Aptitude Made Easy – Profit & Loss – Basics and Methods, Profit and loss shortcuts, Math tricks
This was handled on a more senior level, how can I answer this question to satisfy the interviewer. I am competent and would be able to quickly learn this and generally have all of the other requirements they are looking for. I should mention that my discipline is Distribution/Operations. Your insight would be greatly appreciated.”
Once you can convince them, by example, that you are capable of quickly learning new things, you will minimize their concerns and it will no longer be an issue for them. Basically, you just need to address the p&l objection and show them it should not be a concern for them.
Rarely, does any one candidate fit the job bill perfectly and an employer needs to make a decision on who they believe is the most capable, can hit the ground running and who is mostly likely to come up to speed the quickest. It also depends on what skills the employer feels are the most important to the job.
Why Aptitude Profit and Loss?
In this section you can learn and practice Aptitude Questions based on “Profit and Loss” and improve your skills in order to face the interview, competitive examination and various entrance test (CAT, GATE, GRE, MAT, Bank Exam, Railway Exam etc.) with full confidence.
As a business executive and General Manager, having Profit and Loss responsibility is one of the most critical accountabilities. Every business exists for the sake of making a return, and for generating a better future. Managing P&L hence involves monitoring the “ins” and the “outs” in order to generate a net income and return for the entire business. The P&L Manager has direct influence on how resources and funds are allocated, and is measured to a clear numerical outcome. Depending on the circumstances and the business environment, P&L Management is also one of the most stressful responsibilities a business executive will have.
I have often asked myself that question, and I have also often observed in my career the success and failing of others. Contrary to most perception, while it is certainly useful to have the intelligence and strong accounting skills, the best P&L Managers I know are equipped with strong principles and business philosophies; excellent communication and negotiation skills; clarity of thought and the ability to make decisions (tough ones obviously, and at times without the benefit of analysis); an innate acumen to be able to navigate, persist in or extricate from situations; and the charisma to then inspire teams into action. In short, it seems that the best P&L Managers have a combination of soft skills that are rather difficult to quantitatively measure and benchmark.
At the core of P&L Management is the ability to lead on these fronts. While the financial numbers give an indisputable account, the ability of a good P&L Manager to navigate the organization, manage perceptions, set expectations, build confidence with stakeholders, and craft a strong narrative of where she intends to take the business, will determine her success or failure.
And as any P&L Manager will attest to, in large organizations, setting budgets and getting these approved at each budget cycle can lead to many sleepless nights. One seeks to analyze and iterate the numbers to ensure accuracy and precision, only for each budget to be reviewed and reworked at each higher level within the organization. While each budget plan must be accurate and stand up to numerical scrutiny, the more important thing is for the P&L Manager to develop the story line for the budget. For that is exactly what it is – the P&L of a business is a reflection of priorities and realities that guides the deployment of resources and investments, in order to achieve a strategic outcome for the stakeholders. The P&L Manager then steadfastly stays the course, while skillfully making adjustments as required through the cycle, and does what she says she will do.
An overview of profitability cases, the key framework and an example case
While consulting cases rarely fit into textbook frameworks, there are several common types of cases that are brought up in interviews frequently enough that its useful to get familiar with them. Market entry cases are one example, and profitability cases, which well focus on in this post, are another.
Profitability cases are important because they get to the root of a businesss success or downfall; they focus on how much money is made after accounting for costs to run the business. Understanding the components that go into calculating profitability is a crucial first step to cracking these cases, and in showing your business acumen during interviews.
Well explain how to recognize a profitability case below, then go through one framework that can be used to solve them, as well as a detailed example that illustrates the framework in action. Remember, these frameworks are not meant to be copy-paste templates to solving cases, rather they should provide an example of a structured way of thinking about a certain type of problem.
FAQ
How do you explain P&L in an interview?
What questions should I ask a P&L?
- A Not-So-Random Walk Through Your Income Statement. …
- 1) What Do Your Revenue Trends Tell You About the Overall Health of Your Business? …
- 2) What Are Your Labor Costs Relative to Market? …
- 3) Is Your Technology Spending Appropriate for Your Business Model?
What is P&L management skills?
How do you manage P&L in a project?
- Complete P&L statements for specific accounting periods. …
- Compare statements. …
- Alter your business finances. …
- Meet with a financial professional. …
- Continue to keep records. …
- Create performance benchmarks. …
- Focus on company-wide sales. …
- Monitor cost increases.
