Check data before sending to investors
A discrepancy between two pages is enough to make investors doubt the management capabilities of the entire company.
Before sending to investors, all repeated numbers, revenue, growth, market size, and economic units must match across all pages and align with the financial model and data room. After each last-minute adjustment, no matter how small, a full review is necessary. The final tie-out should be conducted by someone not involved in the number preparation, checking each displayed number back to its source.
- A tight tie-out round with funding documents and annual reports.
- basic alignment checks with the capability profile
- recheck immediately after each last-minute adjustment
- edit the number on one page while forgetting the others
- users create their own numbers
Investors rarely read every line carefully. They skim, compare, and catch mistakes very quickly. A revenue figure on the dashboard that differs from the financial page, or from the financial model you attached, is enough for them to question the management capabilities of the entire business. Not because they think you are fraudulent, but because a discrepancy indicates that internal control processes are not tight. That is a risk they do not want to invest in.
Which numbers are most often skewed
Not all numbers carry the same risk. The following numbers often appear on many pages and are the most likely to be skewed when adjusted at the last minute:
- Revenue and growth rate: often appear on summary pages, financial pages, and investment pitch pages.
- Market size: appears on the opportunity page and is sometimes referenced in the conclusion.
- Unit economics: profit margin, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, often repeated from various perspectives.
- Total and components: if you present the segments and then add them up, the total must match the number on the previous page.
- Units and periods: millions or billions, quarters or years, dong or dollars. One slide uses 'billion dong,' the next uses 'million dong' without clarification, which is immediately misleading.
The single source of truth principle.
The error of misaligned numbers largely comes from the method: manually entering numbers in each place instead of extracting from an approved document. Each manual entry is a chance for mistakes. The principle of controlling accurate data is to maintain a single source of numbers, with all pages referencing that.
In practice, that data source is often the financial model. The slide deck and data room must tell the same story at two levels of detail: the slides at a high level and the model at a detailed level. If the two sets contradict each other, investors will question it immediately during the due diligence process.
Consistent data throughout is a sign of management capability. Any deviation will immediately damage credibility.
AscentCFO: How to Structure the Financials Section of a Pitch Deck
Final alignment check: who does what
The number creator should not self-check their own numbers. Being accustomed to their own work makes it easy to read "correctly" even when it is actually wrong. The final tie-out check needs to be performed by someone not involved in the number creation, following this process:
- List all the numbers appearing on the page. Mark any numbers that repeat on other pages.
- Check each repeated number for origin: is it the correct version approved by the client?
- Check for consistency in units and periods throughout, especially after last-minute changes.
- Check the total by the sum of components. If rounding is necessary, clearly note the rounding method to avoid small discrepancies appearing as large ones.
- Cross-reference the slide deck with the financial model and data room: same period, same unit, same figures.
Basic alignment checks suitable for capability profiles, service proposals, documents with few repetitions: a quick review to ensure consistency, no need for complex processes.
Full tie-out round is mandatory with funding records, annual reports, documents sent to banks or investors: an independent person verifies each number against the source, cross-references the financial model, and checks after every minor adjustment.
Most common errors
- Edit the number on one page while forgetting the other pages citing the same number, especially after last-minute meeting adjustments.
- The slide deck and financial model are misaligned because they are updated separately and not in sync.
- Drift due to rounding or unit confusion: one page states millions, while another states billions without adjusting the value accordingly.
- The number creator self-checks their own numbers, lacking an independent second opinion.
Sinh Vũ's viewpoint
What you are paying for in design is not just having twenty visually appealing pages. Those twenty pages must look like they were written by the same business, and all numbers must convey the same message. Sinh Vũ conducts a presentation alignment check before delivery: verifying the displayed numbers against the version you approved, checking units and consistency, ensuring the total matches the components.
The accuracy of the numbers compared to actual business performance and financial models is the responsibility of your finance department or CFO. The studio does not create numbers or alter the original figures. This boundary is clear so you know who is responsible for what before you hit send.
Decision checklist
Topic: Checking data consistency across pages before sending to investors. Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
AscentCFO: How to Structure the Financials Section of a Pitch Deck; OpenVC: Financials Slide Best Practices; Forecastr: How to use a financial model in your pitch deck.
Frequently asked questions
I only made a few minor changes at the last minute, do I need to check everything again?
Yes. This is when number discrepancies are most likely to occur because the editor usually only remembers the open page, forgetting other pages that reference the same number. Just one place not updated can lead investors to notice immediately during the evaluation.
Is the verification of numbers to be done by the design studio?
Sinh Vũ conducts a verification round to ensure the displayed numbers on the page match the approved customer version and maintains consistency in units, periods, and rounding methods throughout. The accuracy of the figures compared to the financial model is the responsibility of your finance department or CFO; the studio does not create or alter the original numbers.
What if the slide deck and financial model are inconsistent?
Investors often compare these two sets of documents during the due diligence process. If they are inconsistent, they will question it immediately, and trust in management capabilities will significantly decrease. The slide deck and financial model must tell the same story at two different levels of detail, without contradiction.