How it works

Field Notes publishes what finance practitioners learn in the field: cases, open problems and positions worth arguing. Not opinion pieces or tool reviews. The moment a decision had to be made, and what it took.

Notes and cases

• Note. A quick thought from the field, the way you would post it in a channel. Contributors publish notes at once, without the editor.
• Case. A full piece with a title and a synopsis, worked through with the editor before it is published.

What we publish as cases

• Case breakdown. A real situation, anonymised: what was broken, what you did, what it cost, what you would do differently.
• Open problem. A question you have not solved, set out well enough that others can work on it.
• Point / Counterpoint. A position on a contested question in corporate finance, argued properly.

The path

1. Write the note here and send it to the editor.
2. An editor replies within 5 working days.
3. You work on the text together. Most pieces take two or three rounds.
4. We publish under a pen name we agree with you.

Why pen names

A pen name protects the source, not the argument. It lets you describe a real case without exposing your company, your bank or your colleagues. The editor knows who every contributor is, and everything published under a pen name is held to the same standard as a signed piece.

What we guarantee

Clients, counterparties and figures are anonymised before anything is published. You approve the final text. The editor may remove a note that does not meet the standard.