Investment Banking
Prepalyst has 22 restructuring interview questions with model answers, covering liquidity runway, fulcrum security, chapter 11 mechanics and recoveries. Every question is graded on technical accuracy, completeness and interview communication. Practice is free.
The core liquidity tool for any distressed-company engagement.
What makes a 13-week cash flow forecast useful in a restructuring?
A first-round question on recognising when a company needs restructuring advice.
What are the early warning signs that a company may need restructuring advice?
A core concept tested across restructuring and distressed-investing interviews.
What is the fulcrum security in a restructuring?
A core product question for an analyst supporting the first days of a Chapter 11 process.
What is debtor-in-possession financing, and why might a lender provide it to a company already in bankruptcy?
The basic first workstream on any new restructuring mandate.
What belongs in a distressed company's capital-structure summary, and why is it important?
A common terminology question in early-stage distressed situations.
What is a forbearance agreement, and why would a lender agree to one?
A first-round restructuring question testing the practical purpose of a Chapter 11 filing.
What is the automatic stay in Chapter 11, and why can it preserve value for a distressed company?
Tests capital-structure mechanics in a consensual restructuring case.
Why would creditors agree to exchange debt for equity, and what determines the ownership split?
The first analysis a restructuring banker runs on a new situation.
A company calls you in distress. What is the first analysis you run, and what determines whether they have a liquidity problem or a solvency problem?
A practical liquidity-reconciliation question for a restructuring analyst reviewing an asset-based revolver.
A retailer has $80m of eligible receivables at an 85% advance rate and $50m of eligible inventory at a 60% advance rate. Its revolver commitment is $90m, outstanding borrowings are $78m and letters of credit total $4m.…
A Chapter 11 governance question for restructuring candidates.
What is an official creditors' committee in Chapter 11, and what does it do?
A technical question on setting recoveries in a restructuring.
How does valuation of a distressed company differ from valuation of a healthy company?
Modern restructuring interviews expect candidates to understand out-of-court liability management.
What is a liability management exercise, and why is it contentious?
A core Chapter 11 transaction concept for restructuring analysts.
What is a Section 363 sale, and why might it be preferable to a plan of reorganisation?
A senior restructuring case testing whether a proposed Chapter 11 plan can bind a rejecting creditor class.
A company proposes a Chapter 11 plan with $300m of reorganised enterprise value. It has $120m of first-lien debt, $150m of second-lien debt and $110m of unsecured notes. The first lien is paid in full, the second lien…
A restructuring analyst case involving liquidity triage, DIP financing, and creditor negotiation under a Chapter 11 timetable.
You advise the first-lien lender group of a specialty retailer that will file Chapter 11 in ten days. The company needs DIP financing, but its sponsor wants to provide it on terms that may dilute recoveries. Make the…
A synthesis case in restructuring interviews.
How would you decide whether to pursue an out-of-court restructuring or file Chapter 11?
A restructuring analyst prioritization lab testing liquidity control, stakeholder sequencing, and executable contingency planning.
You advise a retailer whose revolver agent has sent a reservation-of-rights notice. Payroll is due in five days and suppliers are shortening terms. Rank the actions as the stakeholder situation develops, then draft the…
A restructuring analyst live case balancing liquidity, stakeholder leverage and recoveries.
You advise a sponsor-owned distributor with one week before payroll and a blocked revolver draw. Decide what to do as facts arrive, then send the senior team a restructuring recommendation.
Material in restructuring and in acquisitions of loss-making companies.
A target has $500m of NOL carryforwards. How much is that worth to an acquirer, and where does it go in the valuation?
Core technical for restructuring groups and distressed funds.
Walk me through a Chapter 11 process, and explain what a debtor actually gains by filing.
A senior technical question on competing creditor rights in a distressed capital structure.
Why does the intercreditor agreement matter in a restructuring?
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Firm names indicate where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with the firms named.