A company comes to you with 3 months of cash left. What do you do first?
A core Restructuring interview question — asked in analyst and associate interviews across IB, PE, and the Big 4.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Immediate priorities: (1) Build a 13-week cash flow to understand exactly when cash runs out, (2) identify all near-term cash levers (defer payments, accelerate collections, freeze discretionary spend), (3) assess whether insolvency filing is imminent (check §17/§19 InsO), (4) map stakeholders and identify who needs to be contacted first (typically the lending bank). Only after stabilizing the cash situation do you work on the medium-term turnaround plan.
WHAT INTERVIEWERS LISTEN FOR
- ✓Build 13-week cash flow
- ✓Identify cash levers
- ✓Assess insolvency risk
- ✓Map stakeholders
- ✓Stabilize before turnaround
COMMON MISTAKES
- ✗Jumping to turnaround plan
- ✗Ignoring legal obligations
- ✗Failing to prioritize cash
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