This course is part of the Excel Skills for Business Forecasting Specialization

4.9
stars
148 ratings

Dr Prashan S. M. Karunaratne

7,764 already enrolled

Offered By

Excel Skills for Business Forecasting SpecializationMacquarie University

About this Course

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This course explores different time series business forecasting methods. The course covers a variety of business forecasting methods for different types of components present in time series data — level, trending, and seasonal. We will learn about the theoretical methods and apply these methods to business data using Microsoft Excel. These forecasting methods will be programmed into Microsoft Excel, displayed graphically, and we will optimise these models to produce accurate forecasts. We will compare different models and their forecasts to decide which model best suits our business' needs.

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Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Course 1 of 3 in the

Excel Skills for Business Forecasting Specialization

Intermediate Level

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Microsoft Excel
Time Series Models
Business Forecasting

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Course 1 of 3 in the

Excel Skills for Business Forecasting Specialization

Intermediate Level

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.89/5 (58 Ratings)

Dr Prashan S. M. Karunaratne

Senior Lecturer - Teaching & Leadership | FHEA

Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, Macquarie Business School

1,070,826 Learners

23 Courses

Offered by

Macquarie University

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome and Critical Information

Business Forecasting is part of any and every organisation. Organisations need to forecast so that they can plan for the organisation’s needs. Business forecasts are the inputs to every organisation’s planning – without business forecasts we cannot plan for our resources, our production, our supply chains – and ultimately our costs, revenues and profits. The current state of the world makes business forecasting even more fundamental to the operation of institutions. In this course we focus on Excel Skills for Business Forecasting using Time Series Models. We will be looking at how your business can utilise time series data sets to understand the different components underlying this data, and then apply the relevant model depending on these components. We will look at a range of business forecasting methods, and sometimes, more than one method may be needed! The models we look at are: Naïve Forecasting, Moving Averages, Trend-fitting, Simple Exponential Smoothing, Holt’s Exponential Smoothing, Winters Exponential Smoothing, and Decomposition. This course then continues in our second course in this specialisation which looks at Regression Models, and our third course in this specialisation which looks at Judgmental Forecasting. #EveryoneSayWow

1 hour to complete

2 videos (Total 2 min), 3 readings

2 hours to complete

Time Series Models

In this module, we explore the context and purpose of business forecasting and the three types of business forecasting — time series, regression, and judgmental. This course focuses on time series models. We will learn about time series models, as well as the component of time series data. We will then look at a preliminary forecasting method — Average Forecasts. Once we have a forecast, we need a tool to judge the accuracy of the forecasts — which are the forecasts and the error criterion calculated from these.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 43 min), 4 readings, 3 quizzes

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Level Time Series

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 45 min), 2 readings, 5 quizzes

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Trending Time Series

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 38 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Seasonal Time Series

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 35 min), 2 readings, 4 quizzes

Reviews

4.9

45 reviews

5 stars
91.21%
4 stars
6.75%
3 stars
1.35%
1 star
0.67%

TOP REVIEWS FROM EXCEL TIME SERIES MODELS FOR BUSINESS FORECASTING

by LGSep 20, 2021

I was able to immediately apply the forecasting models to my existing data. Highly recommend this course.!!

by THJul 6, 2021

I love the structure of the course with practical videos.

by OMNov 21, 2022

Great Skills thought. Thank you Prashan, for making your lessons easy to understand

by IPDec 17, 2022

spot on! quality! progression an introduction and expanded to intermediate

View all reviews

About the Excel Skills for Business Forecasting Specialization

The current state of the world makes business forecasting even more fundamental to the operation of institutions. In this Specialization we focus on Excel Skills for Business Forecasting in three courses — Time Series Models, Regression Models, and Judgmental Forecasting.

In the first course on Time Series Models, we will be looking at how your business can utilise time series data sets to understand the different components underlying this data, and then apply the relevant model depending on these components to forecast for your business' needs. We then continue in our second course in this specialisation which looks at Regression Models, building causal models for both time series data as well as cross-sectional data. Causal models allow us to develop further business insights and strategy by controlling the inputs to generate the output we desire. In the third and final course, we explore the role of Judgmental Forecasting, when more quantitative forecasting methods have limitations, and we need to generate further business insights. We will be exploring some structured methodologies to create judgmental business forecasts and explore how Excel can assist us in these judgments. We will bring all these forecasting methods together in a final case study, giving you the opportunity to generate forecasts, which are the inputs to any organisation's planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Excel Time Series Models for Business Forecasting

About this Course

Skills you will gain