Campus Capital is back!

I apologize for the sudden 3-week hiatus. Finals, Thanksgiving, and traveling back home for the break have taken up my time in the past few weeks. But we are back now and I could not be more excited to deliver you all finance news, terms, advice, and more!

In case you missed it, read last week’s issue here

KPMG Outpaces Big Four Rivals

KPMG recently reported $39.8 billion in revenues for its fiscal year, marking a 5.4% year-over-year increase. This is the second consecutive year that KMPG has grown faster than its Big Four peers (PwC, Deloitte, and EY). The firm’s tax and assurance practices led the gains, driven by a strong global demand for guidance on tax reform and AI-enhanced auditing tools. KPMG is also investing $4.2 billion in technology, AI and ESG initiatives, and undergoing structural consolidations to boost competitiveness across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

Why it matters: In the consulting and accounting world growth isn’t just about size, it’s about strategic positioning. KPMG’s performance shows that investing in high-value advisory services (tax, assurance, ESG, tech-enabled audit) can outpace competitors even when overall consulting demand softens. Firms that lead in advisory services — not just compliance — will dominate the next decade.

Student Takeaway: If you have been a finance or accounting student that has had their eyes on the Big Four for a while, you know that KMPG gets a bad rap amongst students, professionals, and the media. Sure, some of the KPMG slander is reasonable due to their past ethical scandals, management issues, and audit failures. However, the facts don’t lie: KPMG is still a growing firm and have earned their spot among the Big Four. When applying for internships, don’t overlook KPMG just because of their reputation.

PwC Under Possible Investigation By The FRC

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is mulling a formal investigation into PwC after an accounting error wiped out £30 million of WHSmith’s (a British retail chain) expected North American profit, and an independent report found issues in PwC’s handling of that audit. PwC has acknowledged the error and is cooperating with the FRC, but the potential probe underscores increasing regulatory scrutiny on audit quality. WHSmith is now expected to have to restate full-year earnings for 2023 and 2024. It had already further cut forecasts for trading profit in its US business from a reduced guidance of £25 million – rolled out in August – to £5 million-£15 million for 2025.

Student Takeaway: For students interested in accounting, audit, or risk advisory, this underscores the importance of governance and ethical standards. Knowing how auditors balance compliance with innovation (e.g., AI tools, broader assurance services) can give you depth in interviews and help you stand out in roles focused on audit quality, risk, or compliance.

Definition: A Sum-of-the-Parts (SOTP) valuation is a method where a company’s individual business segments are valued separately and then added together to estimate the total value of the firm. It’s commonly used when a company operates across distinct business lines that may deserve different valuation multiples.

Let’s use to identify segments in a company like Warner Bros. $WBD ( ▼ 0.62% ), since they’re in the news right now.

Example:
A media company like Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD ( ▼ 0.62% ) might be broken into:

Each segment is valued independently using appropriate multiples or cash-flow models. The values are then combined to estimate the firm’s total enterprise value — often revealing whether the company may be undervalued as a single entity.

Student takeaway: Understanding SOTP shows you think like an advisor, not just an analyst. If you can explain why different segments deserve different valuations — and how that informs strategic decisions — you’ll stand out in banking, consulting, and accounting interviews.

Mistake: Answering questions without structure

In interviews it’s easy to jump straight into answering questions without first organizing your thoughts. This often leads to rambling and unclear responses. It’s important to make sure you know what you’re talking about before you talk about it, this is especially important in consulting interviews where the interviewer cares just as much about how you think as what you say.

In strategic advisory roles, clients expect clear communication. If you can’t structure an answer under interview pressure, it signals you may struggle to break down complex problems or present recommendations clearly in real client settings.

Pause briefly before answering. Outline your response upfront (for example: “There are three main reasons…”), then walk through each point logically. This shows composure, discipline, and executive presence — traits firms actively look for/

Top consultants and advisors don’t just “sound smart” — they organize complexity into clear frameworks. Whether you’re analyzing a client problem, reviewing financials, or answering an interview question, structured thinking helps you stay clear, concise, and persuasive.

You don’t need to memorize dozens of consulting frameworks. Instead, practice breaking problems into logical buckets: drivers, risks, trade-offs, and outcomes. Over time, this habit becomes instinctive — and shows up in how you speak, write, and present.

Student takeaway: Structure is a skill you can train daily. Practice summarizing articles, class cases, or internships using a simple framework (“context → issue → analysis → conclusion”). The more you do this, the more natural it becomes and the more you’ll stand out in interviews and on the job.

Paramount Skydance $PSKY ( ▲ 2.92% ) recently offered an all-cash bid of $30 per share to acquire Warner Bros. $WBD ( ▼ 0.62% ) in response to Warner Bros. Discovery’s recently announced deal with Netflix $NFLX ( ▲ 3.26% ).

The current offers are binding, potentially allowing Warner Bros Discovery’s board to quickly approve a deal if the terms meet their requirements. However, the company has not designated these latest proposals as final and would still consider additional bids with attractive terms.

On Netflix’s side, Moelis & Company and Wells Fargo are advising. On Warner Bros. side, Evercore, J.P. Morgan, and Allen & Company are advising.

Netflix’s cash and stock transaction is valued at $27.75 per WBD share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion (equity value of $72.0 billion). The transaction is expected to close after the previously announced separation of WBD's Global Networks division, Discovery Global, into a new publicly-traded company, which is now expected to be completed in Q3 2026.

The Top 10 Schools Hired by Bain Capital (Private Equity)

While Bain Capital hires from a wide range of backgrounds, the firm consistently recruits from a core group of universities known for strong finance, consulting, and analytical pipelines:

1. Harvard University

2. Stanford University

3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

4. University of Chicago (Booth)

5. Columbia University

6. Northwestern University (Kellog)

7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)

8. Duke University (Fuqua)

9. Dartmouth College (Tuck)

10. Yale University

Bain Capital’s recruiting patterns reflect its roots in consulting-driven private equity. Many hires come from schools with strong case-based thinking, finance fundamentals, and alumni networks that feed into Bain & Company, top investment banks, and elite boutiques.

However, attendance at one of these schools is not a requirement. Bain Capital regularly hires analysts and associates from non-target schools who bring standout experience, strong technical skills, and clear investing intuition.

I hope everyone had a great first semester. Now with the stress of finals behind you, take some time to focus on yourself and be with family and loved ones. Mental health in the the industry of high finance does not get talked about enough. College kids have idolized the long, intense work hours of bulge bracket investment banks; they have forgotten the term “work-life balance”. Be realistic with yourself and set your future priorities straight, do with that what you will.

Invest in yourself.

Welcome to Campus Capital. Each week, we’ll break down the finance world in 5 minutes or less.
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My name is Braunsen Bax, I’m a honors finance and accounting student-athlete at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois (45 mins outside of Chicago). I graduated from Walton High School in Marietta Georgia. Outside of the classroom I compete in the throws events for the Track & Field team, 35 time NCAA DIII national champions. I’ve had a love of finance and the business world since my sophomore year of high school and started Campus Capital to share that love with my community and like minded individuals in a similar position, with similar goals. My mission is to help people like me shape their futures to ensure they reach their goals while being up to date and educated in the Finance industry.