If you ask any investment banking associate what frustrates them most, it will be interns’ careless mistakes. Virtually every intern, even the most capable, struggles with the idea of ‘100% correct’ and is criticised at least once over the summer for lack of attention to detail.

It’s all about credibility

It can be hard to understand why everything needs to be so accurate, but the credibility of investment bankers relies on their ability to get things right.

Investment banking advice forms the basis of corporate decisions. If a board of directors make the wrong decision, their jobs could be on the line. Investment banks have to demonstrate constantly that they can be trusted to be accurate in their analysis and give the right advice.

Checking

Don’t get frustrated by the amount your work is checked: everyone makes mistakes. But you can cut down the amount of scrutiny your work is subjected to by constantly checking what you do. Print it out, check all figures back to the original sources and make sure everything you’ve written makes sense. Check your work corresponds to the house style – a full stop or capital letter in the wrong place is easy to miss.

Mistakes

Mistakes are forgivable in certain circumstances, especially if you are completing a task that is at the limits of your knowledge. Making the same mistake twice or a careless error is less forgivable. If this happens, resist the temptation to make an excuse. Instead,
1) own up to your mistake
2) offer to correct the mistake as soon as you can
3) offer to re-check other work where the same mistake might have occurred.

Think you’ve got away with it?

And if you ever do come across a mistake you’ve made that hasn’t been spotted, tell someone as soon as you can – it will be discovered. It’s the worst day of an associate’s life when he presents a book with a mistake in it, especially if that mistake is in the numbers of the company the bank is advising. Remember – most CFOs and CEOs look at their own company’s figures day in, day out, so they will be able to spot straight off if something looks wrong. Company numbers always deserve a double check.

Hazel Schofield worked as an analyst and associate in corporate finance before leaving to set up her own graduate recruitment company, Smith Howard. (www.smithhoward.co.uk)