I am using indirect to check for a range predetermined by using labels and
CONCATENATE. I want to create the formula so that when columns are added,
the least amount of maintenance is needed, so I have:
=COUNTIF(INDIRECT(I178),"<N/A")

with INDIRECT referring to:

=CONCATENATE("I",FIRST_TEST_ROW,":I",LAST_TEST_ROW )

where I is the column.

THIS WORKS FINE, BUT:

I want to minimise maintenance. As it stands, if someone else works with
the sheet, they have to know to copy and paste a column, then change the
column references to match the new column.

I decided to try R1C1 referencing, to avoid explicitly reference the column:

=COUNTIF(INDIRECT(R[31]C),"<N/A")

with INDIRECT referring to:

=CONCATENATE("R",FIRST_TEST_ROW,"C",":R",LAST_TEST _ROW,"C")

MAYHEM:
When I do this (whether I switch R1C1 referencing on or off), I get #REF as
a result for the formula. The CONCATENATION still looks ok :"R12C:R144C"

What is going wrong?
How do I get my low maintenance solution if not this way (which should be
really elegant)?