Introduces the six papers in this special issue, which reflect a growing interest in using qualitative reasoning techniques in decision support systems, especially in the fields of finance and economics. This introduction also provides a very brief tutorial on qualitative reasoning and its...

. Supersedes TR 22. Describes the theory underlying the Automated Analytics project Crosby, a system which helps to interpret complex quantitative data by allowing the user to manipulate qualitative assumptions about the correctness of the data or the manner in which it should be modeled

A survey paper that describes a variety of different Artificial Intelligence programs described in the academic literature which make use of formal qualitative and quantitative models of firms, markets, and so on

Presents an overview of an early prototype of the Comet system for integrated audit planning and controls evaluation and its possible extensions to risk assessment and other tasks

Describes the kinds of meta-information about content, form, quality, and resources needed for knowledge navigation, drawing on examples in the domain of gathering business information

PLANET is an expert system for audit risk assessment and audit test selection. At present it is undergoing worldwide field testing by Price Waterhouse audit teams. As a case study, PLANET illustrates a complex interplay of audit methodology issues and expert systems development techniques, and...

CROSBY III automatically constructs explanations for financial results. The key elements of the program are (1) a body of raw financial data to be explained, (2) an extensible knowledge base of financial relations expressed as algebraic constraints, (3) a selection of possible explanatory...