Master the technicals. No prep course required.
The accounting, valuation, DCF, M&A, LBO and markets knowledge finance interviews test — taught from scratch with interactive calculators, diagrams and 258 practice questions. It lives inside the free FairShot app, with your progress saved as you go.
Accounting Foundations
The three statements, how they connect, and the questions every interviewer opens with.
The Three Financial Statements
What the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement each show — and why all three exist.
6 practice Qs 1.2The Income Statement
Revenue down to net income — gross profit, operating income, EBIT, EBITDA and the key margins.
7 practice Qs 1.3The Balance Sheet
Assets = Liabilities + Equity. What lives in each, and why the sheet always balances.
7 practice Qs 1.4The Cash Flow Statement
Operating, investing and financing — turning accrual net income back into real cash.
7 practice Qs 1.5How the Three Statements Link
The connective tissue: net income, depreciation, capex, debt and retained earnings tying it all together.
5 practice Qs 1.6The Classic: A £10 Increase in Depreciation
The single most-asked technical. Master the full taxed walk-through and its variants.
8 practice Qs 1.7Working Capital
The cash tied up in day-to-day operations — and why growth can be thirsty for cash.
6 practice Qs 1.8Accrual vs Cash Accounting
When revenue and expenses are recognised — the root of why profit ≠ cash.
5 practice Qs 1.9Key Ratios & Profitability
Liquidity, leverage, efficiency and returns — the ratios interviewers expect at your fingertips.
6 practice QsEnterprise & Equity Value
The bridge every interviewer probes: what each value means, how to move between them, and which multiple to use.
Equity Value vs Enterprise Value
What each represents and who “owns” which claim on the business.
5 practice Qs 2.2The EV ↔ Equity Value Bridge
Adding debt, subtracting cash, and the other bridge items — in both directions.
5 practice Qs 2.3Diluted Shares & the Treasury Stock Method
Options, RSUs and convertibles — getting to a fully diluted share count.
4 practice Qs 2.4Valuation Multiples Overview
EV/EBITDA, EV/EBIT, P/E, EV/Revenue and what each tells you.
4 practice Qs 2.5Which Multiple When
Matching numerator to denominator and picking the right metric by situation.
4 practice Qs 2.6Calculating Enterprise Value in Practice
From market cap to a clean EV, including minority interest and preferred.
4 practice QsValuation
The three core methodologies and how bankers triangulate a defensible value.
The Three Valuation Methodologies
Comps, precedent transactions and DCF — strengths and weaknesses of each.
4 practice Qs 3.2Comparable Companies Analysis
Choosing a peer set, spreading multiples and applying them.
4 practice Qs 3.3Precedent Transactions
Using past M&A deals to value a company — and the control premium baked in.
4 practice Qs 3.4Triangulating Value (the Football Field)
Combining methods into a defensible valuation range.
3 practice Qs 3.5Control Premiums & Minority Discounts
Why whole-company values differ from minority stakes.
3 practice Qs 3.6Valuation Nuances
Public vs private, liquidity, cyclicality and when methods disagree.
3 practice QsDiscounted Cash Flow (DCF)
The intrinsic-value workhorse — free cash flow, discount rates, terminal value and sensitivities.
DCF Overview
The big picture and how to “walk me through a DCF” in two minutes.
4 practice Qs 4.2Unlevered vs Levered Free Cash Flow
Which cash flow to discount and the matching discount rate.
3 practice Qs 4.3Calculating Free Cash Flow
From EBIT to unlevered FCF, step by step.
4 practice Qs 4.4WACC
Blending the cost of debt and equity into one discount rate.
4 practice Qs 4.5Cost of Equity & CAPM
Risk-free rate, beta and the equity risk premium.
4 practice Qs 4.6Terminal Value
Gordon growth vs exit multiple — and sanity-checking the result.
4 practice Qs 4.7Discounting & the Mid-Year Convention
Present value mechanics and the timing assumption that trips people up.
3 practice Qs 4.8Sensitivities & DCF Pros and Cons
Why small input changes swing the output, and how to present a range.
3 practice QsMergers & Acquisitions
Why deals happen and how to judge whether one creates or destroys value.
M&A Overview & Rationale
Strategic logic, deal types and the process at a glance.
4 practice Qs 5.2Accretion / Dilution
The core test of whether a deal helps or hurts EPS.
4 practice Qs 5.3Sources & Uses
How a deal is funded and what the money pays for.
4 practice Qs 5.4Synergies
Cost vs revenue synergies and why they’re scrutinised.
4 practice Qs 5.5Goodwill & Purchase Price Allocation
What happens to the balance sheet when one company buys another.
4 practice Qs 5.6Cash vs Stock Consideration
How the form of payment changes the maths and the risk.
3 practice Qs 5.7Walk Me Through an Accretion/Dilution
A clean, repeatable verbal answer to the classic ask.
3 practice QsLeveraged Buyouts (LBO)
How private equity uses debt to amplify returns — mechanics, returns and the paper LBO.
LBO Overview
What an LBO is and why it’s a favourite interview topic.
4 practice Qs 6.2Why PE Uses Leverage
How debt magnifies equity returns (and risk).
3 practice Qs 6.3LBO Returns: IRR & MOIC
The two metrics that define a deal’s success.
4 practice Qs 6.4Sources & Uses in an LBO
Funding the purchase and sizing the equity cheque.
3 practice Qs 6.5Debt Tranches & the Capital Structure
Senior to subordinated — risk, cost and priority.
4 practice Qs 6.6The Paper LBO
Solving a returns problem with pen and paper, the way interviewers test it.
3 practice Qs 6.7Value Creation Levers
Deleveraging, growth, margin and multiple expansion.
3 practice QsMarkets & Products
The sales & trading / markets side: rates, bonds, equities, options and the macro backdrop.
Time Value of Money
Discounting, compounding and present value — the bedrock of everything.
4 practice Qs 7.2Bonds & Yields
Price–yield relationship, coupons and why prices move inversely to rates.
4 practice Qs 7.3Duration & Convexity
Measuring a bond’s sensitivity to interest-rate changes.
4 practice Qs 7.4Equities & Equity Markets
How shares are valued and what moves them.
4 practice Qs 7.5Options Basics
Calls, puts, payoffs and the language of optionality.
4 practice Qs 7.6The Greeks
Delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho — how option values respond.
4 practice Qs 7.7FX & Interest Rates
Exchange rates, carry and the link between currencies and rates.
3 practice Qs 7.8Macro Indicators & the Cycle
GDP, inflation, central banks and reading the economic cycle.
4 practice QsBrainteasers & Mental Maths
The quick-fire numeracy and logic puzzles used to test composure under pressure.
Mental Maths Drills
Fast multiplication, percentages and fractions without a calculator.
7 practice Qs 8.2Classic Brainteasers
The recurring puzzles and how to reason through them out loud.
5 practice Qs 8.3Market Sizing & Estimation
Fermi-style estimation: structure beats a precise number.
4 practice Qs 8.4Probability & Game Puzzles
Expected value, conditional probability and betting games.
5 practice QsInterview Set-Pieces
The rehearsed answers and rapid-fire rounds that come up again and again.
Walk Me Through a DCF
A crisp two-minute structure you can deliver under pressure.
3 practice Qs 9.2Walk Me Through an LBO
The verbal version of the model, start to finish.
3 practice Qs 9.3Enterprise/Equity Value Quickfire
Rapid “what happens to EV/equity value if…” drills.
5 practice Qs 9.4The 30 Most Common Technicals
A consolidated rapid-revision bank across every module.
12 practice QsLearn it. Then land it.
The full interactive textbook — calculators, diagrams, worked answers and progress tracking — is inside the free app, alongside your application tracker, resume builder and answer bank.