Interview Story - Took Initiative

When I was working as a consultant for Finance Company Inc, the financial modeling software we used was very slow, with each model sometimes taking up to ten minutes to run. This model also tended to break, adding another half-hour or more to find the error.

I saw an opportunity to take the initiative and redesign these tools using my understanding of financial modeling.

First, I recruited the support of my team members and got the approval of my manager. Next, I studied the financial techniques and programming in the model to understand how they worked. I uncovered three bottlenecks that slowed down processing and identified the sources of errors. With this information, I rewrote some code, eliminated unnecessary steps, and developed methods to correct errors.

The model was now running a lot faster, but one component still slowed it down, calculating the value of call options. This step required valuing the option across time in up to 60 interest rate scenarios. I rewrote this piece from scratch three times and tested it over four weeks until it worked quickly and accurately. I then verified the calculated option values using an outside database.

As a result, the model that before took up to ten minutes to run now took between ten and twenty seconds. The model support team, which I was a part of, received far fewer phone calls about model errors. Instead of a couple of phone calls per week, I got a call only every couple of months.

After this project, my team and I updated every model the company used, eliminating more errors, decreasing processing time, and saving every consultant hours per week.