Overall average rating of 4.7 across all client learning projects, with cohort sizes ranging from 4 to 80.
Check out over 120 testimonials below.
Client Sectors
2022 Client Projects
Read what our clients say about us…
Professional servicesInvestment bankCorporate finance firmPrivate Equity firm
The funds flow/locked box and working capital adjustment was most useful
Great how it was clearly a tailored course and the supporting materials and content were super detailed (e.g. detailed list of cash / debt like is useful to have to hand on any transaction)
I found the way James discussed, debated, and drew clear conclusions the most helpful. Rather than teaching from a textbook session, it was dynamic.
Overall a great course and very valuable having someone who’s got the M&A experience taking the time to teach you the intricacies
I think James really made the training a success – he was easy to speak to and could control the room well, so people listened.
Modelling work (3 statement model, LBO, Locked Box, Funds Flow) super helpful, very well explained and the examples were helpful
I really feel that I know more about the concepts covered then before the training – I can’t say that about every finance course I’ve attended
Having an overview of the overall process and the individual process technicalities involved (i.e. the interaction between finalising a deal and the locked box mechanism) was great
I thought the course was extremely beneficial and I’m so glad it aligned so well with joining the firm / CF – I think it’s given me a great base to build off!
James was really personable and gave useful examples based on his experience which made the course more engaging, interesting and easier to understand
On every session delivered, I learnt topics which I either didn’t know or knew briefly and Financa topped up the understanding. Working through materials and examples were the best part of the sessions.
Accounting, modelling and QoE sessions were most useful
Extremely relevant for day to day role, no question too stupid
The most applicable / relevant training that we’ve had to date. No doubt that everyone is better at their job now than a month ago
Live modelling as a group, interactive questioning was most useful
Fantastic overall experience, very user friendly to someone that is a beginner to modelling
Instead of just presenting some slides, James ensured tailoring the session to us, especially asking at the beginning what parts of the LBO we were most unsure about.
Gave a good overview on LBOs, why they are done and what the general process looks like. Also enjoyed learning more about the various financial instruments and mechanisms used. Thank you.
It was practical / not academic
The cap table discussion was most useful
Wish the training could be all day instead of just the morning
The structure of the modules were progressive so it’s easy to follow and see how things intertwine
James clearly had a very clear idea of what we do on a day to day basis and tailored the training to match techniques / scenarios that were recognisable and relevant to us
Relevance to my day to day work with James who can give real life applications to the content was most useful!
James is a great trainer and the content was tailored to mid-market / daily work
Having an instructor with first-hand knowledge of the role and experience of being an Analyst was great
James is a really great teacher. I learned a lot.
Relevance to my day to day work with James who can give real life applications to the content was most useful!
The commercial talking points and exercises felt most relevant to my current daily activities, and I would say that the trainer James Wolfe did an outstanding job!
James suggested ideas / techniques that I hadn’t previously thought of that I really saw the value of using in my everyday work
Feel more hopeful and satisfied in my role.
The way participants were challenged and asked to think of “how would you solve this/what would you do in this situation” was great. It made people think outside their usual comfort zones without even knowing it – that is the real magic!
The discussion of topics that I didn’t think about in much depth before (pretty much all of them) and key takeaways and action points going forward.
Overall really enjoyed the session, it was really beneficial and some of the best training content and delivery that I’ve had at the firm so far.
Very good use of my time, would recommend this to every consultant
Made we think about areas I’d never considered before and enabled me to reflect on where I can improve my performance and conduct
Really enjoyed the sessions. Really down to earth and useful. The opposite of the normal corporate training that is trying too hard to be trendy and sticking to the theoretical ideal of how we ‘should’ work
Keep up the good work! Very helpful sessions.
James is a brilliant guy with clear active, hands-on experience in the industry. This translates directly into his teaching, a great blend between the theoretical backbone and the practical application. Always a beneficial use of time.
All feedback extremely positive James. A fantastic and worthwhile couple of days! Thanks again
The open forum discussion and the cases we used were practical
The fast tempo which kept all of the analysts engaged was great
Very relevant materials for mid market
The delivery of the training and the case study examples were excellent. I enjoyed having the training with participants from different offices. James was also a great instructor.
James was an excellent trainer and tailored his content well to the group. I also enjoyed meeting the Zurich office
Very open and lively discussions regarding direct and tangential training content, philosophical M&A questions, and sharing deal experiences / learnings across countries. Instructor was excellent.
James, the trainer was fantastic and very good, I would totally recommend [Client name] using him again.
James was great, he made the experience interactive and was very engaging. He gave really useful tips and feedback on the cold calls exercise
Fantastic energy and well prepared, a fantastic host and good tone
Fantastic session lead by James, I didn’t think I could come out so confident in doing cold calls
Brilliant job James, it’s great you have a CF background which helps in catering it to us as opposed to having some generic sales coaching session
The building blocks were very useful. It was cool to do some role play in small groups as it helped to get over the nerves
James was very personable and engaging and I enjoyed the training session a lot. He made us all feel comfortable and cold calling more approachable
Really effective modelling of a cold call, useful hooks given and session really highlighted the challenges you may face on the call which most of us had not considered previously
I found the discussion on mid-market M&A useful to consolidate what I’ve done in practice in my first 6 months
I found the financial modelling – particularly the 3 statement model – very useful as this is something I will do more of in the future
James is extremely relatable and reflects on his own experiences to demonstrate to us why learning certain concepts is important in the practical performance of our jobs
Accounting and Financial Statement analysis was most useful
Genuinely enjoyable experience, thank you Also I felt it was very interactive which tested me more
Loved how knowledgeable James is about M&A & Mid-Market PE ecosystem
The most notable thing I took away from the sessions is that James is incredibly encouraging
The circulation of extremely clear and methodical pro formats to accompany the theoretical learning which enabled us to put our learning into practice on the spot was most useful
Anecdotes / examples are always interesting to apply the theory to real life and see where it works.
The role plays were helpful and it was interesting to know which personality style we had
Key learnings around 4Cs, Trust Equation, Chunking, EARS and FAB are all highly relevant.
I found the psychology elements interesting and particularly pointers / thoughts on how to deal with other personality types
The theory behind sales was really interesting, Vicky and James were very engaging.
The facilitators were brilliant, very interactive, very engaging. I think this training course should be rolled out across the company to most roles.
Legal aspects impacting between signing and closing of a transaction was very helpful
James was very knowledgeable about the subject
Pro-forma workings and the overall interactive sessions to our training. There was structure, but James built-in time to address individual queries and discuss them within the Group
It was useful to learn more about locked box as it is rarely used in American deals
Organic nature of forum to discuss various topics with peers was great
The walkthrough of legal concepts was greatly appreciated
Real world examples was most useful
Great sessions, he adapted the level live based on knowledge. Very attentive, great attitude, highly relevant.
Organic nature of forum to discuss various topics with peers was great
Very well explained and well laid out excel docs. Super easy to follow
Best technical training I’ve ever received
I liked James as an instructor, he knows his stuff and is able to deliver it in accessible chunks which was great.
The legal side session was really useful from an understanding point of view and the LBO session was great for developing my technical ability for pitch work
The parts covering how to manage client/counterparties as well as the part concerning W&I was most useful
James is a great teacher and the learning is extremely relevant to what I do day to day
As a new joiner getting more clarity on the overall M&A process was very useful and i thought James was very helpful on that front.
As a new joiner getting more clarity on the overall M&A process was very useful and i thought James was very helpful on that front.
I found the technical training around the locked box and funds flow very useful and highly applicable for future deals. I also found James’s training easy to interact with and this was very beneficial to my learning.
I thought James was a great teacher very informative and insightful
James is great! The way he explains everything is perfect
The materials were really thorough
The course materials around strategic options reviews were very relevant to what we do
The training was the perfect balance between lessons and practical exercises and pace to keep us interested whilst not being too fast so we can write things down
The topics we discussed will be useful in my everyday job and the James was really clear in explaining the modelling piece
The work completed in the training was very applicable to the day to day, and bridged a gap in understanding between accounting and M&A fundamentals
James was very nice and interesting. He was easy to follow and highly helpful
James was really great
Overall, the training felt very relevant and beneficial to my professional development
James ran a great session. It was very interactive and in a relaxed setting which encouraged people to engage and speak up
Session was led very well, really enjoyed it
James was fantastic, and it was clear his background within mid-market corporate finance was invaluable
I picked up several useful tips on how to approach origination calls and keep the caller on the other end “hooked”
Really well led and engaging session, moved along at a nice pace and physical materials provided on the day were full of useful content
Techniques for engaging the potential client in the first few minutes of a call was most useful
The pack and case studies were incredibly helpful materials to be working with
The role play was extremely interesting and made me a lot more confident in my ability to answer difficult questions
I liked the quiz aspect – really helpful to see if you have captured the material with a quick (and competitive quiz)
James’ use of his own professional experiences to contextualise the content being covered was most useful
The applicability of each of the topics and the way it was taught were super helpful
I found the part covering exit opportunities really useful
Very good. Best training I’ve been on since joining. Very practical
I really liked the options / overview on the sale of a business, as well as being able to run through live with very practical advice on some of the key mechanisms in a deal including the locked box
Locked box and funds flows were extremely well explained. For someone knew to the mechanics of both, there was never a time where I was like oh not sure I got that point.
Thanks for the session on Wednesday on modelling, thoroughly enjoyable as ever
Super helpful explanations
Thanks very much for today’s session on locked box, I found it super engaging and also really fun
James was great, very technical on the deferred income piece and approachable and highly engaging
I just wanted to say thank you very much for today. I found the session very useful and helpful
Fun training session with a good presenter
Thank you, already applying some of the lessons
Hopefully we have the benefit of your sessions again soon
Formula adaptation to copy tabs and shortcut formula reference updates was most useful
I am happy with all the areas covered
The session was excellent
James was very engaging and a good presenter
Lots of useful shortcuts covered
Hands on manipulation of financial info was very useful
