KEY BENEFIT: The ninth edition of Business Forecasting presents basic statistical techniques that are useful for preparing individual business forecasts and long-range plans. Written in a simple, straightforward style and making extensive use of practical business examples, the book includes many cases that provide readers with the necessary link between theoretical concepts and their real-world applications. Readers should have a basic knowledge of statistics and be familiar with computer applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. KEY TOPICS: The book first presents background material such as the nature of forecasting and a quick review of basic statistical concepts; proceeds with the exploration of data patterns and choosing a forecasting technique; covers averaging the smoothing techniques and time series decomposition; emphasizes causal forecasting techniques such as correlation, regression, and multiple regression analysis; and concludes with judgmental forecasting and forecast adjustments. MARKET: Useful as a reference for students and professionals with job titles including: forecasting manager, marketing manager, production manager, and analyst.

1. Introduction to Forecasting.
2. A Review of Basic Statistical Concepts.
3. Exploring Data Patterns and Choosing a Forecasting Technique.
4. Moving Averages and Smoothing Methods.
5. Time Series and Their Components.
6. Simple Linear Regression.
7. Multiple Regression Analysis.
8. Regression with Time Series Data.
9. The Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) Methodology.
10. Judgmental Forecasting and Forecast Adjustments.
11. Managing the Forecasting Process.
Appendix A: Derivations.
Appendix B: Data for Case Study 7.1.
Appendix C: Tables.
Appendix D: Data Sets and Databases.
Index.