MO Interviews
See how someone performs before you hire them.
Give candidates the filings, models, and decisions they would encounter on the job. Inspect their calculations, sources, and reasoning. Compare their work with Market Ontology on the same assignment.
Assignment · 20-minute modeling task
From the synthetic source packet (USD millions): revenue 1000, COGS 600, cash opex 250, depreciation 40, interest 20, tax 25%, capex 60, working-capital increase 30. Build unlevered free cash flow (FCFF). Correct answer: 32.5.
Submission A (anonymous)
4/4 checks| Revenue | input | 1,000.0 |
| Cost of goods sold | input | 600.0 |
| Cash operating expenses | input | 250.0 |
| Depreciation | input | 40.0 |
| Interest expense | input | 20.0 |
| Tax rate | input | 25% |
| Capital expenditure | input | 60.0 |
| Increase in working capital | input | 30.0 |
| EBIT | =revenue-cogs-opex-dep | 110.0 |
| NOPAT | =ebit*(1-tax) | 82.5 |
| FCFF | =nopat+dep-capex-dwc | 32.5 |
- Pass · Initial FCFF equals the source packet32.5
- Pass · Working capital +20 flows through to FCFF12.5
- Pass · Interest expense does not change unlevered FCFF32.5
- Pass · Revenue −10% with variable COGS updates FCFF2.5
Submission B (anonymous)
2/4 checks| Revenue | input | 1,000.0 |
| Cost of goods sold | input | 600.0 |
| Cash operating expenses | input | 250.0 |
| Depreciation | input | 40.0 |
| Interest expense | input | 20.0 |
| Tax rate | input | 25% |
| Capital expenditure | input | 60.0 |
| Increase in working capital | input | 30.0 |
| EBIT | =revenue-cogs-opex-dep | 110.0 |
| NOPAT | =ebit*(1-tax) | 82.5 |
| FCFF | typed value | 32.5 |
- Pass · Initial FCFF equals the source packet32.5
- Fail · Working capital +20 flows through to FCFF32.5 vs 12.5
- Pass · Interest expense does not change unlevered FCFF32.5
- Fail · Revenue −10% with variable COGS updates FCFF32.5 vs 2.5
Both submissions show the correct 32.5 at first. Move revenue growth: Submission B's FCFF stays at 32.5 because the cell was typed in, not calculated. That failure is invisible to anyone checking only the final number.
Checks recalculate each workbook under changed inputs: working capital +20, interest +50 (must not change unlevered FCFF), and revenue −10%. Results are evidence for reviewers — MO does not rank or reject candidates.
Assignments you can start from
| Ability | Assignment | Artifact | What MO checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity research | Explain why earnings rose while cash generation fell | Earnings bridge, model, cited memo | Accounting treatment, extraction, evidence, conclusion |
| Financial modeling | Build and stress-test a three-statement forecast | Linked workbook | Statement balance, schedules, formula dependencies |
| Valuation | Value a business under three operating scenarios | DCF and sensitivity table | FCFF, discounting, terminal value, equity bridge |
| Credit analysis | Determine when a borrower breaches a covenant | Debt schedule and downside memo | Covenant definitions, liquidity, interest, refinancing |
| Macro research | Translate a changed inflation outlook into portfolio scenarios | Scenario table and research note | Units, assumptions, mechanisms, contradictory evidence |
| Quant research | Investigate a signal and detect leakage | Reproducible notebook | Time alignment, holdouts, implementation, interpretation |
| Financial problem-solving | Solve an unfamiliar problem after its constraints change | Calculations and revised explanation | Consistency, adaptation, numerical accuracy |
| Custom firm workflow | Reproduce a sanitized example of the firm's recurring work | Employer-defined output | Employer-approved acceptance criteria |
Free for candidates
No trial, card, brokerage connection or Desk signup. A focused workspace with a timer, sources and the editor.
Evidence, not scores alone
Every point links to the cell or claim it came from. Unclear accounting goes to a human reviewer.
Compare with MO
See which parts of the work MO can take over and where an analyst adds value. Try it on a model: MO Model Duels.