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Accounting & Tax vocabulary · Costs & Budgeting

Forecast

Meaning in accounting & tax, with examples

/ˈfɔːrkæst/nounCommon term

In accounting & tax, forecast means: An updated estimate of future results, such as sales, costs or cash, based on actual figures so far and current expectations.

In Turkish: tahmin, öngörü

How it is used

Unlike the budget, a forecast is updated during the year, for example as a rolling or quarterly forecast. It is also a verb, with the past form forecast. Cash flow forecasts are vital for treasury teams.

Example sentences

  1. Based on the latest forecast, we will miss the annual target by about 5 percent.

  2. Please update the cash flow forecast for the next 13 weeks.

Common collocations

  • sales forecast
  • cash flow forecast
  • rolling forecast
  • full-year forecast
  • revise a forecast
  • budgetA financial plan that sets out expected income and spending for a future period, usually a year, and is used to control costs and compare actual results.
  • varianceThe difference between a planned or budgeted amount and the actual result. It is favourable if the result is better than planned and adverse if it is worse.
  • management accountingThe branch of accounting that prepares internal information, such as budgets, cost analysis and performance reports, to help managers make decisions.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Costs & Budgeting

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.