Experienced T2 strategy consultant looking for partners to solve preferably interviewer-led cases.
As I do more and more interviews, I realise I need to brush-up on/learn more basic finance and accounting concepts (I have zero business background). Can anyone recommend good, basic resources on business/financial/accounting concepts that could help me better understand the cases or the interviewer's questions?
McKinsey Senior EM & BCG Consultant | Interviewer at McK & BCG for 7 years | Coached 350+ candidates secure MBB offers
Hi Giorgia,
two books which I find extremely helpful to get a fundamental understanding of how to practically think in terms of business economics, financial management and value creation are:
Finance for non-financial managers (https://books.google.de/books/about/Finance_for_Nonfinancial_Managers_Second.html?id=WNLyAwAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y)
These two books have proved very helpful to many non-business background consultants in starting their job at MBB firms. However, one word of caution: the direct usefulness for case interview preparation is somewhat limited, since case interviews test for conceptual thinking and "analytical raw horse power", rather then testing actual functional or industry knowledge.
After +5 years of candidate coaching and university teaching, and after having seen hundreds of cases, I realized that the economic-related knowledge needed to master case interviews is not much, and not complex. However, you need to know where to focus! Hence, I created the guide that I wish I could have had, summarizing the most important economic and financial concepts needed to solve consulting cases, combining key concepts theorical reviews and a hands-on methodology with examples and ad-hoc practice cases.
It focuses on 4 core topics, divided in chapters (each of them ranked in scale of importance, to help you maximize your time in short preparations):
Economic concepts: Profitability equation, Break even, Valuation methods (economic, market and asset), Payback period, NPV and IRR, + 3 practice cases to put it all together in a practical way.
Financial concepts: Balance sheet, Income statement/P&L and Performance ratios (based on sales and based on investment), +1 practice case
Market structure & pricing: Market types, Perfect competition markets (demand and supply), Willingness to pay, Pricing approaches, Market segmentation and Price elasticity of demand, +1 practice case
Marketing and Customer Acquisition: Sales funnel, Key marketing metrics (CAC and CLV) and Churn, +1 practice case
Feel free to PM me for disccount codes for the guide, and I hope it helps you rock your interviews!
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School
Hi,
I would recommend learning the basic accounting before you start the job, but you will not need that for the interview preparation. Also, the case is a very simplified business situation and the accounting concepts are very often neglected. Here is a list of things you will need to know (and you can google them one by one since it is really short):
Profitability calculations (Operating profit, net profit, cost structure, etc)
Die Bank zum Kurfürst Clemens August, eine national agierende Retail- und Privatkundenbank, ist in einer schwierigen Situation. Die Gewinne sind durch das anhaltende Niedrigzinsumfeld über die letzten Jahre beträchtlich gesunken. Parallel leidet die Bank an einem stetigen Abgang von Kunden. Zusätzli
...
Die Bank zum Kurfürst Clemens August, eine national agierende Retail- und Privatkundenbank, ist in einer schwierigen Situation. Die Gewinne sind durch das anhaltende Niedrigzinsumfeld über d
...
(Ganzen Case öffnen)
Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US.The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many students as possible to complete studies and prevent that they drop from the school system, in particular in disadv
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Our client is SmartBridge, a nonprofit educational institution offering face-to-face tutoring services. The client operates in the US.The mission of SmartBridge is to help as many stude
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(Ganzen Case öffnen)
Our client is a BlissOttica, an Eyewear Manufacturer that is looking to reach a 10% increase in profits. How would you help our client?
Our client is a BlissOttica, an Eyewear Manufacturer that is looking to reach a 10% increase in profits. How would you help our client?
(Ganzen Case öffnen)
Your client is the Performance Chemicals division (revenues of $500 million) of a Specialty Chemicals Company with total revenues of $14 billion. The CEO wants the company to become the fastest-growing specialty chemicals company and has therefore asked all the divisions to present growth strat
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Your client is the Performance Chemicals division (revenues of $500 million) of a Specialty Chemicals Company with total revenues of $14 billion. The CEO wants the company to become the fast
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(Ganzen Case öffnen)
Our client is a supermarket chain that is considering whether they should enter the emerging online grocery delivery business where consumers order their groceries online and have them delivered to their homes. Currently, two competitors have entered the online market in the client's area in San Fra
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Our client is a supermarket chain that is considering whether they should enter the emerging online grocery delivery business where consumers order their groceries online and have them deliv
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(Ganzen Case öffnen)
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