SurvivreLondres
Entrevues en finance et en comptabilité
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Cette section vous propose des réponses formulées en anglais pour (i) motiver votre candidature, (ii) expliquer votre intérêt pour une entreprise et (iii) décrire les responsabilités qui se rattachent au poste. Enfin, cette section vous suggère des réponses aux questions habituelles lors d'entretiens en finance pour un poste junior ou pour votre admission à un programme pour diplômés avec peu ou sans expérience, dit «graduate scheme».
1er scénario : ABC is a corporate finance consultancy Retour en haut
Why do you want to work at ABC?
I want to work in corporate finance
advisory, but it is also essential for me to find a company that places
as much importance as I do on integrity and on impartially in its conduct. The
way that ABC conducts itself embodies what I believe to be impartially.
I am drawn to ABC because it’s one of most internationally oriented
consultancies. I feel that in this company, my fluency in
[langue #1],
good
command of
[langue #2], and experience gained while working abroad
alongside different cultures would be perceived seen as an asset.
Finally, I already had previous contacts with ABC ,which were positive and
this gave me a good opinion of the company. For example, in my country, ABC
enjoys such levels of credibility that the government routinely asks ABC to
carry economic/fiscal studies which ultimately become references in matters of
new legislation when weaknesses in the country are uncovered.
Why do you want the role of junior corporate finance analyst?
I’m drawn to this role because I am interested in the sort of advisory work
undertaken by a corporate finance practice and because this role would allow
me to gain further exposure transactions that would tie in with previous
experience.
I’m also interested by the role because it entails solving problems, working
alongside several participants, engaging with clients, participating on presentations and
with given further experience, helping winning new business and possibly
contributing in some elements of
negotiating.
Finally, the appeal of the role also lies in the challenge of taking
necessary decisions on the basis of incomplete and sometimes unreliable
information.
What sort of tasks do you expect the role of junior analyst to involve?
I expect the responsibilities of
this role to include (1) research on potential targets and on past
transactions, (2) analysis of sector trends, (3) preparation of documentation
such as new business proposals, sales memoranda, buyer analyses (4) business
plans, (5) briefing dossiers, (6) critical review of financial information.
2e scénario : XYZ is a large accounting firm Retour en haut
Why do you want to work at XYZ?
I would like to work in the field of
corporate tax but it is essential that I find a company that places as much
importance as I do on integrity and on impartially in its conduct. XYZ is
known for its good practice in this regard, ensuring integrity by providing
advisory services which are independent from financing sources. Second, I am
attracted by the possibility given by XYZ to specialise in taxation but then
within this field to explore in different tax specialities. Finally, I want to
work for XYZ because it offers its trainees the unique chance to pursue tax or
accountancy qualification (Chartered Accountancy or Chartered Institute of
Taxation) which appeals enormously to me.
Why do you want the role of tax trainee?
I am applying for the position of
tax trainee as I want to become an accountant, specialising in corporate tax.
I am particularly interested in the advisory work undertaken by tax teams: to
work in an advisory capacity dealing with clients, negotiating with tax
authorities on the clients’ behalf and ultimately helping them navigate
through fiscal legislation. When I was at university, I interned during
the summer in a [any type of company will do]. I liked the job, but what
enjoyed were the technical aspects of the experience. And on the occasions
when I would liaise with accountants, it became clear that I really liked the
nature of their work.
What sort of tasks do you expect the role of tax trainee
to involve?
I expect that first-year tax trainees are introduced to principles of audit
and taxation through a combination of formal study and work experience.
Trainees learn about recurring tax work such as compliance with accepted
practice, tax calculations, tax returns, answering general queries from Inland
Revenue and are then progressively guided through more complex issues such as
devising tax-reducing strategies to help enterprises reduce their tax
liabilities and negotiating with tax authorities where disputes on matters of
interpretation may arise.
Autres questions probables lors d'un entretien en finance Retour en haut
How would you deal with someone who was disappointed with your work?
I would ask which parts of my work are unsatisfactory and explain that I am
willing to make whatever changes are deemed necessary.
Donnez un exemple à l'appui.
How to approach someone who needs your help?
I would first ask if he would care for help
and would try to understand what this person fails to understand. Instead of
simply giving the person an answer, I would offer to explain the principle
underlying the problem. He was then able to complete his part of our team
project.
Donnez un exemple à l'appui.
How to approach someone who does not contribute as much as should?
I would find an appropriate moment to
approach this person and then made specific suggestions as to what he could
do. Hopefully, the person would immediately get the hint. This intervention
would also presumably help team morale. If I were a supervisory position, the
most appropriate first would again be to offer a specific suggestion as to
where the person can contribute. If the person does not respond to this hint
and then I would find a private moment and explain politely to the person that
he is not meeting the standards that were expected of staff in the company.
Donnez un exemple à l'appui.
Retour en haut
How do you influence or convince a sceptical audience?
I would try understanding what type of
individuals make up the audience. Assessing with whom I am dealing allows
anticipating their concerns, the sort of information they might overlook and
the arguments they might be incline to accept.
Donnez
un exemple à l'appui.
What is the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation?
It is American accounting and governance legislation. It requires a summary
in annual reports about internal control which are supposed to ensure good
accounting and guard against fraud. It also requires a separate opinion by
auditors as to the effectiveness of these controls.
What is the IASC?
The
IASC stands for International Accounting Standards Committee.
It has the
mandate to improving and harmonising accounting standards. Its members are
drawn from professional accounting bodies from 90 countries.
What
are the Basel Agreements?
It is the Bank of International Settlements’ framework for measuring the
adequacy of bank capital and for supervising the health of financial
institutions. Concerns: some of its critics argue that its weakness lies in
its potential over reliance on a bank’s internal models and two- or three-tier
hierarchy of approaches, which could lead to less comparable rather than
more (as intended) comparable capital adequacy measures.
Retour en haut
Give
us an example of a company you admire and tell us why.
Si une telle question est posée, c’est que l’on essaie
vraisemblablement de déterminer le type de qualités que vous recherchez chez
un employeur. Décrivez alors simplement une qualité qui est communément
appréciée. Puisque l’esprit d’entreprise est de mode, vous pourriez répondre
à une telle question en décrivant une compagnie qui fait preuve de
créativité ou qui appuie les initiatives de ses employés. Voici un exemple.
I am great fan of
[nom de l’entreprise].
When
companies reach a certain size, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain
nimble and display entrepreneurship.
[nom de l’entreprise]
avoided this problem by introducing a series a
policies that foster entrepreneurship. It allocated a few hours during which
employees can work on private projects or ideas that could be
commercialised. When an idea shows potential, the employee can apply for a
leave of absence and receive a budget and administrative resources to
develop the product or concept and is also given an equity stake in the
product while 3M remains primary shareholder. If the ideas prove truly
profitable and sales from the products reach a certain threshold, the unit
is converted into a subsidiary of
[nom de l’entreprise].
The concept is an attempt to combine the creativity of a small firm with the
security of a large one. On the one hand it stimulates the invention
capabilities of employees but shelters them from the risks associated with
the launch of new products by providing them with financial, administrative
and marketing support. Effectively, this company created an in-house
incubator like those created by venture capital groups.
Questions techniques Retour en haut
Vous posera-t-on des questions pointues à l'occasion d'une entrevue pour un
poste très junior ?
«Highly
unlikely»
comme disent les Anglais. Lorsque vous postulez à un
«graduate
scheme»,
l'employeur ou le recruteur suppose à priori qu'en dépit de vos études
universitaires, vous ne savez rien qui soit véritablement utile (Ne
protestez pas, si ça vous avantage). Néanmoins, nous vous en
présentons quelques unes, question de vous ouvrir l'appétit.
Souhaitiez-vous savoir ce à quoi pourrait ressembler un entretien plus
technique, nous vous invitons à consulter la transcription d'une véritable
entrevue (de deux heures) en banque d'investissement à Londres pour un
poste d'analyste (1-2 ans d'expérience) en LBO :
levier Q&R.pdf.
Your interviewer asks you to suggest a solution to the
following hypothetical bank scenario:
An investment bank made a no-amortisation,
subordinated and unsecured corporate loan to a client some years ago. As a
result of a downturn in its industry, this client will not be able to meet
the scheduled bullet payment (le montant final non-amorti
) of the loan. The bank believes that the client has a viable
business. Your interviewer asks you to recommend a series of contract clauses
which would give the client some financial flexibility, while compensating
the bank for the increased risk it will bear.
Voici une réponse possible :
1) Extend the loan by x years, but introduce
amortisation so as to avoid the problems that come with bullet payments.
2) Accept to receive the next x months of interest payments up-front at
the closing of the restructuring in the form of common shares and also
receiving warrants (options) as the borrower does not currently have the
necessary liquidity.
3) Increase the interest rate charged on the loan to reflect the
heightened risk profile of the client and its sector.
4) Tighten existing covenants: limitations on additional indebtedness,
limitations on asset sales, limitations on capital expenditures.
5) Restructuring should be made conditional to a successful debt
restructuring with other creditors, so as not to be the only lender to make
concessions.
Were you
expected to create a financial forecast for a company over a long
period, what sources of information would you use?
First,
I would begin by taking a look at the company's historical
performance and own forecasts drawing on its annual reports, press releases,
investor presentations, webcasts and broker
reports about the company. In cases where the company is an existing and
established relationship, forecasts may already have been done in the
past, which can of course be a starting point. I would also want to establish how the company's
industry as a whole is performing, which allows to set boundaries which can
guide one's forecast. This can be done by examining the records of the
company's peers / competitors and paying careful attention at any
guidance / forecasts given by the sector's market leader, as one's own forecast
should not be materially different than what the top player states it can
achieve. This too will serve as a further reference point, against which
one would not expect one's forecast to deviate much. If deviations are
expected, then one should must ascertain that the are rooted in
something that can be sensibly defended.
Unfortunately, sometimes, in spite of one's best
efforts, a forecast may be no better than a guess or an estimate. Some sectors
are notoriously difficult to forecast, such as semi-conductor industry. In
these cases, it is always worthwhile to consult the forecasts made by
specialist consultancies.
Retour en haut
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