Financial Analysis and Expert Systems

Abstract

Financial analysis expert systems have been developed but there is little evidence to suggest that such expert systems are as widely used in the financial analyst community as other information technology products. The research findings presented here suggest that one explanation for this non-use of expert systems may be that users do not have a need to use the existing technology. We arrived at this conclusion by researching the rich picture of the task and the needs of a small number of financial analysts. In so doing, we were able to develop insights into the topic area which to our knowledge are new. Our analysis may confirm a need to re-orientate expert systems development. Thus, the selection and use of research methods which are geared to shedding light on users’ needs may be valuable to practitioners, in developing product development strategies, and to researchers, in casting new light on their topic areas.