A Two-Day Consulting Experience
How do CEOs of public companies get paid? If you answered “stock” or “equity,” you’re mostly right. Because on average, those CEOs receive most of their compensation in the form of shares in the company.
It’s not just CEOs who receive equity. Many companies grant stock to the rest of their executive teams, and often rank-and-file employees too. If the company does well, the stock can become very lucrative to employees. Equity compensation programs can generate enormous, complicated expenses for a company, but can also yield substantial benefits in terms of retention and morale.
Fortune 500 companies need to forecast their stock-based compensation expense.
But you can’t easily work it out in a spreadsheet. It takes a combination of technology and advanced analytics to track all the potential scenarios and anticipate numerous possible outcomes. And if things don’t go according to plan, you need to apply more technology and analytics to find out why.
Forecasting is especially tricky because stock compensation is subject to many moving parts. That makes it difficult to predict the expense with a reasonable level of accuracy. Even so, senior leaders depend on accurate, detailed forecasts to help them make important decisions about budgets and other aspects of the business.
This is a specialized field. It requires technical and analytical know-how. It also helps to have imagination, creativity, and an interest in solving problems.
That’s where you come in.
We’d like you to complete an actual consulting engagement we received from a well-known global company. Stock compensation happens to be one of this company’s three biggest costs and receives substantial attention from senior executives. The case involves a forecasting problem that was so frustrating that the company’s senior management asked us to bring our expertise to the situation.
Here’s what you’ll do.
This isn’t a high-stakes test. We want you to learn, so the externship has several components. First, you’ll spend a few hours in online training. The training will walk you through stock compensation theory, SAS programming, and insight into the industry landscape.
Then you’ll begin the case study. Since it’s based on something we actually did for a multibillion-dollar company, you’ll get a real-world taste of the kind of problems we solve.
Because so much of consulting depends on “soft skills,” we’ll also show you how we convey project results to senior executives so they can understand and accept the results.
Get to know Equity Methods.
You’ll have plenty of guidance and support on this project. We encourage people to take charge of their work, but we also help each other.
During the two days you’ll spend at our office in Scottsdale or one of our university partner locations, your time will be divided among training with our managers, working on the case, collaborating with other externs, and coaching on your progress.
Throughout, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to get to know Equity Methods professionals at all levels. We think that’s the best way to give you a feel for the day-to-day challenges and practical realities of a career in consulting. It’ll also show you the kind of culture we at Equity Methods have to offer.
Here’s what you’ll need.
- Your resume (be sure to include your GPA)
- Current junior, senior, or graduate status
- A major in accounting, finance, economics, or a related analytical field
- Freedom to choose a permanent position upon graduation (not already committed to another employer or program)
- Resourcefulness and intellectual curiosity
- Interest in the role of technology in disrupting finance and accounting
- Interest in a consulting career
- The ability to spend 2-4 hours on tutorials before starting the externship
We have space for 18 students in this two-day externship. Questions? Contact us.
