Sales forecasting is extremely important for an organization. Using the following information, develop a sales forecast for the next year for this firm using the Naïve Method (formula is Current Year x (Current Year/Previous Year)), the Moving Average Method (using both a two-year and a four-year average), the Exponential Smoothing Method (using an α = 0.2), and a Trend Projection (using Regression). Do you think these methods should all give you the same estimate? Why or why not? Make sure you show your work.
Year
Sales
2016
$750,000
2017
$825,000
2018
$895,000
2019
$975,000
2020
$1,025,000
2021
$1,100,000
2022
?