JPMorgan · Investment banking analyst · Summer Analyst / Analyst

Finance fundamentals conversation

The technical seat of the banking final round: accounting, valuation and a DCF walk

What they actually ask

The question shapes this round uses. Larpy does not read these out. It builds each one from your own resume, because the generic version is the one you have already rehearsed.

“Walk me through the three financial statements and how they connect.”
“If depreciation goes up by 10, walk me through how that flows through all three statements (assume a 40 percent tax rate).”
“What is the difference between enterprise value and equity value?”
“What are the main valuation methodologies, and which one tends to give the highest value?”
“Walk me through a DCF.”

What this round is judged on

Accounting · the three statements and how a change flows through them
Valuation · comps, precedent transactions and DCF, and when each applies
DCF · a clean high-level walk (free cash flow, WACC, terminal value)
Commercial reasoning · stating assumptions and holding up under a changed one

How Larpy grades this

We score these the way an analyst would. Per topic, what a strong answer lands and the confidently-wrong answers Larpy catches.

ACCThree-statement flow of a depreciation change
Strong
nets the tax effect correctly (net income down 7.5, not 10); adds the full non-cash charge back on the cash flow statement; closes the balance sheet and states that it balances.
We flag
claims extra depreciation raises net income or cash (it lowers net income; cash rises only by the tax shield); forgets the tax rate and moves the full 10 through pre-tax to net income; leaves the balance sheet unbalanced.
VALWalk me through a DCF
Strong
uses UNLEVERED free cash flow discounted at WACC (not levered FCF or cost of equity); includes a terminal value and discounts it back; sums to enterprise value, then bridges to equity.
We flag
discounts unlevered cash flow at the cost of equity; omits terminal value (it is usually the majority of the value); forgets to subtract the change in working capital or capex.

Larpy builds a fresh question per topic from your resume and grades the full answer live. Start the mock for the worked model answer.

Where this round sits

JPMorgan’s published process. Lime marks the stage this round runs.

01
Explore and apply
02
Recruiter screen
03
On-demand recorded video interview
04
Technical assessment (technology roles)
05
Final round: behavioral and fit interviews
06
Final round: technical conversationthis round
07
Final round: live coding (technology roles)
08
Decision

What happens in each stage›

Explore and apply: JPMorgan publishes a four-stage framework: Explore, Apply, Interview, Decision. It asks candidates to put achievements at the front of the resume 'using measurable data when applicable', and tells students to focus on no more than three summer internship applications. Internships run 10 to 12 weeks for undergraduates in their next-to-last year; full-time programs run 24 to 36 months.
Recruiter screen: A short live conversation on background, motivation and level fit. JPMorgan does not name it as a separate stage, describing the interview phase only as meeting several people across multiple rounds, and it is most consistent on experienced and lateral pipelines.
On-demand recorded video interview: JPMorgan publishes this format in its hiring FAQ: interviewing technology presents the questions and records your responses inside a designated timeframe, camera and microphone required, with business attire and a distraction-free environment recommended. There is no live interviewer and no follow-ups. It is one of the firm's three named assessment types, alongside structured live interviews and virtual skills assessments.
Technical assessment (technology roles): JPMorgan's hiring FAQ describes technical assessments as standardised tests of job-relevant skills that take the form of online tests or live technical interviews. On software engineering pipelines this is the timed algorithmic coding round. Investment banking analyst candidates do not sit it.
Final round: behavioral and fit interviews: The stage JPMorgan describes as meeting several people across multiple rounds. This is the competency seat, aimed at the qualities the firm publishes: tenacious, critical thinkers, collaborative, compelling, high performers.
Final round: technical conversation: The spoken technical seat. For technology roles at Associate level and above this is system design; for investment banking analysts it is accounting, valuation and a DCF walk. Analyst-level engineering loops usually skip system design entirely.
Final round: live coding (technology roles): A shared-editor coding seat inside the final round for software engineering candidates. Banking analyst candidates do not sit it.
Decision: JPMorgan reviews the whole application and contacts you with an offer if the match is there, and points candidates who miss toward other roles. Student applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the firm says it cannot accelerate a decision for a competing offer.

Sources

Built from what JPMorgan publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

companyJPMorganChase, How we hirejpmorganchase.com
The four-stage process (Explore, Apply, Interview, Decision), 'We're interested in hiring the whole person, not just a set of skills', the advice to 'be yourself', the instruction to highlight achievements 'using measurable data when applicable', and the expectation of meeting several people across multiple rounds.
companyJPMorganChase, How we hire: frequently asked questionsjpmorganchase.com
The published assessment types: 'structured live interviews, on-demand/recorded interviews, and virtual skills assessments.' The recorded-interview format (technology presents questions and records responses inside a designated timeframe, camera and microphone required, business attire and a distraction-free environment recommended). The technical assessment description (online tests, or technical interviews where you demonstrate skills live). The rolling review of student applications and the recommendation to focus on no more than three summer internship applications.
companyJPMorganChase, Students and graduatesjpmorganchase.com
Program shapes: internships run 10 to 12 weeks and are offered to undergraduates in their next-to-last year; full-time programs run 24 to 36 months depending on the role.
companyJPMorganChase, Investment Banking Summer Analyst Programjpmorganchase.com
Program structure: nine weeks in a Coverage (Industry), Advisory or Capital Markets group, opening with five days of orientation and classroom instruction on accounting fundamentals, financial modeling, valuation and Excel; high-performing interns may receive an offer of continued employment. Published qualities: motivated, resourceful and analytical, ready to contribute from the beginning, with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, excellent analytical, quantitative and interpretative skills, and the adaptability and resilience to work in a dynamic, collaborative environment. Also the scale claim: business with more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies.
datalevels.fyi, JPMorgan Chase Investment Banker levelslevels.fyi
The banking level ladder and its internal codes: Analyst (601), Associate (602), Vice President (603), Executive Director (604), with Managing Director above. No interview-process content.

Sources last checked August 11, 2026. Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.

Other JPMorgan rounds

Templates

All JPMorgan rounds