Finance Expedition 2022: Looking back

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After 2 years when we had to organize the Finance Expedition online because of Covid-19, this year it was finally time again. On November 7 we left for Amsterdam again for the Finance Expedition. Over a period of 3 days, 24 students visit 2 companies each day within a particular pillar of Finance. This event is organized by Asset|Accounting & Finance in cooperation with Asset|Econometrics

Ready with all the goodie-bags, suitcases and healthy excitement, the committee was waiting at the back of the station. Gradually the students arrived and well on time we left, in the beautiful Willem II bus, for Amsterdam! Once we arrived at the Holiday Inn on the Zuid-as, there was, after everyone had quietly gone to their rooms, the opportunity for the enthusiasts to have a drink in the bar to get to know each other better. Unfortunately, we had to go to bed fairly early because the wake-up call was set for 7 o’clock.

Day 1

On Tuesday, November 8, we visited BDO and Oaklins, both specializing in the Mergers and Acquisitions branch within Corporate Finance. First up in the morning was BDO. Upon arrival at the office we were welcomed by the staff and were immediately pampered with coffee, tea and a little sweet. The program started with a short introduction about BDO and the opportunities that students have within BDO. After this, we were given a case in which we, as BDO employees within the Due Diligence process, had to determine the EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation Amortization) of a sizeable company as best we could. At the conclusion, each group had to present their thought process and final EBITDA. The morning ended with a delicious lunch that presented the opportunity to personally interact with BDO employees. After lunch we had to quickly move on to Oaklins.

Thanks to a grumpy bus driver who didn’t want to wait 10 seconds for us, we arrived at Oaklins 5 minutes late. Fortunately, no problem. Again we were welcomed with coffee and tea at Oaklins and after a short presentation about Oaklins as a company we started the 2nd case of the day. In this case, we as participants had to advise some employees of Oaklins whether or not they should take over a company in the travel industry. For this, we were given an extensive information memorandum and the opportunity to speak with both the “CEO of the company” and an “industry expert”. We had 1.5 hours to arrive at our advice. After a presentation in which everyone pitched their advice, it was time for dinner. Oaklins had arranged sushi and after dinner took us to ‘De Blauwe Engel’, a cafe on the Zuid-as where we enjoyed a small drink with some of the employees.

Day 2

On Wednesday, November 9, as usual the alarm clock went off at 7 a.m. and this time we visited ING and a.s.r., this day was all about Asset Management. Arriving at the ING headquarters at the Bijlmer, we were given an introductory presentation on the future and vision of ING as a bank mainly within the Netherlands. ING discussed the case in the whole group and it consisted of analyzing a loan process that ING had provided to a transporter of fresh vegetables. We discussed the case with 2 employees who actually participated in this process and we covered the whole loan process, from initial application to, unfortunately, eventual bankruptcy. After the case, we also got a presentation from the CIO (Chief Investment Officer) of ING, he explained to us how portfolios are selected and built. After all the very interesting presentations, we unfortunately had very little time for lunch that ING had arranged. Although we had to eat quickly, it was again very tasty and in no time we were on our way to a.s.r. in Utrecht

“The event was created to give students a bridge between theory from undergraduate school, what companies are actually doing with that knowledge and how it is applied.”

Arriving at a.s.r., most people noticed one thing: how big the office is! Truly a huge, and beautiful office with a lot of glass allowing a lot of natural light to enter. During the introductory presentation we were shown the rich history of a.s.r. as an insurer. Also discussed was their recent acquisition and future vision of Aegon. After a short coffee break, it was time for the case. We were divided into groups and were given the task to even-out a.s.r.’s balance sheet during a variety of times of economic uncertainty. A news event was shown affecting an asset and/or liability and it was up to us to manage our insurance, equity and real estate portfolio in such a way that we as a.s.r. continued to make a profit. I thought it was a very original case as it combined Asset Management in the setting of a trading game often played at Market Makers at in-house days. After the case, it was time for drinks and pizza!

Day 3

The last day had arrived and once again we were out of bed early! Thursday, November 10 was all about Risk Management, we visited RiskQuest in the morning and Deloitte in the afternoon. Arriving in the beautiful canals of Amsterdam, the relatively small office of RiskQuest was located in a beautiful canal house. After an introductory presentation, we were given a short tour of the office. The highlight was the office of one of the partners. In the ceiling of his office were several beautiful paintings from the time of Rembrandt, together with the beautiful view over the Amsterdam canals and the enormously comfortable office chairs. I am amazed that people still get work done! During the case, we were divided into groups and pretended to be employees of RiskQuest hired by a Luxembourg bank to recalibrate their Probability of Default Model. We then had to present our findings and a new credit risk model. During a delicious lunch there was still the opportunity to build connections with RiskQuest employees.

Last on the program was Deloitte. After arriving at their beautiful office, we first received, after the usual coffee and tea, a brief introduction about Deloitte. Then we were given a tour of Deloitte’s huge, sustainable office. The office is the second most sustainable office in Europe. The architect achieved this through all kinds of cleverness, for example, the energy produced by a bicycle in their gym is used for other purposes. Moreover, the office consists of a huge amount of glass which allows a lot of natural light in. After the tour, we could begin the case. Each group had to give their advice to the Deloitte staff about a location where a solar car company should be located. In doing so, we had to make a risk analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the chosen location. After the presentations, there was some time for speed dating with the employees, after which Deloitte took us to a restaurant to end the day with dinner! The dinner was truly delicious and one of the highlights of the Finance Expedition. With full stomachs, we went back to the hotel where the bus was waiting for us. Suitcases and all our belongings were packed before we left. This time unfortunately not in the Willem II bus, back to Tilburg.

Looking back

Looking back on the Finance Expedition, as chairman I am proud of the committee for what we have accomplished. It has sometimes been a quite hectic organization with many shifting committee members but in the end everything went well. The event was created to give students a bridge between theory from undergraduate school, what companies are actually doing with that knowledge and how it is applied. I believe we definitely succeeded in this, and heard only positive feedback. Everyone got along well and there was certainly plenty of laughter. Finally, I would of course like to thank the entire committee for their work. I would also like to thank Daan van den Elzen, Floris Somers and Jonas van Voorst for their work in the committee before the summer.