Advanced Seminar in Finance & Accounting: Case Study Seminar
General Information:
Lecturer: Norbert Dörr, Volker Grüntges (both Senior Partners Emeritus McKinsey & Company)
Supervisors: Sophie Westphal, Felix Bachner, Lubna Al-Duri
Language: English
SWS: 4 (6 ECTS)
Registration: This course is limited to 30 participants.
Course content:
Seminar participants will select and develop a future real-world business case study according to their interests and passions (in teams of 3-4 for students). They learn to structure and solve the case of their choosing and present their strategic recommendations in a “board presentation” in front of actual executives and experts.
Past case studies have covered a broad field of topics, for example:
- IPOs (e.g. Flixbus, BioNTech, Celonis, Lamborghini, Schwarz Digits)
- M&A/strategic cooperations (e.g. BMW/Apple; Daimler/Aston Martin; Lufthansa/ITA)
- Technology and digitization-based growth (e.g. Commerzbank Metaverse Branches, FC Bayern Fan-Token; MVG mobility as a service platform; Porr/Nokera JV for prefabricated buildings)
- Strategic expansion (e.g. Zalando circularity strategy, Bosch autonomous driving; BMW Chinese EV market growth, Red Bull Endurance Drink)
- Start-up strategies(e.g. Isar Aerospace Earth Observation use cases; Hyper Loop Multimodality Management; Air Up growth concept)
- NGO/Not-for-Profit strategies (e.g. TUM New Campus; Deutsches Museum Marketing)
Past Executives who have participated in students “board presentations” were for example: CEOs/CxOs/Presidents (Red Bull, Schwarz Gruppe, FC Bayern, MVG, Isar Aerospace, Commerzbank, Allianz, BioNTech, Encavis, Lilium, Zeiss, OHB, DHL, TUM) and Heads of Strategy (Bosch Mobility, BMW, Lufthansa, Flixbus, Zalando, Infineon).
Learning goals: Define a future/potential business problem for a specific company; solve complex (strategic) business problems “top-down” in an efficient and effective manner; develop strategic recommendations and synthesize them in a compelling “executive summary” that convinces executives; create a management board presentation with a storyline that catches the attention and interest of executives; present and defend your case solution and recommendation in discussion with real-world executives in a board presentation setting. Work as a team in an efficient and effective manner, learning how strategic consultants and strategists work.
In addition, students will conduct three (half-day) company visits, where they will practice their problem-solving and presentation skills.
Experience from other students: "[…] for delivering a logically decided and well-thought-through case (incl. Numbers that are backed) a lot of time is required. […] But the team did an awesome job. Many of the participants will only later comprehend how rare and valuable it was to have this exposure to McKinsey Seniors and their thinking process.” (Student of winter semester 2024/2025)
Timetable:
Participation in all seminar sessions is mandatory. Please prepare a 60 seconds pitch about yourself and your study interests for the kick-off session.
- 30.04.2025 Kick-off Session, 10:00-13:00, 0509
- 12.05.2025 Case solution session, 09:00-11:00, 0504
- 12.05.2025 Topics discussion and selection, 30 min slot between 11:00-17:00, 0504
- 19.05.2025 Communication training, 09:00-12:00, 0505
- 27.05.2025 Executive summary discussion, 45 min slot between 09:00-17:00, 0504
- 11.06.2025 Intervention session, 30 mi slot between 09:00-12:00, virtual
- 15./16.07.2025 Case presentation, both days 09:00-18:00, 0504
- 16.07.2025 Oscar night, award ceremony for the best cases and informal get together
- 28.07.2025 (EOD) Deadline for handing in written case studies
Additionally, there will be 3 sessions for the cracking of cases with industry partners:
- 22.05.: Deloitte
- 16.06.: Burda
- TBD: Madia Markt & Saturn
Deliverables/Grading:
- Executive Summary One Pager (15%)
- Board Presentation (40%)
- Case Write-Up (25%)
- Case Solutions at three Company Visits (20% cumulative)