Oulu Business School and GOS Group Plc develop an AI model for corporate financial forecasting

The project centres on the GOS Forecast AI model developed by GOS Group, which combines more than ten years of development work with the latest AI technologies. The forecasting model generates fast and accurate income statement, balance sheet and cash flow forecasts based on companies’ accounting data.

The model is being tested in practice and its performance evaluated using corporate datasets. At the same time, the project examines the relationships between companies’ financial histories and macroeconomic variables. The objective is to identify patterns and underlying relationships within companies’ financial histories that can improve the predictability of future financial performance.

In addition to companies’ historical financial data, the project makes use of macroeconomic data. The aim is to investigate how economic cycles and other macroeconomic factors are reflected in the performance of individual companies and how these relationships can be utilised in AI-based forecasting models.

According to Miika Hakola, Director of Corporate Research at GOS Group, the goal is to combine practical experience in financial analysis with the latest expertise in artificial intelligence and academic research.

“Our collaboration with the University of Oulu provides us with an opportunity to evaluate the performance of the forecasting model using scientific methods and to develop new ways of leveraging corporate and macroeconomic data in forecasting,” Hakola explains.

According to Hakola, a particularly interesting aspect of the project is exploring what can be learned from companies’ financial histories and macroeconomic data to improve future forecasting.

“The use of AI represents the latest technology in forecasting models, and there is still limited research available on its application. In this joint project, the role of the university is to test the forecasting model developed by GOS Group. The project is an excellent example of practical collaboration between a university and the business community,” says Juha-Pekka Kallunki, Professor of Accounting at Oulu Business School.

The project is also expected to result in theses and scientific publications.

The collaboration supports the development of corporate financial decision-making. Rapidly generated and accurate forecasts can help businesses identify future financial changes, assess their financing needs and make decisions based on up-to-date information.

Drawing on the University of Oulu’s research expertise, the mathematical methods underpinning the model can be further developed and their predictive capabilities systematically evaluated. A key objective is to identify new ways of combining company-specific financial data with macroeconomic variables to produce even more accurate forecasts of future performance.