Definition:
This is a report presented to directors. But when they ask for justification and the person that generated the source data is dragged in, that person has no idea how the report has produced the numbers the directors are asking about.
Explanation:
These are the inevitable changes when a detailed report designed to be transparent and viewed by subject matter experts gets summarised multiple times by subsequent levels of management on the way up to the top. However these summaries tend to be made by managers wanting to make their report look better rather than accurate, often using a slight more ‘seemly’ term rather than a technical one. This means that over iterations the fundamental meaning of numbers will be changed rendering the report meaningless from its original intention.
Disclaimer: As always these posts are not aimed at anyone client or employer and are just my personal observations over a lifetime of dealing with both management and frontline associates.