While working from home, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) needs to open reports from accounting...

The first step the CFO should take is to verify the VPN status. When working remotely, access to internal resources such as databases, file servers, and accounting systems typically requires a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection. Without an active VPN tunnel, the application cannot reach internal database servers, resulting in connection errors.

According to the Quentin Docter – CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide, database connectivity issues during remote work are most commonly caused by missing or disconnected VPN sessions. Internal applications are often restricted to private IP ranges that are inaccessible over the public internet.

The Travis Everett & Andrew Hutz – All-in-One Exam Guide highlights that VPNs are designed to extend the corporate network securely to remote users. If the VPN is disconnected, authentication to internal services will fail even if the application itself launches correctly.

The Mike Meyers / Mark Soper Lab Manual further explains that restarting the PC or updating the application does not resolve network-path issues. Returning to the office is unnecessary if secure remote access is functioning as designed.

Because the error specifically indicates an inability to connect to a database—and not a corrupted application—the most logical and efficient first troubleshooting step is to confirm that the VPN is connected and authenticated.