Saumya Thakkar | EY

Saumya has been working in the Investment Banking team at EY since 2019. Prior to joining EY, Saumya was a part of the domestic valuations team at Deloitte from 2018 to 2019. Saumya is a Chartered Accountant and BCom graduate from NM College of Commerce and Economics. Saumya will be sharing her experience from her ongoing stint at EY.

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 applied to the Investment Banking team at EY through a friend who was working in the team and forwarded my CV
• The entire interview process took place over a month – it comprised 3 interview rounds, 1 case study round (where I prepared a 5 pager teaser of a company) and 1 partner round
• My advice to potential candidates would be –
  • Focus on preparing a strong and concise 1 pager CV that highlights the best in your profile
  • Ensure that you can justify every word on the CV. Do no put anything that you have not done
  • Be very thorough with your concepts on finance, valuation, modelling etc. Read up on basics on the valuation, modelling well in advance. Preparing over a short span of time once you receive an interview call is unlikely to equip you with the in-depth knowledge required to crack the interview
  • If the position you are interviewing for is sector specific, ensure that you are aware of the developments in the sector, companies that operate in it. Having a point of view on the sector always helps
  • Good Excel and PowerPoint skills will go a long way in getting you through any case study

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

Candidates must have –

• Sound financial modelling skills
• Valuation knowledge – How companies are valued and how to run DCF and CCM models.
• Knowledge of general valuation metrics such as EV / Revenue, EV / EBITDA is also a must Good power point and Excel skills
• Knowledge about little bit of other domains such as Transaction Tax, Accounting etc.

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

A typical feeder profile for a top tier IB firm is MBA from one of the premier institutes in
India – the likes of IIMs, ISB, SP Jain, NMIMS etc.

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

Typically, there are a lot more MBAs than CAs working in core finance profiles like IB However, even with a CA degree, getting into core finance roles like valuations, IB is possible

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

Typical staffing on a case / deal is 2-3 people (Partner, Director / VP, Associate / Sr Associate)

What is a typical day at work for you?

No two days look the same. Work depends upon what deals one is working on. The profile
requires one to spend substantial amount of time in researching about the sector,
analyzing opportunities

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

• Industry research, landscaping
• Creating pitch decks
• Preparing deal collaterals (IM and financial models)
• Reaching out to investors
• Managing due diligence process
• Attending client / legal calls

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

Typically, people move on to PE or other IB roles

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Pros / Cons (depends on how you look at them) –

• The work is very enjoyable, no day is monotonous. One gets to work on something new
  every day, often long hours are required
• Exposure is great, one gets to interact often with C-suites of companies and understand their POV
• One can see real Impact of the work done

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

• 10-14 hours on most days
• When there is urgent work, weekends are working

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

As one progresses to senior roles, the focus shifts from execution to business development

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

• Apply only if you enjoy the work that the profile entails
• If you like the work that you do, then everything else will get managed