Future Ready: How to Master Business Forecasting

Reliable forecasts are essential to help steer through the turbulent environment faced by many businesses, but they are particularly important for organisations on a Beyond Budgeting journey.

And yet there are very few books or other sources that provide any guidance on the peculiar challenges of forecasting over the medium term where the inputs from multiple different sources and judgement must combined to produce forecasts which serve to help manager steer the performance of often very large and complex businesses.

This book is the main source of guidance and reference for practitioners faced with these challenges.

Having diagnosed the problems associated with business forecasting this book advances a programme to help practitioners produce reliable forecasts structured around six themes:

1. Mastering purpose: what is a forecast to be used for and how does this impact the way in which it is structured?
2. Mastering time: how frequently do you need to forecast and over what time horizon?
3. Mastering models: what is the best way to produce forecasts in any given set of circumstances – statistically, judgementally or using driver-based approaches?
4. Mastering measurement: how do we know whether we have a good forecast and how can we use measures to improve it?
5. Mastering risk: how should we incorporate uncertainty and risk into forecasts and what do we do with this information?
6. Mastering process: how should forecasts be produced?

Finally, the challenges of implementing new forecasting practices are explored, particularly in the context of a Beyond Budgeting context.

You can download a short sample from the book from this page. Buy a complete copy from here or any other book retailer.

About the Author

Steve Morlidge has been involved with Beyond Budgeting since its inception in 1998. As Controller of one of Unilever's largest subsidiaries he was one of the original sponsors and he subsequently led a Beyond Budgeting change project for the whole enterprise.

He is the author of six books on Beyond Budgeting related topics and completed a PhD exploring the links between Beyond Budgeting and systems theory. He is a visiting Professor at BBP University and a visiting fellow at Cranfield University.