AI-supported planning and forecasting with open source tools

Fundamentals of planning and forecasting in controlling

• Introduction to the concepts and techniques of planning and forecasting in controlling.
• Data collection and organization.
• Graphical visualization of time series in Excel for decision support in controlling.
• Data cleansing and formatting in Excel for controlling analyses.
• Operational and strategic planning in controlling.

Trend analysis and forecasting methods for time series

• Trends in planning and forecasting in controlling.
• Modeling with forecasting functions to predict key financial figures.
• Analysis of seasonalities for forecast optimization.
• Calculation of the coefficient of determination to assess the accuracy of the forecast.
• Application and use of mathematical models to forecast sales data.

Planning and forecasting in Microsoft Excel based on AI functions

• Data analysis with artificial intelligence in Excel.
• Use the forecast sheet function in Excel to create detailed financial forecasts.
• Use of linear and logarithmic charts to analyze sales trends in controlling.
• Identification of outliers in financial time series.
• Calculation of confidence intervals to improve the accuracy of sales forecasts and budgeting.

Machine learning basics and application in controlling

• Types and functionality of machine learning models.
• Development and application of regression models for sales forecasting in controlling.
• Performance and interpretation of regression analyses on price elasticity.
• Division of data into training and test data for the validation of forecast models.
• Improvement of forecasting models by adjusting variables to optimize controlling decisions.

AI-supported planning and forecasting with Microsoft Copilot in Excel

• Simple analyses of controlling data (sorting, filtering, highlighting).
• Formula calculations.
• AI-supported evaluations of data with pivot tables.
• AI-supported analysis with visualizations and pivot charts.

AI-supported planning and forecasting with ChatGPT Plus (4o model) and Google Gemini

• AI-supported visualization of controlling data with Python, Matplotlib and Seaborn.
• AI-supported outlier and anomaly detection.
• AI-supported time series analysis.
• Advanced forecasting with the Facebook Prophet model.

Data security in AI-supported planning and forecasting

• Where is the data located?
• Recommendations for practice.

AI practice project time series analysis in controlling

• Analysis of time series of company sales to support controlling decisions.
• Calculation and analysis of trends, seasonalities and confidence intervals to produce accurate financial forecasts.
• Application of regression models and implementation of forecast calculations for controlling.
• Evaluation and selection of the best models for optimizing controlling processes.

Presentation of further open source tools for planning and forecasting in controlling

• Forecasting Services from Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Amazon Forecasts.
• Google Cloud AI Platform.
• Azure Machine Learning from Microsoft.
• IBM Watson Studio.
• Power BI and Tableau.