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Analysing Financial Performance with Quarterly Data Using Self OrganisingMaps JonasKarlsson ÅboAkademiUniversity,DepartmentofInformationSystems, Lemminkäisenkatu14,FIN20520Turku,Finland Email:Jonas.Karlsson@abo.fi BarbroBack ÅboAkademiUniversity,DepartmentofInformationSystems, Lemminkäisenkatu14,FIN20520Turku,Finland Email:Barbro.Back@abo.fi HannuVanharanta PoriSchoolofTechnologyandEconomics, Pohjoisranta11,FIN28100Pori,Finland Email:Hannu.Vanharanta@pori.tut.fi AriVisa TampereUniversityofTechnology,Departmentof InformationTechnology, Korkeakoulunkatu10,FIN33100Tampere,Finland Email:Ari.Visa@tut.fi TurkuCentreforComputerScience TUCSTechnicalReportNo430 November2001 ISBN9521209151 ISS Abstract The purpose is to analyse the quarterly financial performance of telecommunications companies with the help selforganising maps. In this reportthethreemajoractorsonthetelecommunicationsmarketisevaluated and benchmarked on the basis of seven key ratios, calculated for seven consecutive quarters between the first quarter of year 2000 to the third quarter of year 2001. To conduct benchmarking with several financial key figures in changing business environment is difficult and time consuming for today s managers andthere exists a needfor aneasy and quick tool to accomplish this task. We argue that by using selforganising maps and quarterly data managers and other interested partie s receive up to date information on companies financial performance inan easily interpretable way. Keywords: Financial benchmarking, Selforganising maps, Neural networks, Company comparisons,