Finastra's CCAT screen for technology consultants

Finastra and the CCAT at a glance

Check your score against Finastra

The numbers below use our estimate for Finastra: a range of 26 to 29 out of 50 with a target of 28. Nothing is saved. If you ask Clever below, it sees your numbers.

Roles at Finastra reported to include the CCAT

Where the CCAT sits in Finastra's hiring process

1. 1

   Application, often through a graduate or early-career program

   Associate consultant roles are entry-level. Applications usually go through the careers site or a campus channel.

2. 2

   Online assessment link

   Typical for Criteria: an emailed link to an unproctored online test on Criteria's platform, with a deadline of a few days. Finastra's exact timing is not reported.

3. 3

   CCAT and possibly a personality questionnaire

   50 questions, 15 minutes, no calculator. A personality questionnaire is a common add-on in Criteria flows.

4. 4

   Interviews

   Expect recruiter and hiring-manager interviews after the screen. Consulting roles often include a scenario or client conversation.

Steps are as candidates describe them. Processes change by role and over time.

About Finastra

Finastra makes software for banks and other financial institutions, covering lending, payments and core banking.

Prep sites list Finastra among Vista Equity Partners portfolio companies. Our Vista Equity Partners page explains what candidates report about testing across that group, but practices differ by company and by year.

What a technology consultant screen is looking for

A technology consultant sits between a bank's business team and the software. You read requirements, map them to configuration, and explain trade-offs. A cognitive test is a rough proxy for how quickly you pick up a new system and reason through a client's numbers.

That makes the math section worth extra attention. Banking clients talk in rates, percentages and tables. The CCAT's math questions are not banking questions, but the same skills apply: reading the right cell, turning a percent change into a number, and comparing two figures without a calculator.

Tables and percentages without a calculator

Table and chart questions look easy and cost time. The question asks about one row and one column, and the mistake is reading a neighboring cell. Put your finger, or your cursor, on the row label first, then slide to the column.

Percent questions reward one habit: find 10% or 1% first. A 15% increase on 240 is 24 plus 12, or 36, so the new value is 276. For a reverse percent, divide by the remaining fraction: if 180 is 75% of the original, the original is 180 divided by 0.75, which is 240.

• Read the question before the table, so you know which row and column to find.
• Estimate first. If the options are far apart, a rounded answer is enough.
• For percent change, write new minus old over old, and round only at the end.

Question types to drill first

• Tables & chartsConsultants read client data all day, and table items are where careful readers still lose time.Math questions with worked examples
• PercentagesRates and percent changes come up constantly in banking work and in CCAT math.Math questions with worked examples
• DeductionRequirements analysis is logical reasoning. True, False or Uncertain items test the same skill.Syllogisms with worked examples

Practice questions in the same formats

These are our own practice questions, written in the CCAT's formats. Finastra does not publish its test questions, and neither does Criteria. For a full timed run, take the free CCAT practice test.

Tips for the Finastra CCAT

• Drill 20 table questions in one sitting, timing each one, until you find the cell in under 10 seconds.
• Memorize a few percent anchors: 12.5% is one eighth, 37.5% is three eighths, 66.7% is two thirds.
• On reverse-percent questions, check your answer by applying the percent forward.
• If you are coming from a finance degree, do not over-trust your instincts on verbal items; practice analogies too.
• Ask the recruiter whether the assessment is the CCAT or another Criteria test, and whether you can take it at a time you choose.

How we estimate

Finastra does not publish a CCAT score, so the numbers on this page are our estimate. We start from Criteria's published job-family floors for the roles candidates report, then place them against Criteria's two norm groups, where the median raw score is 24. We adjust for how competitive the applicant pool is, and we use an employer's own published baseline whenever one exists.

Percentiles come from a normal model on Criteria's published median and standard deviations, shown as a range across both groups. See the CCAT percentile chart for the method and what a good CCAT score is for the published job-family floors.

Clever Cat Prep is not affiliated with Finastra or Criteria Corp. Finastra is a trademark of its owner.