Finance Weekly Update - Week 4: Almost Missed a Major Deal Due to Misleading Averages

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Weekly Finance Report - Week 4

Hey everyone! This week brought some interesting challenges and lessons. Here’s what happened:

Performance Review Season Reality Check

This week was performance review time at our company. Walking around the office, you could see three types of people after their meetings. Some looked happy and relaxed, clearly got good news. Others seemed determined, probably got feedback to work on. Then there were the quiet ones who packed up early and barely talked to anyone.

One person who didn’t make it was someone who really helped me when I started. He showed me around, helped with the coffee machine, and gave me tons of useful tips. It reminded me why I always try to keep my network active and my skills sharp, even when things are going well.

The Big Discovery - Don’t Trust Average Numbers

Most of my week was spent helping our sales team figure out if we should work with third-party contractors in new regions. We have tons of client demand but no physical presence in some areas.

At first, the numbers looked bad. When we used our average pricing and subtracted contractor costs, we were losing money. The team had been stuck on this for weeks, trying different scenarios but nothing worked.

Then I sat down with our analyst and we dug deeper into the data. Here’s what we found: That region wasn’t average at all. Customers there were buying our premium services way more than usual. The actual selling price was 70% higher than our company average!

Once we updated the model with real numbers instead of averages, everything changed. What looked like a money-losing deal became a great way to enter new markets without huge upfront costs.

Key lesson: Always check if your “average” numbers are hiding important details. In growing companies, the business changes fast and averages can be very misleading.

Google Sheets Tips

Our analyst was struggling with Google Sheets (they prefer Excel). Here are some tips I shared:

  • Tool Finder is your friend: Press Alt + / and type what you want to do
  • Use QUERY function: It’s like a live pivot table that updates automatically
  • Install SheetWhiz: Helps you trace formulas like Excel does
  • Give it time: The shortcuts are similar to Excel, you just need practice

Sheets isn’t Excel, but once you stop expecting it to be, it’s actually pretty powerful for collaboration.

What Do You Want to See?

I’ve been covering three main topics: career advice, finance case studies, and technical tips. What would be most helpful for you? Should I focus more on career stuff or technical finance work?

Let me know in the comments!

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Your pricing discovery nails a huge problem most finance teams miss: assuming all business units work the same way. Sales was obsessing over cost cuts, but the real issue was crappy market segmentation analysis. This is exactly why you need solid data validation before making big strategic moves. That 70% pricing gap screams that you’re probably underpricing other regions too - definitely worth digging into. About your colleague bailing during performance reviews - this perfectly shows why you’ve got to document teamwork stuff that normal metrics completely ignore. Companies constantly lose all that insider knowledge when they only care about numbers they can measure. I love how you’re mixing hardcore finance work with career stories because it shows the actual people behind all these spreadsheets. You should definitely explore more cases where good data storytelling actually swayed executives - those examples help people grasp both the analytical tricks and the office politics.

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The Google Sheets vs Excel thing is brutal! Been through that exact nightmare when finance switched platforms halfway through a project. That QUERY function you mentioned? Total game-changer once you figure it out - use it constantly for dynamic reports now. Really sucks about your colleague getting cut, especially since they were actually helpful. It’s crazy how performance reviews miss the people who make work better. Keep mixing the technical stuff with workplace stories - way more interesting than boring finance tips.

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Yeah, that contractor situation rings a bell - same thing happened to us last year. Our regional numbers got completely lost in the company-wide averages. Learned that lesson the hard way, so now we segment everything before running projections. And damn, sorry your coworker got cut. It’s always the helpful folks who don’t show up in the metrics that get hit first when layoffs come around.

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Oh wow, another “I saved the day with basic data analysis” story lol. Using actual numbers instead of averages isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Any decent analyst should’ve caught that pricing variance from day one instead of letting sales spin their wheels for weeks. Your company needs better processes, not weekly humble-brags about discovering regional differences exist.

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Great catch on the pricing analysis! That network contact tip really resonates - maintaining relationships during good times makes such a difference. Would love more finance case studies like this one!