Your question is Pivot-Based Reconciliation Variance Analysis. Take a moment with it on the right.
Talk me through your thinking if you like. When you're confident, submit your answer and I'll grade it like a real screen (7/10 or better passes).
Finance and operations teams often use Excel pivot tables to summarize transactions and compare expected versus actual totals during reconciliations. In SQL roles, interviewers want to know how you would translate that same thinking into database queries.
Explain how advanced Excel features such as pivot tables and variance analysis support reconciliations, and how you would reproduce the same workflow in PostgreSQL. In your answer, discuss:
Keep the answer practical and interview-focused. You do not need to discuss spreadsheet mechanics in detail; focus on the reconciliation logic, the SQL equivalents, and how summary-level checks lead into row-level investigation.