Alvarez & Marsal case study Transaction Advisory (London)

Question

Hi all,

I am going to be invited to a case study interview with Alvarez & Marsal for their London offices in the Transaction Advisory department. The role is for an Associate position.

I already checked the different threads in order to see whether the question has already been asked but it seems not.

I would like to know if you could maybe let me know exactly what kind of case study I will have to do. As the role will involve financial due diligence, I assume that the case study will be related to that but I am not sure.

If possible, I would like to know if someone has already worked with A&M in their London offices and particularly in transaction advisory. I think I will not have time to work on very generalist case studies such as MBB ones as the department I have applied in A&M is very specific (transaction advisory). I will try to dedicate the few time I have before the interview on financial due diligence case study (if of course you believe this is the sort of case studies I will get).

Many thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hi there,

While it is preferred to learn how to approach any case type, I do agree that if you're short on time you need to focus on DD.

I think you're really answered your own question here (i.e. study anything specifically related to transaction advisory).

That being said, here's a list to start you with: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases?language=en&topic[]=1&topic[]=17&topic[]=4&topic[]=19&sort=real-case-desc&page=1&perPage=20

You should search for cases that are along the below lines.

Case Type

Re-org
M&A
PE
Valuation
Risk
Process improvement

Industries

Aerospace & Defense
Transportation & Logistics
TMT
Retail
Capital projects + Infrastructure
NGO / Public sector
Pharma
Automotive
Healthcare
Financial services
Energy
Education
Consumer products
Real estate

Answer 2

I have never been to such an interview so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, when TAS/CorpFin departments talk about case studies, I highly doubt it has anything to do with such cases floating around here (and asked in consulting).

You probably not come far by creative thinking but more need to know certain valuation methods, accounting rules, restructuring methiods etc. pp. So way more factual knowledge from what I've heard out of B4 interviews.

Answer 3

Hi, I have supported many candidates in achieving offers at A&M. Feel free to text me for some inputs or advice

Best

Antonello

Answer 4

Hello!

Congrats for the interview with A&M!

Unless they specifically told you so, the focus of the job does not have to correlate with the cases you are going to get.

Why? Because each interviewer has his/her own case, and who interviews you is mostly a matter of availability.

Hence, this would be my advise in the business case front prep (knowing that you also have the FIT part)

You don´t have any more time to the classics of Viktor Cheng, "Case in point" book, etc. You need to get hands on asap:

1. Practice cases with partners asap, as many as you can do.Find experienced partners who can provide a good feedback

2. Practice your math skills, both in your cases and with ad hoc exercisess, such as:

1. Multiplying double digit numbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ndkkPZYJHo

2. Leveraging math tools (Mimir math for iOS), Math tool on Viktor Cheng website to practice

3. Ensure you have a good overview of the most common case types:

1. Profitability cases- basic profitability framework.
2. Idea generation cases: for any specif issue
3. Growth cases: market penetration, new product launch, product mix change, etc.
4. Pricing cases
5. M&A cases
6. Valuation cases
7. Value chain cases

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara