Hi, thanks for your question :) The difference between UK&I and FSO is that FS operate specifically in the financial services industry. In UK&I, we have sector teams for basically every sector other than FS, such as energy, infrastructure, technology etc.

In terms of client exposure, I think most people would say that as a 1st-year analyst, you would have little to none, as your focus is on passing your exams and learning the analysis process in terms of databooks. However it does depend on who you work with, some people will want to manage all the client-side interaction themselves, and others are more willing/encouraging more junior people to take on some of that responsibility. Also, it depends on the deals you work on, some large projects with big teams may mean you have less scope to interact with clients.

I think I had some client interaction in my first year but not much, but I know some people who had a lot. However, you will always be given a chance to do more if you ask. So if you wanted the ability to have some client interaction, for example by leading a Q&A session on your areas of analysis, as long as you have built up the trust of the person you are working with, if you ask for this opportunity most of the time you will be given the chance.

Hope this helps!
Alex

14 August, 2023 10:00

Thanks for the response Alex. Following up to the question, how much work do you involve looking at company Financial Statements and running through the numbers, technicals. Is there involvement in doing valuations, finding transaction prices or multiples as well?
Thank you very much.

30 August, 2023 14:41

Hi, no problem. I spend a lot of time looking at company financial information - primarily this is management account information or trial balances (rather than the actual annual accounts) as this forms the basis for our analysis. We do run through the numbers to make sure things reconcile, for example, individual breakdowns of balances reconcile back to the annual accounts and these reconcile to the management accounts etc.

We do perform technical analysis here as well, for example using transactional data to produce revenue analysis, or producing working capital days analysis from trade debtor/creditor balances.

We don't really get involved with valuations, transaction prices or multiples, this is more aligned with what they do in valuations, TSE and CF.

07 September, 2023 10:09