Corporate Finance Analyst / M&A Analyst

POSITION INFO:
The MA Analyst provides analytical and execution support across mergers and acquisitions (MA), valuations, transaction advisory, and strategic corporate finance activities. The role supports Specialists and Associates throughout the transaction lifecycle and contributes to the delivery of high-quality corporate finance engagements Minimum Qualifications • B.com (Hons) Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field • CA(SA) \/ CFA, or equivalent professional qualification will be advantageous. EXPERIENCE: Completion of articles \/ a 3 year graduate training programme, or a structured development programme within either of the ff areas:• Audit firms, Advisory firms, Professional services firms, Private equity firms, Commercial banks, Investment banks, Financial institutions Minimum relevant experience of 3 years' post articles \/ graduate training programme in: • Corporate Finance, Transaction Advisory, Audit and Advisory, Valuations, Due Diligence, Transaction Services, Investment Banking, Private Equity, Financial Services, Financial statement analysis, Budgeting and forecasting, Commercial and business performance analysis, Transaction-related assessments and reporting, Investment case preparation, Presentation development Transaction Deal Execution • Experience supporting end-to-end MA transactions, including sell-side, divestiture, and strategic advisory engagements. • Experience assisting with transaction execution, workstream coordination, process management, and stakeholder engagement. • Exposure to due diligence processes, including data room management, information request tracking, risk identification, and issue escalation. • Experience working with internal stakeholders and external advisors, including legal, tax, accounting, commercial, and technical specialists. Financial Modelling Valuation • Experience developing and maintaining financial models, including: • Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Models, Leveraged Buyout (LBO) Models, Merger Models, Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis, Accretion\/Dilution Analysis • Experience applying valuation methodologies, including: • Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Comparable Company Analysis, Precedent Transaction Analysis, Sum-of-the-Parts (SOTP) Valuation • Experience preparing investment cases, transaction rationales, return analyses, synergy assessments, and value creation evaluations. Financial Analysis Experience • Experience analysing Financial Statements, Management Accounts, Budgets and Forecasts, Working Capital Requirements, Capital Structures, Debt Capacity, Commercial and Operational Drivers, Transaction-related Financial Information • Ability to assess financial performance, identify key risks, and support transaction recommendations. Research Market Analysis Experience • Experience conducting Industry Research, Company Research, Competitor Analysis, Market and Sector Analysis, Regulatory and Economic Research • Ability to synthesise findings and translate insights into transaction and strategic recommendations. Investment Marketing Presentation Development • Experience preparing Pitch Books, Teasers, Information Memoranda, Valuation Reports, Investment Papers, Client Presentations, Board and Management Materials • Demonstrated ability to prepare high-quality client-facing materials that communicate transaction outcomes, risks, opportunities, and recommendations clearly and professionally. Additional Advantageous Experience • Exposure to multinational organisations, complex group structures, international secondments, or cross-border transactions. • Experience operating in fast-paced, deadline-driven transaction environments while managing multiple workstreams simultaneously Stakeholder Relationship Management Research Market Analysis Experience The key functions of the position include: Financial \/ Shareholder Returns • Mergers Acquisition - Support end-to-end MA transactions, including sell-side, divestiture, and strategic advisory mandates. • Financial Models - Build, review, and maintain detailed financial models, including DCF, LBO, merger, scenario, sensitivity, and accretion\/dilution analyses. • Valuation - Perform valuation work using discounted cash flow, comparable company, precedent transaction, and sum-of-the-parts methodologies. • Build Investment Case - Assist with building investment cases, transaction rationale, synergy assessments, returns analysis, and value-creation opportunities. • Financial Analysis - Analyse financial statements, management accounts, forecasts, working capital trends, debt capacity, and key business drivers to support transaction recommendations. Internal \/ Operational Processes • Investment Marketing Materia l - Prepare pitch books, teasers, information memoranda, valuation reports, investment papers, and client presentations. • Research - Conduct industry, company, competitor, market, and regulatory research to support divestiture, and strategic advisory • Due Diligence - Participate in due diligence processes, including data room review, information request tracking, financial analysis, risk identification, and issue escalation. • Deal Execution - Support transaction execution by preparing process documents, maintaining deal trackers, setting up managing data rooms, coordinating workstreams, and managing deadlines. • Manage Advisors - Work with internal teams and external advisors, including legal, tax, accounting, commercial, and technical advisers, to support seamless transaction delivery. • Maintain Files Documents - Maintain accurate deal files, research databases, financial model versions, and transaction documentation in line with governance requirements. Customer Focus Stakeholder Management • Presentations - Prepare high-quality client-facing materials that clearly communicate valuation outcomes, deal considerations, risks, opportunities, and recommended next steps. • Communication - Communicate analysis clearly and professionally to specialist, clients, management teams, and advisers. • Meeting Preparations Support - Support client engagements by preparing agendas, briefing notes, meeting packs, follow-up actions, and transaction status updates. • Professionalism - Demonstrate discretion and professionalism when handling confidential transaction information and sensitive commercial data. • Networking - Build effective working relationships with internal stakeholders and external parties to support timely and accurate transaction execution. Learning People Growth • Self-Developmen t - Manage own development to build deep technical capability in MA execution, valuation, financial modelling, corporate finance, and transaction advisory. Stay informed on market developments, transaction trends, sector activity, and corporate finance best practice. • Learning Ability - Learn quickly from specialist and apply feedback to improve analysis, judgement, presentation quality, and commercial insight. • Initiative - Take ownership of allocated workstreams, deliver high-quality outputs under tight timelines, and proactively flag risks, assumptions, and dependencies. • High Performance - Contribute to a high-performance team culture through resilience, responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement. TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES • Advanced Excel and financial modelling capability. • Scenario analysis and sensitivity modelling. • Integrated financial model development and model validation. • Financial and quantitative data analysis. • Financial statement interpretation and analysis. • Quality of earnings assessment. • Working capital analysis. • Capital structure evaluation. • Transaction risk identification and assessment. • Due diligence support and review. • Market and sector analysis. • Macroeconomic and regulatory research. • Identification of market trends and commercial opportunities. • Data room analysis and review. • Support for transaction execution and decision-making. • Advanced PowerPoint presentation development. • Strong written and verbal communication skills. BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES • Analytical thinking and commercial judgement. • Strong service orientation. • Effective communication and collaboration. • Accountability and execution discipline. • Resilience and adaptability. • Professionalism, discretion and confidentiality. • Continuous improvement mindset