In Search of Young Financiers

The Analyst Exchange, a financial modeling company, is launching its 2009/2010 campus initiative at universities and colleges internationally.

Analyst Exchange founder Paul Pignataro says the campus programs complement what students are learning in business schools.

"In school they learn the theory, all of the concepts behind financial analysis," he says. "The Analyst Exchange teaches how to take that knowledge and apply it to the real world."

Analyst Exchange campus programs include:

UpDown.com sponsored trading competition (including consolidated financial statements and valuation): In day one, students build a fully consolidated model including income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. In day two, hedge fund manager Obed Cepeda will train students in valuation and how to apply valuation in every day investing. Then, with the help of the trading system at updown.com, students spend the month managing their own group portfolio. Prizes are awarded to those with the highest returns.

Two-day interview preparation: In this course, students will learn how to ace banking, private equity, and hedge fund interviews. Topics include valuation techniques, DCF analysis, M accretion/dilution analysis, and leveraged buyout analysis. Participants will learn how to present these analyses in interviews.

Two-day consolidated financial statements and valuation: Students will build a fully consolidated model including income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. They will demonstrate the ability to run equity and debt scenarios. On the second day, core methods of valuation are introduced and applied. By the end of the class, the trainee will be able to estimate the value of a company via comparable company analysis, historical transactions analysis, and discounted cash flow analysis.

Two-day mergers and acquisitions: In this class, mergers and acquisitions build on the modeling concepts of financial statements. Different types of asset acquisitions, divestitures, and corporate mergers are modeled and assessed. By the end of the course, the student will be able to analyze a company's financials after an asset acquisition, divestiture, or corporate merger.

Two-day leveraged buyouts and private equity: Leveraged buyouts build on the modeling concepts of financial statements and the fundamental pro-forma mechanics of mergers and acquisitions. The student will build a leveraged buyout model. Advanced topics such as minority interest investments and PIKs are introduced and modeled to reflect the current economic environment. By the end of this course the student will have the ability to estimate an investor's compounded annual rate of return after performing a leveraged buyout on a company.