Definitive Business Plan, Second Edition, The

Estimating the present

I have mentioned already that you often find yourself preparing forecasts for next year when this year is not yet over.

Filling in gaps in the figures for the current year is more a matter of estimation than forecasting. You will have a reasonable idea of the transactions yet to be recorded in the accounts. You can firm up on these as the planning exercise progresses. To avoid making frequent revisions to the forecast, try not to make it arithmetically dependent on the figures that you are forced to estimate and are likely to change.