Journey into Finance in MBA : Part 1

Discovering a New Passion for Finance

In this blog post, I want to share my journey through my MBA and how it shaped my career choices. When I first started at Tepper in Pittsburgh, I thought I might become a consultant because that's what most people do after an MBA. However, after completing two "mini" semesters (or technically two "mini" semesters, in keeping with Tepper's 4-mini model), I had a significant self-realization: I have a deep fascination for numbers and data, especially analyzing them. The joy I found in dissecting data and utilizing it to uncover insights revealed to me a career path I was enthusiastic about pursuing.

Evolving Perspective: From Micro to Macro

Armed with this clarity, I steered my academic focus towards finance. I had the privilege to intern as a Senior Financial Analyst at Amazon during the summer, an experience that greatly enriched my understanding of the field. Prior to the MBA, my experience in Korea's financial service sector and my college degree in financial engineering had provided me with a narrower perspective, focusing mainly on team-based projects or derivatives trading. The MBA expanded my horizons, teaching me to view a business from a macro perspective, akin to evaluating a company as a potential acquisition target. This new perspective underscored the critical role of sound financial decisions in enhancing a company's value.

Coursework and Case Studies: A Deep Dive into Financial Analysis

To immortalize my learning journey, I want to save a list of the finance classes I completed during my MBA. I trust that revisiting this list in future posts will provide a valuable reference to the skills and perspectives I acquired.

The finance classes I completed are as follows, along with the associated case studies:

Energy Finance
Corporate Restructuring
Corporate Financial Reporting
Corporate Finance
Investment Analysis
Trading & Investment Strategy
Finance 1
Finance 2

Like other MBA classes, all finance courses were primarily case study-based, each week covering different companies with varying topics. One distinguishing aspect of the finance courses from other MBA classes was the in-depth analysis with valuation they necessitated. Although not all finance courses involved financial modeling and valuation, they all contributed to strengthening my understanding of assessing business values.

Case Study Highlights: Learning Through Practical Application

Reflecting back, I realized that every week, I was analyzing and evaluating the values of different businesses across various industries. Although each course had different objectives and areas of focus, financial modeling and company valuation were common themes throughout, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. This culminated in two focused classes, Corporate Finance and Corporate Restructuring.

While the case studies we worked on may not have been current, I believe they provided valuable knowledge and techniques that I can leverage in my future role as a financial analyst or business owner.

Here's a list of some key valuations we performed:

Dropbox - Applying DCF, valuation, overview
Eaton Corporation - Cost of Capital
Blaine Kitchenware Case
AirThread Case

(In that week, FTX went bankrupt)
Rosetta Stone IPO Case
Aqua Bounty Case - Real option
Peloton Case - Valuation of User/Subscriber Model
Case of LVMH's Acquisition of Tiffany (Intro M&A)
Hostile Takeover Canadian Pacific/Norfolk Southern
Divestitures: Time, Inc.
Bid for Bell Canada Enterprises (LBO)
Distressed Restructuring: Eastman Kodak

I segregated financial valuations from all the case studies and class material used during my MBA tenure (we evaluated many business cases at Tepper, but not all centered on financial modeling).

In the following parts of this series, I will delve into each of these valuations, discussing their individual topics and what I learned from each. I also aim to highlight key takeaways that could prove useful in future business scenarios.