Investigating the predictability of sales and costs using financial statement items of companies listed in Tehran stock exchange

The main purpose of business entities is earning income and the most important factor in survival of business entities is sales revenue. Thus, the forecasting of sales and costs of business entities become an important issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of financial statement items in forecasting sales and costs of companies listed in Tehran stock exchange (TSE). To test the research hypotheses, 89 companies from five industries (auto and auto parts, food and drinks, metals, pharmaceutical and chemical) had been selected through cluster sampling. For analyzing and testing hypotheses, two regression models and panel data method were used. Research results show that forecasting sales and costs of companies listed on TSE is possible using financial statement items.