I’m conducting a search for a new AMS on behalf of one of my clients. We requested responses, including pricing, from five vendors. Of the five vendors responses, THREE of them had mathematical errors in their proposals. Ironically, the only area of the entire proposal that I can judge for absolute accuracy is the math!
The lesson for all of us: Double-check your work. Especially if it’s something easily checked, like addition and subtraction, or undisputed facts (e.g., don’t say “57 states” when we all know there are only 50). These may seem like minor errors, but in this particular case, it was tens of thousands of dollars in error. That doesn’t present a great first impression.