Due Diligence project

Question

Hi everyone,

I am starting out at McKinsey soon as a BA and am doing some prep. I was looking through a Commercial DD book and it might be a basic question, but since it is almost 300 pages, and the project duration was 7 weeks, how does the workflow happen? How many BAs are working on it and who churns out all the text and other content? (I a aware of how taxing DD projects can be but still curious).

And finally, in terms of financial modeling, how much of it do BAs actually do?

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Hello!

I did 3 M&A DDs in my time as a BA in McKinsey. 300 pages for 7 weeks does not seem as a long doc for me at all :)

The number of BAs depends on the project scope, but normally is 1-2, along with associates, an EM, maybe an AP and the partners.

The doc you read is normally drafted by the EM, and then populated by the findings of the whole team during the engagement. It´s done relatively soon (by the time 1/2 of the engagement is over) and then there are thounsands of iterations.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

Hi,

7 weeks is too much for a DD. Typical DD is 2-3 weeks.

Usually, it's EM+2. Depending on the business it will be one or both analysts doing financial modeling.

Overall DD projects are very structured and will have almost no difference from the doc you are reading

Best

Answer 3

Hi there, As a Senior Manager in BCG, I can tell you that luck mainly plays a role in the following way: sometimes yo... (read entire answer)

Hi there, As a Senior Manager in BCG, I can tell you that luck mainly plays a role in the following way: sometimes you apply in times where there is growth and projects and get... (read entire answer)