## **Course Overview**

This five-day program is designed to prepare new private equity professionals to contribute immediately to deal teams, portfolio monitoring, and investment decisions. The curriculum blends technical foundations, with applied investment analysis, ensuring participants gain both the hard skills and professional judgment required in today’s competitive PE environment.

Participants will develop the ability to evaluate opportunities, build robust financial models, and articulate investment theses with clarity and conviction.

### **Key Disciplines Covered**
##### **Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis**

- Refresh three-statement linkages and GAAP/IFRS differences.
- Assess earnings quality, working capital efficiency, and leverage structures.
- Identify red flags and value drivers in portfolio company reporting.

##### **Valuation & Deal Structuring**

- Apply core methods—DCF, comparables, precedent transactions, and LBOs—to real deal contexts.
- Analyze transaction structures, purchase accounting, and accretion/dilution.
- Evaluate capital structures and return profiles across scenarios.

##### **LBO Modeling & Returns Analysis**

- Build and sensitize leveraged buyout models from scratch.
- Analyze key IRR and MOIC drivers, debt schedules, and exit assumptions.
- Conduct paper LBOs and quick-math exercises to sharpen speed and intuition.

##### **Investment Thesis Development**

- Frame investment rationales around market size, growth drivers, competitive positioning, and risks.
- Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights.
- Build return waterfall analyses to evaluate fund- and deal-level participant returns.

##### **Portfolio Management & Monitoring**

- Understand value creation levers across operational improvement, bolt-ons, and capital allocation.
- Monitor portfolio performance through KPIs and board reporting.
- Link management initiatives to financial outcomes and fund-level returns.

### **Who Should Attend**

- New hires at private equity firms (analysts, associates, or junior team members).
- Professionals transitioning from investment banking, consulting, or corporate finance into PE.

### **Program Benefits**

- Deal-Ready in One Week: Gain the confidence and skills to contribute from day one.
- Hands-On & Practical: Direct application through case studies, modeling sessions, and simulations.
- Broad Yet Focused: Coverage of both front-end deal work and ongoing portfolio responsibilities.

## Overview
The financial statement analysis course provides participants with the “nuts and bolts” of accounting, from a financial analysis perspective. As a solid accounting foundation is critical to grasping more advanced finance concepts, the course prepares participants for subsequent modeling and valuation modules. The course focuses on accounting fundamentals emphasizing the interrelationships between the 3 financial statements. Throughout the course, actual company annual reports are analyzed to show real examples of accounting treatment and disclosure notes.

- What’s in an annual report and where to look (MD&A, financials, notes)
- Structure of 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement)
- Key links between 3 financial statements
- Impact of transactions on 3 statements
 
### Income statement

- Revenue recognition and the matching principle
- Accrual vs. cash accounting
- Types of profits and expenses
- EBIT and EBITDA
- Cleaning earnings for non-recurring items
- Effective tax rate vs. marginal tax rate
- Normalized net income
- Basic vs. diluted EPS
- WASO versus shares outstanding
- Profitability ratios
 
### Working capital

- Working capital vs. operating working capital
- Components of operating working capital
- Operating working capital as a source or use of funding for the company
- OWC days ratios and cash conversion cycle
 
### Non-current assets

- Tangible vs. intangible assets
- Depreciation and amortization
- Difference between intangible assets and goodwill
- Impairments
- Capital expenditures and asset sales
 
### Debt and equity

- Debt vs. long term liabilities
- Current and long term portions of debt
- Senior vs. subordinated debt
- Amortizing vs. bullet payments
- Cash and PIK interest
- Leverage and coverage ratios
- Debt disclosure note
- Common vs. preferred stock
- Authorized, issued and outstanding shares
- Par value and additional paid-in capital
- Share issuances and repurchases
- Retained earnings
- Dividends
 
### Cash flow statement

- Operating, investing and financing cash flows
- Building a cash flow statement from scratch
- Best practices to always ensure your model will balance

Learn about the interrelationships between the 3 financial statements – IS, BS and CFS

Financial Statement Analysis (FSA) Live

## Overview
During the M&A accounting course, full consolidation, noncontrolling interest and equity / associate method investments are covered.

- Full consolidation for acquisition of 100% of a company
- Noncontrolling interest (acquisition of >50% but <100%)
- Equity method / associate investments (acquisition of >20% but <50%)
- Consideration paid
- Calculating goodwill
- Consolidating the income statement and balance sheet
- Impact of M&A transactions on earnings
- Deal financing

Learn about key M&A accounting principles, with an emphasis on full consolidation

M&A Accounting

## Overview

The structure of an M&A deal can unlock significant value—or hidden risk—for both buyers and sellers. This course explores how deal structure shapes future tax outcomes, diving into the nuances of asset vs. stock sales, step-ups in asset basis, deferred tax implications, goodwill treatment, and Section 338(h)(10) elections. In the second half, the focus shifts to navigating net operating losses (NOLs) and their strategic treatment in transactions. Ideal for anyone looking to understand the tax levers that influence M&A success. Topics covered include:

- Asset vs. stock deals
  - Legal entity vs. consolidated financials
  - Goodwill
  - Step-ups
  - Deferred tax
  - Buyer and seller preferences
- Section 338(h)(10) elections
  - Modeling
  - Deferred tax
  - Ascribing value to 338(h)(10) elections from the buy-side and sell-side
- Net operating losses
  - Carry forwards
  - Limitations

Learn about asset vs. stock deals, step-ups and deferred taxes, 338(h)(10) elections and NOLs

M&A Structuring

## Overview

This course covers Pillars’ 12 steps to building a 3 statement non-cash sweep operating model. Emphasis is placed on the complexities associated with a real company model.

- Steps to building a model
- Income statement construction
- Supporting calculations and debt schedule
- Balance sheet and cash flow statement construction
- Balancing the model
- Modeling noncontrolling interest and equity method investments

Learn how to build a non-cash sweep 3 statement operating model for a real company

3 Statement Real Company Modeling (Non-Cash Sweep)

## Overview

This course covers Pillars’ 12 steps to building a 3 statement cash sweep operating model.

- Uses of a cash sweep model
- Steps to building a cash sweep model
- Handling mandatory and accelerated debt payments

Learn how to build a cash sweep 3 statement operating model for a real company

3 Statement Cash Sweep Modeling

## Overview

Principles of LBO valuation will be covered and participants will build a short-form LBO model. How private equity firms create value and the unique attributes of LBO valuation are examined.

- How LBO’s and private equity firms create value
- What makes a good LBO candidate
- Common valuation drivers
  - Buyer’s return requirements
  - Availability of leverage in credit markets
  - Sustainable company cash flows for debt repayment
  - Ability of buyer to achieve operating synergies
  - Exit opportunities (sale or IPO)
- Building a flexible sources and uses of funds table
- Determining debt capacity
- Calculating the exit value
- Calculating the IRR and deriving football field valuation range
- Sensitivity analysis

Learn about LBO theory and PE value creation, and then build a short-form LBO model

Short-Form LBO Valuation and Modeling

## Overview

Master the mechanics of deal modeling with this hands-on course where participants build a fully integrated three-statement LBO model from the ground up. Learn how to layer in a complex capital structure, explore the rationale behind dual equity ownership levels, and calculate detailed returns for both equity and mezzanine holders. Topics include:

- Differences between the short-form and long-form LBO
- Sources of capital and associated costs / attributes
  - Term loans A, B and C
  - Second lien
  - Mezzanine and high yield
  - Preferred equity
  - Common equity
- PIK interest
- PIK dividends
- Warrants
- Rollover of existing management equity
- Understanding the need for two types of equity in the capital structure
- Constructing the opening, pro forma balance sheet
- Constructing the projected income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement
- Cash sweep with mandatory and accelerated payments
- Calculating returns to equity and mezzanine holders

Build a long-form 3 statement LBO model, including layering in a multi-tranche debt schedule and 2 levels of equity

Long-Form LBO Modeling - Live

## Overview

This course focuses on advanced Excel features in order to maximize productivity on the desk.

- Logic functions
  - AND, IF, OR, IFERROR
- Math functions
  - AVERAGE, AVERAGEIF, AVERAGEIFS
  - COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS
  - MAX, MEDIAN, MIN
  - SUM, SUMIF, SUMIFS
- Extracting information from a database/model
  - CHOOSE
  - VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP
  - OFFSET, INDEX, MATCH
  - INDIRECT
- Data validation
  - Lists
  - Other
- Text functions
- Date functions
- Data tables
- Pivot tables
- Conditional formatting
- Self-referencing IF statements

Learn how to maximize productivity by mastering advanced Excel formulas

Advanced Excel Features

## Overview

Participants will be given several operating models and asked to identify and correct errors within the models. Emphasis will be placed on a systematic approach to auditing and uncovering all errors and correcting the model. The course will conclude by giving participants a model filled with errors and they will use a systematic approach to uncover and correct all errors.

- Methods to identify errors
- Steps to checking a model
- Common modeling errors
- Fixing the model

Learn how to identify and correct errors within a 3 statement operating model

Error Checking – Auditing Client Operating Models

From analyst to investor — an intensive training program to master the private equity mindset

Private Equity Onboarding

Private Equity Onboarding

From analyst to investor — an intensive training program to master the private equity mindset

Course Overview

Key Disciplines Covered

Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis

Valuation & Deal Structuring

LBO Modeling & Returns Analysis

Investment Thesis Development

Portfolio Management & Monitoring

Who Should Attend

Program Benefits