PnL Attribution Sheet
Rebuild each desk's PnL from its drivers, reconcile to the front-office figure and isolate the position whose PnL doesn't explain.
The scenario
You're in the middle office and the daily PnL has to be signed off. Each desk's result comes in as a single number from the front office, but your job is to rebuild it from its drivers — market move, carry, fees, new trades — and prove the two figures reconcile. Today one position doesn't explain: the book carries a small unexplained residual, and you need to isolate which desk it sits on before sign-off.
Where this shows up
Rebuilding PnL from its drivers and reconciling to the front office is the signature product-control / middle-office exercise at banks of this type.
Firms such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays.
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Task brief
# PnL Attribution Sheet (Middle Office) **Role relevance:** Middle-office / product-control take-home. **Estimated time:** 50 minutes · **Difficulty:** Intermediate · **Format:** Excel (.xlsx) ## What you are given - `pnl_attribution_sheet_starter.xlsx` — a **Brief** tab, a **Formula Help** tab and a **PnL** tab with each desk's driver breakdown and the front-office figure. Amber cells are yours to complete. ## What you must deliver 1. Build each position's **MO PnL** by summing its drivers (market, carry, fees, new-trade) 2. Compute the **residual** against the front-office figure per position 3. Identify the position with the largest unexplained residual with a **lookup** 4. A *PnL-by-driver* chart and a one-line explanation of the residual
Your tasks
- 01Build each position's MO PnL by summing its drivers (market, carry, fees, new-trade).
- 02Compute the residual against the front-office figure for every position.
- 03Identify the position with the largest unexplained residual using a lookup, not by eye.
- 04Total the book, chart PnL by driver, and explain in one line what the residual most likely is.
How you're assessed
The full points-based mark scheme is included with the pack.
What you'll learn
- What 'PnL explain' is and why every day's PnL must reconcile to its drivers before sign-off.
- Why an unexplained residual is investigated even when it's small — small today, systematic tomorrow.
- How to isolate a break to a single desk instead of burying it in a book total.