It's because the way Word gets data by default from Excel (OLEDB) looks at
the "underlying data" in Excel, not the "presentation" version of the data.
If you have Excel, you can revert to the old connection method (DDE) by
checking Word Tools|Options|General|"Confirm conversions at open",
reconnecting to the Excel sheet and selecting the DDE option when it is
offered. Alternatively, you may be able to format currency amounts by
changing the field code from e.g.
{ MERGEFIELD mynumber \*mergeformat }
to e.g.
{ MERGEFIELD mynumber \#"$,0.00" }
I don't like it either, but that's the way it is. This explanation and
approach to a solution has been posted hundreds if not thousands of times in
this group, yet you do not appear to have looked for it. Why?
Peter Jamieson