How would you have responded? Hypothetical Pitchbook Error Scenario

I wouldn't admit the mistake so overtly, certainly I wouldn't admit I was negligent (even if it was true). You never want to sow a seed in your superior's mind that you are poor at your job. You can alert them to the fact there's an error in the model and that you will stay all night to fix it. That's all that needs to be said. Anything else is damaging to your personal brand.

Cringe.

Wow, no. This is cringeworthy.

Just mention that there is an error and it will be fixed before the meeting. End of story. Where do you work that that would be an appropriate email? Sounds like you are begging for forgiveness before the error has even impacted the business.

As others have said, absolutely not - admitting fault and makes you sound like a giant suck up / bitch.

you sound very much like a sophomore intern

Being an analyst is a lot like shooting free throws, yes it is expected that there is 100% accuracy, but everyone understands that will likely not be the case. Just acknowledge the error and move on. Obviously if this happens in a specific circumstance, i.e. a fairness opinion presented to the board, the reaction will be different.

BuildingModelsAndPoppinBottles:

I Made Errors In The Pitchbook and I Am Currently Fixing The Flawed Pitchbook

Hello xxxx xxxx,

The results are incorrect for the financial model for the pitchbook being presented to xxxx tomorrow because I made several errors. I will stay at the office tonight and pull an all nighter in order to fix the errors I made in the flawed pitchbook.

The following are the factors which are leading to the incorrect results: xxxx xxxx

I take full responsibility for my negligence and I will fix this. Having stepped back and evaluated why this situation happened, it came down to the fact that I was too sloppy and focused on the quantity and not the quality of my work. I will take the proper steps to avoid this issue next time by making sure the quality is up to par with the team and the firm's standards. I will also slow down with my work and I will be putting in extra hours at the office for now on.

IMO in my experience, it is better to also include the impact of the error. Always think of as 3 steps: Step 1 is identifying the problem. Step 2 is identifying the impact of that problem. Step 3 is offering the solution(s). Step 1 is easy, but people often forget about step 2 or 3.

Instead of going to your higher up and simply saying something is wrong with the model and you're working on fixing it, say something like: "I noticed x was wrong in the model. The impact is abc because xyz was affected. These are the solutions, let me know which option (or options) you think is best." Obviously if it's a right or wrong thing you might not have multiple solutions, but you get the point.

Edit: Above assumes this is a big error, like you're off by say, $50M, when valuing a $250M company. If it doesn't move the needle really but is still an error, simplified responses that are SB'd in rest of thread are probably better.

Finally a verified user that I believe actually works in this industry

"Sent from my iPhone" implies MD Movez

+1

This is the way to go. Not sure why other replies are putting so much drama into it... the scenario assumes the pitchbook has not left the office... so it literally is not final. I would only consider something final once it´s presented to the client.

Doctor Mantis Toboggan MD:

I left a parens out of a DCF calc. I only noticed it while tying it out by hand three hours before the deadline

By hand? What kind of a pre-WW2 group are you in?