How much financial modelling skills would someone fresh out of undergrad be expected to have if shooting for PE/Banking?
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Minimal, which is part of why PE firms largely don't hire undergrads. You will learn enough at any reputable bank.
Minimal if any at all. Although if you are trying to recruit for FT without a banking internship they will likely press you more on technicals compared to a candidate who already went through a summer training programs. All banks send their first years through a month of training for this reason, they don't expect you to really know anything.
Basically nothing for Banking. You need to know how to talk about mechanics but nobody needs you to know how to actually build a model.
For PE, depends a lot. But in general you should be expected to know the fundamentals of the buyout toolkit COLD (operating model, LBO, etc) to get you through the really technical interviews. Whether or not you would be expected to know how to build a model from scratch, depends on firm. Smaller places might need a self-starter. Bigger shops are more open minded when it comes to training youngins.
Nothing really. The idea is mainly to select a fast-learner who will get on top of basic modelling quickly, focusing on improving and being (moderately) proactive. While modelling as an activity may look pretty much the same everywhere, every industry / firm has specific know how you need to learn... again this is something you learn while working.
This being said, showing that you had some courses / read something re modelling may enhance the impression you have a genuine interest for this activity... so I would definitely regard it as a nice to have.
Don't think previous answers are 100% accurate. I think in most cases it will be expected you have the ability to build a simple financial model (3 statements/dcf).
The only traditional scenario I can think of where it isn't much of a requirement is if you're applying for an internship as a liberal arts/science student.
If you're attending a dedicated business school (Wharton, Stern, etc.), you will be expected to have some modeling competency since the rest of your peer group will. And if we're talking about full-time spots, most banks will look to higher someone with previous banking internships that they've developed modeling skills at.
Semantics are the key here.
You are not expected to have built a model before at all, for IBD. Wharton or not, I don't care. I went to undergrad B-school. If you are going to DB, Citi, even GS/MS, most people will not have expected you to build one. Boutiques will differ but I doubt OP is talking about boutiques.
But sure, should you convey the >ability to build one? Yes of course. You SHOULD know where the statements link up and how to calculate FCF and WACC, which is why they ask you these things in the interview. Which, at the end of the day, is how the model works. But as we all know, memorizing accounting linkage questions is not the same thing as modeling the 3 statements out. But know that you will never have to build a model during the application/selection process, and if you show up first day and say you've never built one before, I SINCERELY doubt anyone will be surprised/slighted.
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