Meet Tina, a summer associate in our Miami office, who is supporting a client through a post-merger integration. She shares her experiences leading changes to the organization’s management of accounts payable and working capital, working in conjunction with one of McKinsey’s service lines, RTS.
6:45am: Wake up – this week in a new city. My team is in Pittsburgh for the week and I find the change of location refreshing.
8:00am: Check in. We gather for our daily morning meeting to swap notes about our plans for the day and make sure we’re keeping our various pieces aligned. Since our team of five consultants and one engagement manager is relatively large, these huddles are really important and really interesting. I always learn something new.
10:00am: Meet with client. My team is helping a client redefine its business operations and processes following a merger. I am responsible for the accounts payable work stream. This morning, my engagement manager and I meet with my client to discuss the organization’s approach to managing working capital and identify opportunities to save money going forward. We present some initial recommendations and savings estimates and test some of our assumptions. Overall, the client is receptive to the suggestions and asks for additional help thinking through how to best make the changes. We agree to follow-up with the entire accounts payable team to refine our analysis and discuss implementation strategies.
12:00pm: Refuel. My team grabs lunch in the cafeteria and searches for a few must-do activities for our time in Pittsburgh. We discover there is a Pirates baseball game and get tickets to go after work.
2:00pm: Call the experts. Our team is working closely with RTS to gather best practices and benchmarks for managing working capital. The RTS team has deep expertise in helping companies restructure post-merger; it’s been fascinating to hear their advice. We review my analyses and talk through the client’s request for more information on implementation. Together we develop a phased approach with milestones along the way to break down our recommendations into smaller steps and make the transition feel more achievable.
3:00pm: Push forward. We have a call with the partner and associate principal on our team to recap our meetings with the client and RTS experts and determine next steps.
7:00pm: Bond and relax. We head to the Pirates game and are a little surprised how packed the 38,000 seat PNC Park stadium is on a Wednesday night. We grab food and drinks, and I am introduced to my first pulled pork and pierogi stacker. My teammates are still teasing me about asking “Why is there ravioli on my sandwich?”
10:00pm: Wrap up. I get back to the hotel and cram in a quick workout. I’m not a morning person so the evening is prime time gym time for me. It’s a great way to clear my head before bed.