Perform what-if analysis

I need a sensitivity table that shows how quarterly profit changes if sales growth ranges from -5% to +10% and gross margin shifts from 28% to 36%. Produce a two-way data table with Profit formula cells locked, include the cell references for revenues and margin, and leave the outputs ready for charting so I can drop the table into Fiona’s board pack on Tuesday.

Before I hand this to finance reviewers, make the what-if easy to interpret: put the baseline assumptions in a labeled box, surface the maximum and minimum profit outcomes at the top, highlight any cells where profit flips sign, and add a short note explaining how to read the two-way table so Marcus on FP&A can use it without diving into formulas.

I ran a two-way what-if and profit dropped when I increased price. Marcus and I disagree whether the input mapping is wrong. I’m worried I’ve tied the revenue cell to an adjusted volume that changes with price but I can’t see the link. What’s the most likely cause and the quickest check to validate the mapping before I present to the CFO?

Every month I rebuild similar what-if tables for different business units and I waste hours re-linking inputs and reformatting. Where should I standardize to stop the repetitive work — layout, named ranges, or a single master scenario sheet — and what one habit will save the most time and reduce errors?