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Financial Trap 3
墨書 Inktalez
My name is Chen Siyuan, I am 26 years old, and I graduated from the Finance Department of Tsinghua University. I am currently an analyst at Wharton Investment Company, where my main job is to study the financial statements of publicly traded companies and help the company and clients analyze investment risks.
Since I was young, I have been a perfectionist; seeing disorganized numbers makes me uncomfortable. This obsessive nature often troubled me in school—I had to double-check every piece of data during experiments and ensure that every word I wrote was neat and beautiful. My classmates thought I was too particular, but I found joy in this meticulousness.
Perhaps it was this personality that influenced my career choice. To others, finance is simply a lucrative field, and people often assume I am in it for the high salary. However, what I am truly fascinated by is the rigorous logic behind data analysis.
Whenever I can uncover patterns and identify issues from chaotic numbers, that sense of accomplishment is irreplaceable.
My mentor often says, " Siyuan, you possess the rigor of a mathematician and the intuition of a detective." This statement fills me with both pride and pressure.
That night, if it weren't for my overtime work or if I hadn't taken another look at that financial report, I might still be just an ordinary analyst at the company. But that's how life is; sometimes a single detail can completely change a person's fate.
I remember that day when I was working late reviewing a report from a company called Future Technology. This company had recently gained popularity in the market, with its stock price soaring. However, as I examined its financial data closely, something felt off.
I input the data into an analysis model I developed myself. This model quickly identifies anomalies in financial statements. Sure enough, several warning signals popped up on the screen.
As I flipped through the data, my eyes suddenly froze: the accounts receivable turnover rate had skyrocketed from 4.2 to 8.7 in just three months. Such growth defied logic. In my years in finance, even tech giants like Apple hover around 2 to 3 for this figure. How could an ordinary tech company create such a "miracle"?
Moreover, their cash flow looked textbook perfect every quarter. But that was precisely the biggest flaw—because real business operations cannot be so flawless. It's like a person's weight; it cannot remain identical every day for several months.
Just as I was immersed in data analysis, a voice startled me.
" Siyuan, still working late?"
Looking up, I saw Director Li. He was my direct supervisor, always meticulous in appearance, dressed in a suit and tie, with his tie always tightly knotted, as if even speaking carried a seriousness unique to financial elites.
"Director Li, take a look at this report," I pointed to the data on the screen. "The financial data of this company is very suspicious. All the indicators are too perfect—perfect to the point of being unreal."
Director Li leaned in to take a look, his expression shifting slightly before quickly returning to normal. "Perhaps they have a special business model? Nowadays, tech companies love innovation."
"But..."
"Alright," Director Li interrupted me, patting my shoulder. "Xiao Chen, are you being too serious? Some things are just meant to be observed; there's no need to get hung up on them. Go home and rest; we'll discuss it again next week."
I nodded but felt uneasy inside. Why did Director Li brush off such an obvious issue?
As I packed my things to leave, I inexplicably copied the data onto my USB drive. Perhaps it was a professional habit; seeing abnormal numbers made me want to dig deeper.
As I walked out of the company building, I felt as if someone was watching me from behind. When I turned around, however, there was nothing there. This feeling of being monitored made me a bit anxious, but I also thought maybe I was just being overly sensitive.
Standing downstairs, I looked up at the forty-story glass tower. When I first entered here three years ago, I thought finance was about creating value with numbers. Now I understood that behind those numbers lay human greed and desire.
On my way home, I suddenly recalled something my professor said during my finance law class at Tsinghua: "In the financial market, there are no secrets that can be kept forever; it just depends on who uncovers them first."
At that time, I had no idea what astonishing secret I was about to unveil.
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