When people think about Investment Banking and Consulting, they often see two fields that are “similar enough.” Both are high-paying, competitive finance roles that attract smart people and require serious attention to detail. They share a reputation for long hours, intense deliverables, and constant PowerPoint use. People often move between these roles, and on the surface, it may seem that the way they use presentations is essentially the same.

But when you dig into the details, Investment Banking and Consulting differ more than they align in their approaches to slide creation. Despite their overlap in reputation and skill requirements, the presentation-building process is unique in each industry, reflecting deeper differences in what each field values and how each approaches problem-solving.

My Experience

My professional experience lies in Investment Banking, where I worked as an Analyst at Barclays in the Industrials Group. During my time there, I learned the nuances of preparing pitch books, management presentations, and company profiles—each of which had its specific format and requirements. My exposure to consulting came in college, working with top students interested in consulting through group projects and case competitions. Since founding Gridlines, I’ve had conversations with professionals from both sides, each with their own insights into how slides are built and why it matters.

Common Ground: Shared Themes and Processes

Both fields might be best known for the sheer volume of slides they create. In both Investment Banking and Consulting, it’s common to produce presentations that can run over 100 slides long, packed with data, insights, and visualizations. Given the stakes of the projects, attention to detail is a priority; alignment, formatting, and precision are crucial. A poorly formatted slide can be a deal-breaker, signaling lack of rigor or professionalism.

The Importance of Detail and Consistency

Both Investment Bankers and Consultants take a meticulous approach to their slides. In both fields, presentations are highly text-heavy—far from the one-sentence, one-picture format seen in simpler presentations. Every slide must answer the implicit “So what?” question, conveying a clear message that resonates with the audience. This emphasis on clarity and rigor means there’s a large amount of time spent on formatting and alignment alone.

As an example, one banker I spoke with mentioned that about half of their time spent on a deck is dedicated purely to formatting—aligning charts, adjusting fonts, and ensuring brand consistency. Consultants echoed this, but with a slightly different emphasis, as I’ll explain in Part 2.

The “Money Slides”

One interesting similarity between Investment Banking and Consulting is the idea of a “money slide.” In Consulting, these are the slides that represent the crux of the insights the client has paid for. They’re the slides that answer the critical question and deliver the primary insights the consulting team has uncovered. Investment Banking has a similar idea—though here, some slides are more about communicating that work has been done rather than providing pivotal new information.

For example, profiles and overviews in pitch books serve as validation of the time invested. These slides often don’t reveal new insights but are meant to demonstrate that thorough analysis has been completed. In both cases, however, the most critical slides often focus on synthesizing the most important takeaways in a visually clear, easy-to-grasp way.

Templated Proposals in Consulting and Pitch Books in Investment Banking

Both roles rely on templatized structures but for different reasons. In Consulting, much of the business development work—especially proposals—starts with a template that a team of analysts then builds upon. Consulting proposals tend to be tailored to specific client needs, which means more flexibility is required within each template. In contrast, Investment Banking pitch books are highly standardized, often pulling from previous work or templates with only minor tweaks for each client.

The approach reflects the needs of each field: Bankers work in a structured format with repetitive, data-driven updates, while Consultants require templates that allow for storytelling and client customization.

Key Takeaways

While both fields are deeply invested in creating polished presentations, the way they approach slide creation is surprisingly different. In both, slides are a form of deliverable, but each industry has developed its own unique workflow and expectations. As we’ll explore in Part 2, these differences reveal the specific challenges of each role—and the tools and tricks they use to make the work efficient and consistent.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll look at the key differences in the types of slides, workflows, and thought processes that make Investment Banking and Consulting slide creation so distinct.