I would go with C . MBA from a top-tier college was a must and this fact is missing form the candidates' profile.

OA is C

karthikpandian19 wrote:Manager: All candidates for the CFO position must meet a set of stringent requirements. For the board to nominate someone to the position, the applicant must possess an MBA from a top-tier business school, an accounting credential, and a strong work history demonstrating leadership in a public or private enterprise. The two most recent applicants are both certified accountants who have MBAs and excellent records of leadership in major companies. However, it is unlikely that the board will nominate either to the position.

The statements above, if true, most strongly support which of the following conclusions?


(A) Neither candidate possess enough full-time experience as an accountant to meet the board's standards.

(B) Some board members have personal biases and judge CFO candidates by criteria other than those explained above.

(C) Neither candidate earned an MBA from a school that would be considered "top-tier" according to the board.

(D) The board of directors already has discovered better qualified candidates for the CFO position.

(E) The board of directors might consider nominating one of the candidates if the need for a new CFO were stronger

This tricky inference question asks us to determine what can be deduced based on a manager's discussion of a CFO position. All of the wrong answer choices make inferences that lack textual support. The fact that almost all of them sound plausible and reasonable is what makes it difficult to spot the right answer choice.

The logic can be broken down like so: A set of conditions is described for a specific outcome. The text then states that that outcome is unlikely. The logical inference, then, is that one of the conditions has not been met.

There are three requirements for an applicant interested in the CFO position: The candidate needs an accounting credential, leadership experience, and an MBA from a top-tier school. The passage tells us that the two most recent candidates are certified accountants, which means that they possess a credential. It also tells us that both candidates have leadership experience, so that condition has also been met.

The only thing missing is the top-tier MBA. The passage states that both candidates have MBAs, but it does not characterize them as being from top-tier schools. Because the other conditions have been met and the board is unlikely to nominate either candidate, we can logically deduce that the two candidates lack MBAs from schools the board considers "top-tier."

Choice C is correct. This is the only inference that we can make based on the text. Every other answer choice offers up a possible explanation that is unrelated to what the manager actually tells us.

Choice A is not supported by the statements in the passage. The manager does not establish any set amount of "work experience" as a requirement for candidates, only that applicants possess an accounting credential.

Choice B falls into the "could be true" category. It is possible that individual board members harbor biases and personal standards; however, this is not suggested by the passage itself.

Choice D is speculation. We could probably imagine thousands of reasons for the two candidates not being nominated by the board-among them, the board finding better people. However, such a conjecture is not supported by anything in the text.

Choice E cannot be inferred from the passage. In abstract, it is possible that any company's board of directors might consider nominating less than ideal candidates for a position if the need were strong enough. However, the scenario described here does not lend itself to this conclusion. The text never characterizes the need for a new CFO as being particularly "strong." In fact, the manager goes so far as to describe the requirements as stringent. This undermines the idea that the board would be willing to nominate candidates who do not meet these requirements.

karthikpandian19 wrote:Manager: All candidates for the CFO position must meet a set of stringent requirements. For the board to nominate someone to the position, the applicant must possess an MBA from a top-tier business school, an accounting credential, and a strong work history demonstrating leadership in a public or private enterprise. The two most recent applicants are both certified accountants who have MBAs and excellent records of leadership in major companies. However, it is unlikely that the board will nominate either to the position.

The statements above, if true, most strongly support which of the following conclusions?


(A) Neither candidate possess enough full-time experience as an accountant to meet the board's standards.

(B) Some board members have personal biases and judge CFO candidates by criteria other than those explained above.

(C) Neither candidate earned an MBA from a school that would be considered "top-tier" according to the board.

(D) The board of directors already has discovered better qualified candidates for the CFO position.

(E) The board of directors might consider nominating one of the candidates if the need for a new CFO were stronger