependent roles?

5 Comments
 

That is an odd way of laying it out, better to go IS-->CF--->BS (the mentioned of retained earnings i would save for BS).

Generally they'll give you the $ amount (i.e. depreciation increase by $10) and tax rate (40%). I've heard of people being dicks and making it up $15 with a 35% tax rate or something to be annoying but did not experience that myself.

 
CartwrightThat is an odd way of laying it out, better to go IS-->CF--->BS (the mentioned of retained earnings i would save for BS).

Generally they'll give you the $ amount (i.e. depreciation increase by $10) and tax rate (40%). I've heard of people being dicks and making it up $15 with a 35% tax rate or something to be annoying but did not experience that myself.

thanks.

 
Best Response

yeah, with just that question, you're expcted to get to that answer. if the tax rate isn't mentioned, assume it's 40% and proceed that way.

start with income statement, a $10 increase in depreciation would make your operating income decrease by $10 as well. Assuming a 40% tax rate, your Net Income would fall by $6 (depreciation is tax-deductable). Now take it to Cash Flow statement. On CF statement, Net Income always shows up first. Net Income has fallen by $6 but since depreciation is a noncash expense, depreciation gets added back. So $10 gets added back. -6 + 10 = +4. Net change in cash is positive 4. Now take this to the Balance sheet. Assets = Liabilities + Shareholder's Equity. know this to make it balance. On theBalance sheet under cash, there is an increase of $4. Also, on the Assets side, there's depreciation so there's a -10. +4 - 10= -6 under Assets. Since Net Income had fallen by $6, Shareholder's Equity also falls by $6 and both sides balance.

Go over it in your head many many times and it should make some sense

Goodluck.

 

Ipsum repellendus sunt veritatis sit sit sunt iste. Atque nostrum placeat eos et sed facilis. Dicta et sit quasi ut. Qui culpa et sequi aliquid iste quod eos. Corrupti cumque mollitia nemo ipsa. Mollitia velit asperiores libero molestias est ut nihil eaque.

Occaecati aut cumque magnam accusantium minus porro. Dolores ut qui sit et placeat. Quasi facilis maxime explicabo voluptatibus aut quaerat magni. Sint quasi excepturi repellat voluptatem sit exercitationem.

Ut veniam et temporibus qui ea illum. Consectetur nisi animi iure sunt quas fugiat tempore. Est at sit rerum deleniti nisi. Aut cupiditate minima magnam. Vitae sit sunt hic. Aliquam nesciunt recusandae temporibus.

Fugit praesentium qui odit. Nam totam doloribus sunt et dolores voluptatem. Dolores sit ex culpa nisi corrupti voluptatem amet. Eius nostrum placeat quibusdam. Ut consectetur quia et magni. Porro sint quasi quam sint voluptatem dolores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (27) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”