Join Our Four-Day Investment Banking & Private Equity
Talent Accelerator – Intern Edition!
In this intensive four-day training, interns will gain the essential technical and industry foundation they need to succeed from day one. Designed for new hires entering investment banking, private equity, or any role that requires a fundamental understanding of accounting, Excel & financial modeling, valuation and deal basics. This program covers not just the what, but the why — giving trainees the context, confidence, and capabilities to perform at a high level.
We’ll kick off the program by demystifying how the industry works, so they understand where they fit in the broader financial ecosystem. For the rest of day 1 and 2, we’ll dive into the core “language” of IBD and PE: Accounting and Excel.
Next Class: June 2nd – 5th
Throughout the program, participants will:
✏️ Develop intuitive understanding of accounting principles
✏️ Learn the Excel shortcuts used by top analysts
✏️ Build a simple financial model from scratch
By the end of the two days, participants will:
Navigate Excel like a pro Understand their role within the deal-making process Think critically about valuation and value drivers Build and audit simple financial models with confidence
Outline
Date: June 2nd – 5th
Day 1: Industry Overview & Accounting Foundations
Industry Overview
- The Sell Side: Learn the role of investment banks and how the key divisions, IBD, Capital Markets and Sales and trading interact.
- The Buy Side: Overview of the bank’s clients and how their mandates differ.
- Investing Basics: How institutions make allocation decisions and Yale Model Overview.
- Private Equity & Alternatives: How does private equity fit into the ecosystem, the various strategies that make up “Private Equity”.
- The Three Financial Statements: Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement — and how they connect.
- Key Accounting Principles: Understand core rules like the Matching Principle and the Golden Accounting Equation (Assets = Liabilities + Equity).
- EBIT vs. EBITDA: What these metrics mean, why they matter, and how they’re used.
- Key Ratios: Analyze growth, profitability, leverage, and coverage ratios to assess company performance.
Day 2: Excel Foundations & Three-Statement Modeling
- Excel Essentials: Master core shortcuts, formulas, and formatting best practices
- Performance Analysis: Use historical analysis to inform projections.
- Modeling Basics: Build a fully linked, simple three-statement financial model from scratch.
Day 3: Valuation Fundamentals — Trading Comps & DCF
- Valuation Overview: Why valuation matters and how it’s used in the real-world.
- Enterprise vs. Equity Value: Learn the difference, and how to bridge the two.
- Comps Analysis: Identify and benchmark public comps using key valuation multiples.
- Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): Walk through a basic DCF model.
- Putting It All Together: Synthesize insights to form a view.
Day 4: M&A and LBO Fundamentals
- Strategic vs. Financial Buyers: Understand the motivations of corporate acquirers vs. private equity firms.
- M&A Mechanics: Learn key deal concepts like accretion/dilution, and relative P/Es.
- M&A Modeling: Build a simple M&A model by hand to reinforce intuition.
- LBO Basics: Understand how leveraged buyouts work and what makes a good LBO candidate
- Build a Simple LBO: Construct a basic LBO model
Requirements:
- Computer with wifi connection and Zoom
- Microsoft Excel (Windows Excel preferred; Mac Excel acceptable)
- Adobe Acrobat or similar PDF reader
Not what you're looking for?
Contact us about classes you would like to see or semi-custom content for your firm.
Why Our Talent Accelerator?
Accelerate Your Talent. Elevate Your Team.
Your New Hires Already Know Us. Now, Let Us Train Them. Looking to make your interns, new hires, and off-cycle analysts desk-ready from day one?
FAQ
Who is this course for?
This course is for anyone who is either interviewing for an entry level Investment Banking or Private Equity role — or for anyone who has landed an IBD or PE offer and wants to get desk-ready.
Note: if you are a current practitioner, this will largely be review from new hire training. Stay tuned for our advanced courses!
Is this a financial modeling course?
No — we will have a separate class JUST for financial modeling and Excel. However, you will get a TON of hand-on modeling experience in this course, building your own DCF and LBO models complete with debt schedules and free cash flow sweeps.
You’ll also learn all the accounting concepts necessary to build a 3-statement model.
Can I use a Mac?
Yes. BUT…
You’ll be using a PC when you’re on the job. When it comes to the Excel sections of the course, the closer you can get to Windows Excel, the better off you’ll be.
You can purchase software like Parallels and Windows Excel to run Windows Excel on your Mac, which will be an upgrade from Mac Excel. This is not a requirement, though.
What makes your courses different from your competitors?
Quite a lot actually. First, Kristen here taught these concepts on site at banks all over Wall Street. She has iterated and refined her explanation of concepts over the course of 15 years. She has an OCD level of detail when it comes to making sure the visuals and examples are fun and engaging. Jen’s is a natural born story teller and teacher, a skill that is quite rare among those on Wall Street. The two of us were VERY focused on creating engaging videos that goes way beyond droning over a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, through our podcast, we have conversations all the time with thought leaders in the industry, and through our community on social media which is made up of 300k people and counting, we are constantly hearing from YOU about what questions you are being asked in real time. In fact, the exact content of this course was tailored to all of YOU who shared the questions you were asked. To us, this course is our masterpiece, something that is the culmination of literally 25 years of learning and teaching.
I’ve never seen Succession or The Industry. Will I find the course boring?
Not at all! The stories are there as just that: stories.
Sure, you might be more excited about the material if you’ve seen the shows, but it’s absolutely NOT essential.
If you want the cliff notes version, you can listen to our podcast series (start with our episode on Succession season 1 here) that gets into the finance of these shows 🙂
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