Swapnil Wani | Alvarez and Marsal

Swapnil currently works at Alvarez and Marsal since 2016. Prior to joining Alvarez and Marsal, Swapnil was at Ernst and Young for a year, based in Mumbai. He is a CA and a B.Com from University of Mumbai. Swapnil will be sharing his experience from his stint at Alvarez and Marsal focusing on sharing insights about the Consulting Industry in India.

Interview

How did you recruit for this role? What would your advice be for potential candidates aspiring to get here? (recruiting strategy, cycle, process etc.)

I was fortunate enough to network with senior members from the team during my stint at Ernst and Young. I was not particularly looking out for job change but a colleague suggested that I apply for a role at A&M as they were looking for an Associate in their team. He personally knew a senior manager in the firm which landed me with an opportunity to interview with the firm.

The recruiting strategy for A&M is pretty different. About 60% to 70% of the hires are by referral. So I believe if you are a referral your chances of landing up an interview are higher.

The recruiting process for TAG (Financial due diligence) has evolved, at first there were 3 simple interview i.e. Manager, Director and Senior Director and finally the MD round. Nowadays to test the candidates potential written tests are also part of the interview process. The other teams management consulting and restructuring generally hire from Colleges but also have a lateral hiring process

What are the key skills that are required for this role?

Diligence is a more on the lines of audit, so a Chartered accountant having completed his / her internship of 3 years in Big 4 are suitable for this job.

PS : Financial Due Diligence only hires Chartered Accountants.

What is the typical feeder profile (typical previous work experience) for this industry in general and for your firm in particular?

For the FDD team, being a CA with prior Big 4 experience (either articleship or post qualification experience typically in Audit) is mandatory at A&M. For the Strategy Consulting team, you need to be an MBA for a premier institute i.e. IIMs or ISBs.

For the restructuring practice you need to be an MBA from a premier institute and also have at least 3 years of Pre-MBA work experience. The restructuring ream also recruits CAs but that is generally for a 2-3 year Pre-MBA analyst role with the firm.

Is there an education path that is preferred for getting a role in this industry?

I would strongly recommend getting an MBA to grow in a consulting firm.

What is your total team size and what is the typical team staffing on a case/deal?

The total FDD team size is of 30 and typically there are 3 to 4 members on a deal, but in case of a complex transaction we may deploy additional resources as required.

What is a typical day at work for you?

Work days can be hectic generally depends on the project. In case there is an upcoming deliverable/deadline, then it’s a long day. Generally, in consulting working only for 8-9 hours is a myth, so we end up working crazy hours but days when we are working on a pitch /  industry research, working hours are more flexible.

What are your key responsibilities and deliverable on a case/deal?

Execution of the deliverable will be the key responsibility for junior members.

What is the typical exit that people get from this role?

Colleagues have previously moved on to go to private equity or industry in a strategy role.

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Pros

• Variety of work: You always get to work on variety of industries.
• Career growth: Faster career progression
• Network Helps build network

Cons – Crazy working hours.

What are your typical work hours in a week (including weekends)?

Work hours are generally 11 to 13 hours on weekdays and we generally end up working 20 to 30% of the weekend

How do the responsibilities evolve as one grows in this industry into senior roles?

As you grow you will have to deliver and manage clients.