Forecast profit and loss

NickyW

My boss has asked me to draft a forecast profit and loss - this is something I have never done and is panicking me! Would I draft it in the same way I would do a normal P & L but using forecasted data - would this data come from the cash flow statement?
I'm sorry if this is a stupid question - unfortunately there is only me in the Accounts Department!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Nicky

flossie

Hi

A few weeks ago I was in the exact same predicament. I printed off a Trial balance to the end of June and basically doubled the figures for the final P&L for this year and then went through in comparison to last years P&L figures to make sure there were a) no odd looking figures and b) realsitic looking figures based on what we had on the books for sales for the rest of the year.

I then input these figures on to excel and looked at increases in overheads, where we expected them and where we hoped to make savings. By setting them up in excel I could create a formula I could change % on and the figures would just change accordingly. This proved to be a good idea when my MD turned round and said he expected bigger overhead increases than I had! Two minutes and they were adjusted accordingly.

It did seem a really daunting task at first, especially as my predecessor did everything with serious over kill but so far everything has been approved and I found it a really enjoyable task in the end.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

NickyW

Thanks for this. I started doing it yesterday and your posting was a really good starting point for me.
Nicky