"You have thirty minutes to value this company and tell me whether you recommend the acquisition." In finance, many interviews include a practical case: an exercise with numbers or a case study to present. The recruiter is not looking for a perfect answer but for a way of reasoning. Here are the most common formats, a five-step method, tips for managing time and stress, a few example prompts and the classic mistakes.
Case formats
The term covers several exercises, which do not assess the same qualities.
The oral case
The interviewer poses a problem, you think aloud and you exchange. It is the dominant format in consulting interviews, where the specialised press describes an approach of structuring the problem, stating hypotheses then having the examiner validate them. Welcome to the Jungle's guide to succeeding at the case study 🔗 details the principles, drawn from strategy consulting but transferable to finance. Consulting cases nonetheless follow a different logic from finance cases: they look for the cause of a business problem rather than a price, as the profitability case, a classic of case interviews 🔗 shows.
The written case with preparation
You receive a file (accounts, assumptions, press extracts) and preparation time, then present your conclusions. It is common in corporate finance, audit and management control.
The modelling exercise
You have a computer and a spreadsheet: build a mini LBO model, a forecast income statement or a cash-flow valuation. Rigour and speed in Excel are assessed.
The timed technical test
Questions on accounting, valuation or mental arithmetic, sometimes on an online platform, even before the first interview. To practise the substance, see our typical questions in valuation questions in interviews.
The behavioural scenario
An ethical dilemma, a conflict with a colleague, a contradictory instruction: here technical content matters less than judgement.
The five-step method
Whatever the format, a structure keeps you from going in all directions.
1. Listen and reformulate
Take a few seconds to reformulate the question: "If I understand correctly, the question is whether company X should acquire Y, with a budget limited to…". It checks you understood and buys thinking time.
2. Ask scoping questions
Ask what is missing: objective, scope, horizon, constraints. This step is part of the assessment. A candidate who jumps in without questions risks solving a different problem.
3. Structure the analysis
Announce your plan before calculating: "I propose to examine three points: the quality of the target, the valuation, then the financing". Recruiters appreciate getting the outline before the detail.
4. Analyse and calculate
- Start with the most important elements, not the easiest.
- Write legibly, box your results, round figures when reasonable.
- State your assumptions aloud.
5. Conclude and recommend
Always finish with a clear recommendation, followed by the main risks and next steps: "I recommend acquiring at this price, subject to checking X and Y". A case without a conclusion is a failed case, even with good calculations.
💡 Learn more: the general principles of preparation are gathered in our guide to preparing an investment banking interview.
Managing time and stress
Time
- Check the clock regularly without tensing up.
- Split roughly: a quarter to understand and structure, half to analyse, a quarter to conclude.
- Always keep enough time to finish: a complete simplified analysis beats an interrupted detailed one.
Stress
Stress is expected: the case also shows how you react under pressure.
- Breathe and slow your pace.
- Talk while you think, so the examiner follows your reasoning.
- Accept not knowing: saying "I don't have the exact value, I'll assume…" beats silence.
- Hold your course if the interviewer interrupts or challenges you: their follow-ups often point to the right track.
Practise
- Redo timed cases, alone then in pairs.
- Practise explaining aloud, not just calculating.
- Review your errors: the same type of error often recurs.
Soft skills count as much as technique in this kind of test: our article on essential soft skills in finance details the ones recruiters spot.
Example prompts
Here are three illustrative prompts, representative of what you may encounter. They are written as examples and do not reproduce real exam subjects.
M&A: should we acquire this company?
An industrial group is considering acquiring a smaller competitor. The company has revenue of €80M, a 15% EBITDA margin and net debt of €30M. The seller asks 8 times EBITDA. What do you think of this price?
What is expected: compute EBITDA (€12M), the requested enterprise value (€96M), the equity price (€66M), then compare with sector multiples and discuss synergies.
FP&A: a budget going off track
Your division was to reach a 10% margin. In the third quarter it is at 7%. What do you do?
What is expected: break down the gap (volume, price, mix, fixed costs), rank causes, propose actions and measure their impact.
Audit: a control reveals an anomaly
During an inventory control, you find the value on the balance sheet exceeds the physical count by 4%. How do you proceed?
What is expected: distinguish error from possible fraud, extend tests, tell your manager, document the approach.
The numbers are not the point: the jury judges the logic and the ability to tie the figure to a decision.
Classic mistakes
- Diving in without scoping. Opening questions are not an admission of weakness.
- Staying silent. A candidate mute for ten minutes suggests they are stuck.
- Drowning in detail. Secondary calculations eat the time for the conclusion.
- Not concluding. Without a recommendation the exercise is incomplete.
- Clinging to a wrong track. When the interviewer prompts you, it is often a hint: readjust without justifying yourself.
- Hiding assumptions. A figure without a stated assumption is unverifiable.
- Neglecting presentation. A messy sheet or unreadable spreadsheet hurts clarity.
These flaws echo those in the article on mistakes to avoid in a job interview.
Finally, before any practical case you must win the interview: a well-structured resume makes the difference. FinanceCV handles layout and produces an ATS-compatible document that recruiters' screening software reads without a hitch, so your energy goes into preparing your cases rather than adjusting margins.
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