Answers / Financial Due Diligence
What Excel skills are most important for FDD?
An advanced Financial Due Diligence question — expect it in final rounds and case-heavy interviews (IB, PE, Big-4 Transaction Services).
THE SHORT ANSWER
SUMIFS (the #1 function), INDEX/MATCH, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables (for rapid revenue/cost analysis), conditional formatting (for spotting anomalies), data validation, INDIRECT/OFFSET for dynamic ranges, and keyboard shortcuts for speed. Also: proper model structure (inputs/calculations/outputs separation), cell formatting standards (blue=input, black=formula), and the ability to build a databook from scratch.
WHAT INTERVIEWERS LISTEN FOR
- ✓SUMIFS function
- ✓INDEX/MATCH or XLOOKUP
- ✓Pivot tables for analysis
- ✓Conditional formatting for anomalies
- ✓Model structure and formatting standards
COMMON MISTAKES
- ✗Only mentioning VLOOKUP without alternatives
- ✗Ignoring keyboard shortcuts
- ✗Not understanding data validation or dynamic ranges
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