forecast

Tag: forecast

SWAG Technique

During the Vietnam War era, the military coined the term SWAG – Scientific Wild-Ass Guess. CBS released “The Uncounted Enemy: a Vietnam Deception” in 1982 which highlighted the US Army and their “manipulation” of facts and figures during the Vietnam conflict. CBS claimed that  General William Westmoreland and other military officers were conspiring to misrepresent information, resulting in

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What You Should Know About Preparing a Forecast

Ready or not, it’s time to start the process of preparing your 2016 forecast.  While it may seem a bit premature, a walk down the aisle of your favorite home improvement store to check out their (already) prominently featured holiday displays tells the story.  Some of this can definitely be attributed to overzealousness to capture the consumer’s holiday

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5 Ways to Prepare for Seasonality

Seasonality can be brutal.  If your business is like ours, summertime is pretty slow.  The phones don’t ring, employees and clients are on vacation, nobody is available for appointments and not much happens in general.  Even if summertime is busy in your industry, chances are that there are other times during the year that business

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Pro-Forma Financial Statements

See Also: Proforma Earnings Balance Sheet Cash Flow Statement Free Cash Flow Variance Analysis Pro-Forma Financial Statements Definition In accounting, pro-forma financial statements are hypothetical financial reports that show either forecasts of or alterations to actual financial statements. Pro-forma financial statements show the financial statements of a company in a hypothetical scenario that has not

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Economic Indicators

See Also: Consumer Price Index Stagflation Balance of Payments What are the Twin Deficits? The Feds Beige Book Economic Indicators Definition Economic indicators are macroeconomic data that describe the condition of an economy. So, use them to determine whether an economy is prosperous and expanding or troubled and contracting. For example, a high unemployment rate

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Budgeting vs Forecasting

See Also: Forecasting Comparison Analysis Budgeting vs Forecasting The budgeting vs forecasting process has been a good discussion between financial professionals. The argument of whether they serve the same purpose or if one is better than the other has lead to some interesting debates. The term has been used several times interchangeably. However let’s explore

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Thirteen Week Cash Flow Report

Thirteen Week Cash Flow Report Definition The Thirteen Week Cash Flow Report, defined as a method to forecast the cash flow needs of a company, is commonly used in businesses with complicated cash cycles. When active cash management is required, this tool is especially useful. This model is used best as a “big picture” tool to

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The 13 Week Cash Flow Report

13 Week Cash Flow Report Definition Define the 13 Week Cash Flow Report as a method to forecast the cash flow needs of a company. It is commonly used in businesses with complicated cash cycles. This tool is especially useful in a situation where active cash management is required. Use the 13 Week Cash Flow

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How to Develop a Daily Cash Report

Learn how to develop a daily cash report in today’s blog. Use the Daily Cash Report to report on the daily cash balance and to help manage cash on a weekly basis. This tool is especially useful when entering a situation where active cash management is required for your daily cash flow. The daily cash

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Forecasting and Your Business

Do you manage your business looking backward or forward? Are you preoccupied with looking at how last month compared with the budget instead of where your business is headed? While examining actual performance against the budget can be a very useful approach to identifying areas of improvement in your organization, it can also take your

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