I keep hearing about the community’s ‘red flag detection’ system built from failed superday post-mortems. For those who’ve used it, how do you translate these insights into catching critical errors during live interviews? Specifically looking for M&A examples where this system helped avoid disaster. What patterns should we prioritize fixing first?
post-mortems? lol they’re just trauma bonding for rejects. real talk: 90% of red flags are ego checks. did you use the MD’s preferred acronym for synergy calculations? no? enjoy the rejection email. pro tip: memorize the interviewer’s last deal and parrot their jargon. works better than any checklist.
wait where do i find the red flag list?? bombed 2 mocks already bc i keep missing debt assumptions. pls share the system if it’s real!
anyone got a concrete example of a red flag in accretion models? my notes are all theory no specifics…
Focus on three critical red flags from recent post-mortems: 1) Misaligned tax rate assumptions in pro forma EPS calculations, 2) Overestimating revenue synergies without cross-selling evidence, and 3) Ignoring working capital adjustments in post-acquisition cash flows. Practice dissecting failed case studies in the community repository to internalize these failure patterns.
Had a friend who kept getting shredded on debt refinancing assumptions. Used the community’s red flag tracker to ID it, drilled 20 variations, and got offers from two EBs. The key was mocking with people who’d actually blown that exact section.
Analysis of 33 tracked superday failures showed 71% involved incorrect treatment of transaction fees in goodwill calculations. Recommend stress-testing your model’s purchase price allocation section against 3+ historical deal post-mortems before interviews.