Moelis & Company · Investment banking analyst · Summer Analyst / Analyst

Onsite final round technicals

The onsite final with senior bankers: NOLs, consolidation, LBO returns, odd assets

What they actually ask

The question shapes this round uses. Larpy does not read these out. It builds each one from your own resume, because the generic version is the one you have already rehearsed.

“You are reviewing a balance sheet and notice it does not balance. What would your approach be to identify and resolve the discrepancy?”
“What valuation method would you use for a coal mine that will cease operations in ten years?”
“You are performing an LBO on two companies bought for the same price, sold for the same price, and with the same EBITDA. Why would one have a higher IRR?”
“Walk through all tranches of debt from most senior to most junior.”
“How would you value an avocado tree?”

What this round is judged on

Accounting depth · consolidation, NOLs, impairments and purchase accounting
Valuation judgment · choosing a method from first principles for an odd asset
LBO reasoning · what actually drives returns when the inputs are held equal
Diagnosis · finding the inconsistency in what you were handed

How Larpy grades this

We score these the way an analyst would. Per topic, what a strong answer lands and the confidently-wrong answers Larpy catches.

ACCThree-statement flow of a depreciation change
Strong
nets the tax effect correctly (net income down 7.5, not 10); adds the full non-cash charge back on the cash flow statement; closes the balance sheet and states that it balances.
We flag
claims extra depreciation raises net income or cash (it lowers net income; cash rises only by the tax shield); forgets the tax rate and moves the full 10 through pre-tax to net income; leaves the balance sheet unbalanced.
VALWalk me through a DCF
Strong
uses UNLEVERED free cash flow discounted at WACC (not levered FCF or cost of equity); includes a terminal value and discounts it back; sums to enterprise value, then bridges to equity.
We flag
discounts unlevered cash flow at the cost of equity; omits terminal value (it is usually the majority of the value); forgets to subtract the change in working capital or capex.
LBOWhy an LBO generates a return
Strong
names the three drivers: deleveraging, EBITDA growth, multiple expansion; explains leverage amplifies the equity return.
We flag
says the return comes from the debt itself rather than deleveraging plus growth; cannot name the return drivers.
MAAccretion / dilution
Strong
compares the two P/Es for a stock deal (higher acquirer P/E = accretive); for cash/debt, compares financing cost to the earnings yield; notes synergies can change the outcome.
We flag
claims an all-stock deal is always accretive because no cash is spent; ignores the relative multiples entirely.

Larpy builds a fresh question per topic from your resume and grades the full answer live. Start the mock for the worked model answer.

Where this round sits

Moelis & Company’s published process. Lime marks the stage this round runs.

01
Application
02
Suited Assessment (not simulated here)
03
Recruiter screen
04
First-round interviews
05
Onsite final roundthis round
06
Offer

What happens in each stage›

Application: A one-page resume through the Moelis student application site. Cover letters are not required. Candidates may submit up to two applications, and US summer analyst applications typically open in December of sophomore year, roughly eighteen months before the ten-week internship.
Suited Assessment (not simulated here): US and UK candidates complete the Suited Assessment, which Moelis describes as measuring over 50 traits and characteristics predictive of success in investment banking. It is scored outside the interview and is not a conversation, so it is not simulated here.
Recruiter screen: A short conversation with recruiting between the assessment and the banker interviews. Moelis publishes the application, the Suited Assessment, the first round and the onsite final but not this step, so its presence and form are candidate-reported and vary by office. The content is a resume walk and motivation.
First-round interviews: Moelis publishes this plainly: one to two first-round interviews with investment bankers, consisting of technical and behavioral assessments. It is not a soft screen. Expect accounting and valuation questions in the same half hour as why banking and why Moelis.
Onsite final round: Second-round candidates attend an onsite final round meeting multiple senior bankers. Sessions run back to back and the technical bar rises: multi-step three-statement chains, capital-structure math and sector valuation, alongside a hard re-test of motivation.
Offer: No prior experience is required for the campus programs, since Moelis provides technical training, and the summer class is the main feeder into full-time analyst seats.

Sources

Built from what Moelis & Company publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

companyMoelis & Company, Explore Opportunities (Students and Graduates)moelis.com
The published process end to end: a resume submitted through the student application site with no cover letter required, the Suited Assessment for US and UK candidates measuring over 50 traits predictive of success in investment banking, one to two first-round interviews with investment bankers consisting of technical and behavioral assessments, an onsite final round meeting multiple senior bankers, a limit of two applications per candidate, a ten-week US summer internship, and US applications opening in December of sophomore year.
companyMoelis & Company, Careersmoelis.com
The qualities Moelis says it hires for: client relationship skills, collaboration, drive to succeed, resilience, intellectual curiosity and analytical thinking, plus the firm values including One Firm One Team.
datalevels.fyi, Moelis & Companylevels.fyi
Investment banking compensation and level context. No interview-process content.

Sources last checked August 12, 2026. Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.

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