Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

Currency

Oliver Wyman case: On the Right Track
New answer on Mar 05, 2024
6 Answers
952 Views
Barbara asked on Jul 25, 2022

The price of the train is 23 CHF, the conversion rate CHF > EUR is 1.1 then the Price in EUR should be calculated as follows: 23CHF MLN * 1,1 = 25,3 EUR MLN. Why in the case the author divides by the currency rate? This would have been correct if the currency rate was EUR > CHF. Right?

 

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Jay C
Premium
replied on Mar 05, 2024
Experienced hire. Working as sr consultant in boutique consulting firm. Looking to shift in MBB

where is it mention that revenue is 23M, I didn't see it. 

Also, in the final calculation, how total revenue was established?

Was this answer helpful?
7
Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jul 31, 2022
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there,

If you have this issue on a recurring basis, try to develop an abstract logic for how to handle these questions. Then try to remember 1-2 examples that you can always refer back to during the interview and then just replace the currencies / numbers.

Best,

Cristian

Was this answer helpful?
Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jul 26, 2022
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi Barbara,

Currency conversions are tricky! I encourage you to have a bit of a read on them (and try the calcs yourself). (anonymous provided a good answer here)

Was this answer helpful?
Barbara on Jul 28, 2022

Thanks Ian, cristal clear

Anonymous B replied on Jul 26, 2022

Hi, 

The approach in the case is correct. 

The exchange rate is 1,1 CHF/EUR. That means that one CHF costs 0.9 = (1/1,1) EUR or, conversely, one EUR costs 1,1 CHF. 

If you are not able to grasp this intuition, you can think about it in a mathematical way:
to get the EUR amount, we can establish the following equation: x EUR = your amount in CHF / (CHF/EUR). See how only if you divide your amount by the exchange rate, you will get to a result. 


 

 

 

Was this answer helpful?
3
Anonymous C replied on Sep 10, 2022

I agree with Barbara - when I looked up how to read exchange rates the below is what I found (google>pimco - understanding currencies)

“The exchange rate gives the relative value of one currency against another currency. An exchange rate GBP/USD of two, for example, indicates that one pound will buy two U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar is the most commonly used reference currency, which means other currencies are usually quoted against the U.S. dollar.”

By the same token CHF/EUR of 1.1 implies 1CHF = 1.1EUR

The above makes a huge difference to the margin

Was this answer helpful?
2
Anonymous A updated the answer on Jul 26, 2022

CHF > EUR if implies CHF is dearer than EUR is to be interpreted as 1 CHF = 1.1 EUR .

 

(edited)

Was this answer helpful?
2