2 things;
1) During the interview, up to what extend is it expected to know financial analysis -or other specific- tools (NPV, Profitability index, Crossover rate, Senstivity Analysis etc...) if you do not have a finance background?
2) Let's say we got the offer by practicing for the inverview, without knowing these concepts well, do they train you for these competencies or expect you to find out by yourself?
Hi there,
1- Only basic ones are enough. NPV, perpetuity, gross margin, net margin etc...
2a- They train you very well
2b - You should also learn on your own through research most of the time. This is an important part of the consulting.
Cheers
Serhat
Let me add to what Vlad and Imran just wrote: if your do not have any business background, you may also be eligible for a 1 or 2 week intensive training to bring you up to speed. One of my budies went to Barcelona for ~10 days upon completing his PhD and before starting the actual consulting work.
So yes you will have to learn on the fly very quickly, but the firm will also support you to some extent. And obviously there are countless self-paced learning tools available to everyone as well.
Hi,
1) NPV is enough (Rule of 72, NPV in perpetuity)
2) You learn everything by yourself in a very short period of time (Couple of nights). Or you don't deliver the results. Luckily you have the knowledge base and people who can give an advice
Best
1) You should definitely know these business concepts. Most of them are fairly common and easy to understand without having a deep knowledge of finance. So know all major concepts at a surface level, with minimal/simplistic application
2) If you have an offer and are working on projects, consulting companies are not going to train you on specifics. Your manager may guide you, but you should be able to research and self learn financial tools. Keep in mind, you may not be doing sophisticated calculations in totality, but you may be contributing piecemeal in the form of isolated calculations that become part of an overall model. As your experience increases, your exposure increases as well as a form or training so to say.
In order to repeatedly demonstrate prerequisite skills under the pressure of a real case interview, you need to learn the basics and practice cases.
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