Bloomberg Aptitude Test - BAT | A Complete Beginner's Guide

The financial industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade with increasing demand for financial expertise in a specialized area of finance. However, the rise of competition levels has made it difficult for employers to screen candidates based on objective criteria for their knowledge and skills. Bloomberg Institute launched the BAT Test in 2010 to meet this challenge and help aspiring students and professionals assess their suitability for a career in finance.

Within the few years of its emergence, BAT, or Bloomberg Aptitude Test, earned enormous credibility and became popular among students seeking to assess their abilities for a finance career. In addition, most employers consider BAT scores a reliable way of determining an individual's suitability for a specific area of finance.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Please note that as of January 2016, Bloomberg is no longer offering BAT sessions on campus or online.

Bloomberg now offers Bloomberg Market Concepts instead.

Bloomberg Aptitude Test determines students' knowledge in specific areas of finance. Rather than focusing on an academic understanding of financial concepts, the test assesses an individual's ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life scenarios. That also makes it a better filter for employers to employ individuals with the desired skill set and problem-solving skills. Bloomberg Aptitude Test is a two-hour long exam comprising 100 multiple-choice questions that test the students for eight sections. Therefore, there is no particular curriculum or study material to prepare for the exam. However, for guidance, Bloomberg has provided online a series of sample questions related to Bloomberg Test Prep.

Out of eight sections, four focus on skills required for business-oriented roles and four on finance-oriented positions for testing the students. Here we have elaborated the broad division of areas.

Skills for Business-Oriented Roles:

The four areas focused on skills for business-oriented positions include News Analysis, Economics, Mathematics, and Analytical reasoning. Here we tried to shed light on each section to help gain a better understanding of these areas:

1. News Analysis: One has to analyze brief passages of financial relevance and answer questions designed to assess the abilities of inference and logical deduction. Since analyzing and inferring new developments with an economic impact is crucial for every business person.
2. Economics: One has to study and interpret financial information, including but boundless to consumer behavior, corporate behavior, international relations, global trade policies, and other areas. A piece of broad-based knowledge and understanding of economic behavior holds the key to success in any finance or business career.
3. Mathematics: With varying difficulty levels for different questions, problem-solving skills are determined in this section. Mathematics forms a core area of finance and business, and this section is referred to assess one's general ability to handle numbers.
4. Analytical Reasoning: Based on hypothetical scenarios, one must answer a series of questions utilizing deductive logic, analytical abilities, and an imaginative approach. Without a good level of analytical reasoning, it will not be easy to score in any business-related role.

Skills for Finance-Oriented Roles:

The remaining four sections are developed to test skills needed for finance-oriented roles. These sections include Financial Statement Analysis, Investment Banking, Global Markets and Chart, and Graph Analysis. Refer to a brief introduction to the content of each of these sections:

1. Financial Statement Analysis: This section aims to test the understanding of concepts related to calculating loss and profits, key financial ratios, and liquidity, among other things. These calculations form an important base for preparing and analyzing financial statements for any business.
2. Investment Banking: This section refers to analyzing the ability of an individual to apply principles of financial and strategic advisory integral to the concept of investment banking. Developing and implementing financial strategies can be critical to success in a finance career.
3. Global Markets: The ability to analyze and interpret data related to the functioning of financial markets is tested in this section. It aims to determine an individual's general level of awareness about trends and developments in financial markets in general.
4. Chart and Graph Analysis: This section is intended to test the ability to study and interpret financial data represented in the form of charts and graphs, which is a key skill for a finance-related career.

Here is the Bloomberg Aptitude Test Sample Questions – Sample Questions;  you can download to view all the information.

• The scores awarded can range from 0 to 50 for each section, and the total score may range from 200 to 800.
• Participants receive an overall score and percentile ranking and performance detail on each section on the test completion compared to the global averages.
• That helps make a fair assessment of individual knowledge, skills, and capabilities in any specific area included in the test.
• Students can appear for an exam without paying any charge for the first attempt. But anyone willing to retake the test will be required to pay $50 in fees.
• Aspirants can appear once a month, regardless of whether they are from financial or non-financial academic backgrounds.

Below is a sample score.

source: BAT

Bloomberg terminals across 3500 universities in more than 60 countries offer BAT to make it highly accessible for an average student. Later completing the exam, student scores are listed on the Bloomberg Institute Talent Search database. In addition, prospective employers access the Bloomberg website or Bloomberg Professional Service from any part of the world. However, it is also evident that the database does not reveal complete details of individuals and discloses selective information.

Potential employers usually search for prospects based on many parameters. On finding an interesting opportunity, they can request the candidate's details. Depending on the candidate's approval, additional information is made available. That gives rare freedom of choice to test participants and allows them to choose who can access their data. If a candidate retakes the test, the earlier and updated scores are recorded to track progress periodically.

The other unique advantage afforded by BAT is that people from non-financial backgrounds who might not find finance an interesting field, do not feel confident, or are not aware of how to begin working on necessary skills or look for opportunities can appear for the BAT exam and answer these questions. As a result, they will assess their skills and capabilities in specific areas of finance. Potential employers could also approach them with some attractive opportunities. Some such employer-employee matches have been facilitated through BAT; otherwise, this might not have been possible.

Top scorers can also be invited to the Bloomberg Summer Intern Challenge which features international panels and offers interesting networking opportunities for participants. In addition, many past participants recommend taking the test to examine finance and the kind of career opportunities it might afford in terms of internships and entry-level positions with investment banks, hedge funds, or insurance companies.

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