MGT 8803 BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS FOR
ANALYTICS EXAM UPDATED 2026 STUDY
GUIDE SUMMARY WITH ACCURATE
FINANCE SOLUTIONS
⩥ What are three parts of business analytics?. Answer: 1) Descriptive
2) Predictive
3) Prescriptive
⩥ Descriptive. Answer: use data to analyze past and current business
performance; consolidate/ summarize data; "what were or what are"
⩥ Predictive. Answer: Use historical data to predict future performance.
Detect patterns and extrapolate forward in time; "what will"
⩥ Prescriptive. Answer: Use data to make decisions among many
alternatives.
Optimization; "what should or what is best"
⩥ The chief financial officer for a small manufacturing firm would like
to estimate the net profit that the firm could expect over the next three
years. Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this
scenario?. Answer: Predictive
,⩥ A human resource manager needs to understand whether the
company's current employee mix has the skills and capabilities needed
to achieve the goals laid out by a new strategic plan. Which analytics
tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer: descriptive
⩥ A financial advisor would like to develop the best mix of stocks,
bonds, and other investments for a client to achieve a comfortable level
of risk. Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this
scenario?. Answer: prescriptive
⩥ A large service firm wishes to determine how to invest the cash
received from its financial product to achieve the best return. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
prescriptive
⩥ A logistics company wants to better understand the relative
profitability of its numerous customers over the past three years. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
descriptive
⩥ A disaster relief agency needs to allocate its budget for the next year
among various relief efforts and programs. Which analytics tools would
most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer: prescriptive
, ⩥ An automobile company would like to determine the number of
vehicles it could sell next year based on the proposed price. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
predictive
⩥ A baseball team would like to set ticket prices for different sections in
its stadium to attract the highest number of fans throughout the season.
Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?.
Answer: prescriptive
⩥ What are ways one might use business analytics in real life?. Answer:
-A store might keep track of inventory and use it to decide what items
are in demand.
-A reporter could analyze social media posts to see what types of people
are more likely to share unverified news stories.
-An automobile owner can predict when the next maintenance will be
due by recording things such as the miles driven and gas mileage. This
would help them budget accordingly.
-A golf player might use statistics to help to diagnose problems and
improve their game
⩥ Net Present Value (NPV). Answer: the sum of the present values of
expected future cash flows from an investment, minus the cost of that
investment
ANALYTICS EXAM UPDATED 2026 STUDY
GUIDE SUMMARY WITH ACCURATE
FINANCE SOLUTIONS
⩥ What are three parts of business analytics?. Answer: 1) Descriptive
2) Predictive
3) Prescriptive
⩥ Descriptive. Answer: use data to analyze past and current business
performance; consolidate/ summarize data; "what were or what are"
⩥ Predictive. Answer: Use historical data to predict future performance.
Detect patterns and extrapolate forward in time; "what will"
⩥ Prescriptive. Answer: Use data to make decisions among many
alternatives.
Optimization; "what should or what is best"
⩥ The chief financial officer for a small manufacturing firm would like
to estimate the net profit that the firm could expect over the next three
years. Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this
scenario?. Answer: Predictive
,⩥ A human resource manager needs to understand whether the
company's current employee mix has the skills and capabilities needed
to achieve the goals laid out by a new strategic plan. Which analytics
tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer: descriptive
⩥ A financial advisor would like to develop the best mix of stocks,
bonds, and other investments for a client to achieve a comfortable level
of risk. Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this
scenario?. Answer: prescriptive
⩥ A large service firm wishes to determine how to invest the cash
received from its financial product to achieve the best return. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
prescriptive
⩥ A logistics company wants to better understand the relative
profitability of its numerous customers over the past three years. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
descriptive
⩥ A disaster relief agency needs to allocate its budget for the next year
among various relief efforts and programs. Which analytics tools would
most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer: prescriptive
, ⩥ An automobile company would like to determine the number of
vehicles it could sell next year based on the proposed price. Which
analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?. Answer:
predictive
⩥ A baseball team would like to set ticket prices for different sections in
its stadium to attract the highest number of fans throughout the season.
Which analytics tools would most likely be used for this scenario?.
Answer: prescriptive
⩥ What are ways one might use business analytics in real life?. Answer:
-A store might keep track of inventory and use it to decide what items
are in demand.
-A reporter could analyze social media posts to see what types of people
are more likely to share unverified news stories.
-An automobile owner can predict when the next maintenance will be
due by recording things such as the miles driven and gas mileage. This
would help them budget accordingly.
-A golf player might use statistics to help to diagnose problems and
improve their game
⩥ Net Present Value (NPV). Answer: the sum of the present values of
expected future cash flows from an investment, minus the cost of that
investment
