Building CIM Case / Downside Case LBO

Hey!

When building the CIM case and Downside case, I have trouble understanding what to do with NWC / CAPEX? ( in context of interview case study)

For the CIM case, do I take the NWC/ Change NWC assumptions (same for Capex) from the CIM? And only in my case, I build my own elements of NWC / CAPEX?

In my opinion, its mixing apples with oranges when taking everything from the CIM but building own NWC assumptions for the CIM case.

Ive seen a lot of people just taking everything from the CIM for CIM case, and then building their case with just decline in Sales growth / Margin as the downside case

Thank you!!

1 Comments
 

Et eum quas optio a voluptatem quasi cumque. Ipsum ut omnis officia suscipit.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (273) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”