IntermediateSITUATIONAL
You discover actuals are deviating from plan by 15% mid-quarter and leadership wants a quick explanation. What steps do you take to identify root causes, quantify impacts, and present remediation options within 48 hours?
Financial Analyst
General

Sample Answer

When I saw a 15% variance mid-quarter at my last company, I first pulled daily GL detail and the top 10 accounts driving the gap—those accounted for 82% of the variance. I ran a fast pivot to compare budget vs. actual by product line and region, then flagged any one-offs like a $250k vendor credit reversal and a marketing campaign that underspent 40%. I interviewed ops and sales leads by phone to confirm timing and one-off causes, and modeled three remediation scenarios (no action, timing shift, corrective expense reduction) showing P&L and cash impact over the rest of the quarter. I delivered a one-page deck with the root causes, quantified impacts (USD and %), and recommended option—cut discretionary spend by $300k—so leadership could decide within 48 hours.

Keywords

Rapid data triage focusing on top accounts driving 80%+ of varianceCollaboration with ops/sales to validate causes and timingQuantified remediation scenarios with dollar and percentage impacts