This tests how the candidate handles pressure, incomplete information, and accuracy under deadline, which mirrors real pitch deck and reporting preparation where data is often imperfect.
Show a clear sequence: identify the gap, find a defensible interim solution, label limitations, and communicate upward. Do not say you would fabricate a number or omit the painful part without warning.
Start by naming the exact data point that is missing and why it matters to the story the deck is telling, because that shows you understand the material, not just the mechanics. Then say plainly that you would source the closest reliable substitute, maybe a prior quarter figure, a competitor proxy, or a manual pull from an internal system, and you would clearly label it as preliminary or estimated in the slide itself, not buried in an email. Explain that you would flag the limitation in a short note to the senior banker or managing director the same evening, stating what you used, how you derived it, and what the true number would change if it differs materially. In a Philippine BPO or advisory context, where client meetings often happen at odd hours and turnaround is tight, add that you would also confirm the time zone and the client's expected format so the deck reaches them before the meeting, not just before your own morning. Finally, say you would never present a blank cell or a silent guess, because a flagged estimate is defensible, while an unmarked one is a credibility risk, and that you would treat the follow-up data as a priority to update the deck the moment it arrives.
Avoid saying 'Kaya po hindi ko na lang sinama yung number' or quietly filling in an estimate without a flag. Say instead: 'I would mark the missing item as preliminary, note the method used to estimate it, and confirm with the senior before the client sees it.'
Situation
In a case competition during university, my team was responsible for producing an investor pitch summary, and two hours before the deadline we realized our market size assumptions were missing one regional segment.
Task
I had to produce a credible slide update without inventing numbers, while keeping the deck accurate enough for judges.
Action
I immediately identified which cells were missing and whether we had a reasonable proxy from the available data. I marked those estimates clearly in the slide footnote as preliminary, and drafted a short note explaining the gap and our planned follow-up. I also informed the team lead so the assumption could be flagged during the presentation.
Result
The judges asked about the footnote, and because I had flagged it proactively, they accepted the slide as transparent rather than penalizing us for a gap. We placed second among 12 teams.
Never hide data gaps; label them and explain the next step.
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