Using Excel to Forecast: A review of two recent How-To Books

MS Excel offers forecasters very limited capabilities compared to commercial forecasting software. Foresight's "Spotlight on Excel" in the February 2006 issue demonstrated many flaws in the "quick and dirty" manner of some Excel data-analysis functions that produced problematic forecasts. But, as reviewer Paul Fields noted, "Excel…can be very helpful when you are learning to do quantitative analysis." In that spirit, two recent books show how you might use Excel to learn about forecasting. Rick Hesse, who also contributed to Foresight's "Spotlight on Excel" feature, provides his reviews. Copyright International Institute of Forecasters, 2009