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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jaysen" data-source="post: 567" data-attributes="member: 1">Hey Y,Good question. You're right, it's much more about your reasoning. It's fine to think about SWOT or other frameworks (e.g. PESTEL)  in your answer but I tend to advise applicants to steer away from applying any framework too rigidly. I'm sure they're good in practice, but they can lead to applicants using poor structures or missing out on central points in an exercise like this. The exercise you suggested is not too dissimilar from the mock case study I'm currently working on, albeit two companies instead of four. I can't guarantee I'll have it finished before your interview, but if I do, I'll let you know and post it here: <a href="https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/index.php?threads/case-study-practice.69/" target="_blank">https://www.thecorporatelawacademy.com/forum/index.php?threads/case-study-practice.69/</a>.A few things to think about when analysing a company:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Keep it simple. It's very common for applicants to veer off into the deep end of group structures and complex financing arrangements in order to show off their commercial awareness. Most of the time, that's unnecessary.  Look at basic themes like financials, management, competitors, the state of the market etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I don't know what documents you'll be given, but you may want to briefly look at a balance sheet and a cash flow statement.  Depending on what information you have, you want to determine whether a company is healthy. These are things like how much money a company makes, how much is profit, what are its liabilities and how much debt the company has.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You may be given analyst or press information. This can be useful for looking at a company's USP, potential risks and its market position. Some of the questions you might ask - how does the market view the company? How are its competitors doing? Where is the industry going? Or internal memos - is the company facing legal action? How serious is it? How is the management team? What do employees think about the company?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you're advising a client on what company to invest in, try to put yourself in the client's shoes.  What industry are you in? Which countries do you operate in? Why do you want to buy a company? What are your values? A lot of the information about a client's business will be there for a reason, so flag these up and keep them in mind as you answer.</li> </ul>Often applicants don't realise that a significant portion of what makes a good answer is unrelated to content. A few tips on that:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Answer with conviction. Some applicants like to sit on the fence. This is fine for university-style essay questions but doesn't go down well if you're supposed to be advising a client. If you feel you have insufficient information, you can, and should, offer qualifications to your answer, but don't let that put you off from clearly identifying a company.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Start with your conclusion. This is also different to normal essays but it's important; a client wants a clear answer right away. They don't want to have to wade through lots of information before they can see what company you have recommended. You can then go into the comparisons. I would only do it the other way if the question strictly says compare then first and then pick one.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make notes or highlight as you read. It's likely that you'll be given a lot of information and time is often an issue in these exercises. As you go through, it can help to flag up anything that is relevant to answering the question. You can even extend this further and use different colours to denote the strengths and weaknesses of a company. By the time you finish reading the document, you'll have all the salient points to add to your plan.</li> </ul>Were you able to get any feedback on what was the problem with your last written exercise?</blockquote>

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