Uncertainty and Forecasting: A Dual-Use Case in Budgeting and Weather

Carl Lam - State University of New York at Buffalo

The art of prediction is inherently difficult. You are trying to peer into the future using the information you have in the present and predict an outcome for the future, which is even more challenging given current external factors.

This presentation will highlight how the art of prediction is used in weather forecasting and also in budgeting in higher education along with how critical it is to have high quality data. Attendees will see how a weather forecast is put together and how easily transferrable the concepts are to budgeting.

This presentation will share the experience of a higher education business professional who also forecasts the weather on television and radio for thousands of listeners and viewers each day to understand how you can claim the uncertainty to work to your advantage where there are so many unknowns in our day to day.

Learning Objectives

1. Draw connections between forecasting budgets in higher education and forecasting the weather.
2. Articulate the importance of using updated data to help make better and more accurate predictions.
3. Express how uncertainty can be used to your advantage, if you have the right information to support your claims.

CPE Available

• 1 Credit: Finance