IB Prep Curriculum

Oct 6

Intro to IB + the income statement

What bankers do (coverage vs. product groups, deal teams, recruiting timeline); revenue → net income; EBITDA vs. EBIT vs. net income

Oct 13

Balance sheet + cash flow statement

Assets = liabilities + equity; working capital; CFO / CFI / CFF; why net income ≠ cash

Oct 20

Linking the three statements

The classic “depreciation goes up by $10” walkthrough; tracing capex, debt, and inventory changes through all three statements

Oct 27

Advanced accounting

Stock-based comp, deferred revenue, goodwill and impairment, deferred taxes, NOLs; timed accounting drill

Nov 3

Valuation landscape + EV vs. equity value

Intrinsic vs. relative vs. transaction-based methods; the EV-to-equity bridge; diluted shares (treasury stock method)

Nov 10

Comps + precedent transactions

Building a peer set; EV/EBITDA, EV/Revenue, P/E; control premiums; football field chart

Nov 17

DCF I: free cash flow + WACC

10-minute discounting primer; building unlevered FCF; CAPM, beta, WACC

Nov 24

Thanksgiving week

DCF II: terminal value + sensitivities

Gordon growth vs. exit multiple; sensitivity tables; common DCF interview questions

Dec 1

Review + mock interviews

Rapid-fire technicals across all fall topics; paired mock interviews

Jan 19

Fall recap + TVM foundations

Quick three-statement / EV / DCF refresher; PV, FV, compounding frequency

Jan 26

Annuities, perpetuities, NPV

Growing perpetuity (ties back to Gordon growth); NPV decision rules

Feb 2

IRR + MOIC

IRR vs. MOIC; Excel XIRR; mental-math rules (2x in 5 yrs ≈ 15%, 3x ≈ 25%)

Feb 9

M&A overview

Strategic vs. financial buyers; deal rationale; sell-side process (teaser, CIM, IOIs, LOIs, data room)

Feb 16

Deal structuring

Cash vs. stock vs. debt consideration; stock vs. asset deals; premiums paid

Feb 23

Accretion / dilution

Pro forma EPS; the quick yield-comparison shortcut; role of synergies

Mar 2

M&A intermediate problems

Multi-step problems: purchase price and premium math, mixed cash/stock accretion/dilution, breakeven synergies, sources & uses

Mar 9

M&A advanced problems

Timed interview-style cases: combined balance sheet with goodwill, exchange ratios, deal-structure sensitivities, “what happens if” curveballs

Mar 23

LBO fundamentals

What PE firms do; why leverage boosts returns; ideal LBO candidates; returns drivers (EBITDA growth, multiple expansion, debt paydown)

Mar 30

Debt + capital structure

Revolver, term loans, senior notes, sub debt, mezz / PIK; covenants

Apr 6

Building an LBO

Paper LBO walkthrough; simplified Excel LBO

Apr 13

Review day

Recap of TVM, M&A, and LBO essentials; practice problems in exam format; open Q&A

Apr 20

Light exam

Short, low-stakes exam on core concepts from the full year, including a simple paper LBO