Khanak Baid | PwC

Khanak Baid currently works in the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking team at PwC since 2018. Prior to joining PwC, she was at Tresvista Financial Services from 2017-2018 based in Mumbai, India. She has done her BBA (Finance) from NMIMS University and is a CFA Level 3 candidate. She will be sharing her experience from her stint at PwC focusing on sharing insights about the investment banking 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 got in touch with an ex-colleague who was part of the due diligence team at PwC. He referred my CV to the investment banking team
• The interview process had 5 stages:
  • Telephonic interview with two senior management people focused on my work experience, reason for wanting to pursue IB and future career plans
  • Case Study: This involved creating a teaser, basic operating model and drafting a pitch email to be shared to potential investors for a listed power company
  • Interview with the Director: This involved discussion on the case, technical questions, and discussion on work ex
  • Interview with Partner: This involved few technical questions, but was mainly focused on communication skills and to see the cultural fit
  • HR round was the more on salary negotiations, joining dates, etc.
• Potential candidates should approach find a current employee working there through their network who can refer them to the team directly

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

• Attention to detail is a must
• Well versed with excel and PowerPoint
• Financial modeling – No one expects you to be able to create complex financial models from the get go, but you should understand the linkages between the three statements and able to thing through the reasoning for assumption drivers

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

• PwC being a Big4, CA is the most common profile however it is not a prerequisite
• Most senior roles have an MBA/CA and some prior work experience in the financial services industry

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

• If your education background is not in finance, then they look for relevant work experience in the industry
• Same can be supplemented through courses like CFA

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

Across India the team is about 30-45 people. On one deal there will be a primary analyst/associate staffed, director who would be closely involved in dealing with the client and the partner who is involved in the critical transactions points

What is a typical day at work for you?

• If there are live deals that you are staffed on then it depends on the stage of the transaction process you are in. Initial stages would involve creating the investment collateral, and as the deal progresses there is more focus on the coordination and communication between the client and the investors 
• Business Development: This involves sector scoping, industry and company research, identifying sub sectors as well companies within those sectors who could be approached 

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

• As an associate, I am primarily responsible for the investment collateral that is developed for each deal (teaser, IM, model)
• Identifying potential investors and forming a strategic view point on the approach
• Answering the queries raised by the investor/their advisor in coordiation with the company
• Transaction documents – This is more restricted to advise from a commercial view point. The language is drafted by the legal advisors

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

• Typical exit is a buy side role to a private equity/venture capital fund

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Pros: No two deals are ever exactly the same so there is always something new to learn. You get to interact directly with the top management of companies and gain in depth industry insights

Cons: The sell side adviory process can be very long drawn and chances of deal closure are not always a given. The workings hours and the nature of industry, where most things are to be done on an ‘urgent’ basis can make it taxating.

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

Work hours fluctuate depending on the stage of the deal cycle, but typically 60 hours a week

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

At the junior level roles there is more focus on the execution aspect of the deal. As one progresses to senior roles the focus is more on building and maintaining relationships in the industry. Networking and communications skills play a very important role in your advancement

What would be your advice for people aspiring for a similar role?

• The number of applicants for each position are high, so don’t get demotivated if you get no response or face a few rejections through the application process
• Be extremely well prepared before every round, there are numerous blogs and articles covering the key questions asked
• Try to talk to the people in the firm you are applying to who are at a similar level to understand the work culture and get a clearer picture of what the job role entails