u/Many-Employment8890

I started working as a Business Analyst 2 months ago at a ~1500-person company after previously working in marketing analytics. It’s my first role where my work goes directly to executives (CFO, CEO, VP of Sales), and honestly it’s been the most stressful job I’ve had.

A few situations really hurt my confidence:

- I accidentally sent a shared Google Sheet with a hidden tab containing broken formulas to the CFO.
- I identified what looked like a multi-million budget revision, but after hours of investigation it turned out our department simply hadn’t been informed about a data restructuring.
- When the CEO asks for analyses, I sometimes misunderstand the expected level of detail. For example, I prepared a deep pipeline analysis with recommendations, while he actually wanted a simple high-level overview.

At the same time, some of my responsibilities (like investor reporting) are going well without issues.

I’m 25 with ~4 years of experience, but this role feels like a massive jump in visibility and responsibility.

Are situations like this normal when moving into higher-visibility analytical roles, or are these signs that I may not be suited for this kind of work?

Hi everyone,

Since March, I’ve been working as a Business Analyst at a relatively small corporation (~1500 employees), in the sales development department. Before this, I worked in marketing roles, mainly analyzing paid marketing data.
The transition has been pretty overwhelming because previously I was just a small part of a bigger machine, while now my analyses go directly to executives. My direct manager is the VP of Sales.

I’m only in my second month, but honestly this is the most stressful job I’ve ever had.
A few situations really shook my confidence:
I once sent a report to the CFO as a shared Google Sheet. Someone opened a hidden tab I forgot about, and it had broken formulas. The CFO asked what was going on. I fixed it, but then another issue appeared afterward.
Another time, while sending a budget report, I identified what looked like a multi-million budget revision. After spending half a day investigating, coordinating between teams, and troubleshooting, it turned out there was no actual revision - our department simply hadn’t been informed about a data restructuring, so millions temporarily disappeared from the dataset.
I also sometimes get ad hoc analysis requests directly from the CEO. A recurring issue is that I interpret the request differently than intended. For example, he asked whether we had enough leads across markets and wanted pipeline analysis. I had previously been told not to send just raw tables but also interpretations and recommendations, so I prepared a deeper analysis of multiple pipeline aspects. Then the CEO said he expected something much more high-level and simple.
What confuses me is that my other major responsibility - preparing an investor report, has actually been going well so far, without mistakes.
I’m 25 and have about 4 years of experience, but this role feels like a huge jump in responsibility and visibility.
My question is: are situations like this normal when stepping into a more senior/high-visibility analytical role, or are these signs that I’m simply not suited for this kind of job? What can I change to be better