PL-300 Prepare the data Practice Question
You are a Power BI data analyst at a healthcare organization. You import patient encounter data from an Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pool. The data contains a column named EncounterDate of type datetime2. You need to create a Power Query transformation that adds a column showing the fiscal year, which starts on July 1. The fiscal year should be labeled as FY2024 for dates from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. Which transformation should you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is using the calendar year or subtracting months instead of adding months, which misclassifies dates that fall in the second half of the calendar year but belong to the next fiscal year.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add a custom column with the formula Date.Year(Date.AddMonths([EncounterDate], 6)) and concatenate 'FY' with the result.
To calculate a fiscal year that starts on July 1, you must shift the date by six months before extracting the year. The transformation Date.Year(Date.AddMonths([EncounterDate], 6)) correctly maps July 1 through June 30 to the appropriate fiscal year number, which can then be prefixed with 'FY' to match the required label format.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Add a custom column with the formula Date.Year([EncounterDate]) and concatenate 'FY' with the result.
Why it's wrong here
This uses the calendar year, not the fiscal year. For a date like August 15, 2023, it would return FY2023, but the fiscal year should be FY2024 because the fiscal year starts on July 1. This formula ignores the fiscal calendar entirely.
- ✓
Add a custom column with the formula Date.Year(Date.AddMonths([EncounterDate], 6)) and concatenate 'FY' with the result.
Why this is correct
Adding six months shifts July 1 to January 1 of the next calendar year, so Date.Year returns the fiscal year number. For example, July 1, 2023 becomes January 1, 2024, and Date.Year yields 2024, producing FY2024. This correctly labels the fiscal year starting July 1.
- ✗
Use the Date.StartOfYear function with a parameter of 7 to get the fiscal year start date, then extract the year.
Why it's wrong here
Date.StartOfYear does not accept a parameter to specify a different start month; it always returns January 1 of the year of the input date. Using it would not produce a fiscal year starting in July and would yield incorrect labels for dates between July and December.
- ✗
Add a custom column with the formula Date.AddMonths([EncounterDate], -6) and then extract the year.
Why it's wrong here
Subtracting six months shifts the date backward, which would incorrectly assign dates from January to June to the previous fiscal year. For example, February 1, 2024 would become August 1, 2023, and the year would be 2023, but it should be FY2024.
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Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
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