Explain a revenue miss and reset the year
FP&A variance and forecast · 15 min · Fictional interview case
The situation
An online appliance service company finishes a month with fewer completed jobs, although customers pay more per visit. The CEO asks the finance team to explain the miss and reflect a technician shortage in the remaining months.
Show which factor drove the miss and how much the new capacity estimate reduces the full-year view. Keep actual results separate from future changes.
- Month budget / actual
- 4,000 visits at ₹1,000 / 3,600 at ₹1,050
- Year-to-date actual
- ₹2.1 crore including this month
- Remaining forecast
- Three months at ₹40 lakh each; shortage reduces next month by ₹5 lakh
Your task
Build the price and volume bridge and revise the full-year revenue forecast.
Reveal step-by-step solution
Measure volume impact
(3,600 − 4,000) × ₹1,000 = −₹4 lakh.
Measure price impact
3,600 × (₹1,050 − ₹1,000) = +₹1.8 lakh. Net miss is ₹2.2 lakh.
Reset only the open months
Add ₹35 lakh, ₹40 lakh and ₹40 lakh to ₹210 lakh already earned. Revised forecast is ₹325 lakh, or ₹3.25 crore.
Interviewer follow-up
What extra data would help decide whether to lower prices?
Compare your answer
Separate the lost visits due to capacity from those due to customer demand, then estimate how a price change affects contribution as well as volume.