Which aspect of a business does NOT typically affect financial forecasts?

In the context of financial forecasting, employee satisfaction is not typically considered a direct factor influencing financial outcomes. While employee satisfaction can indeed impact a company's performance through factors like productivity and turnover rates, which may indirectly affect finances, it does not have the same immediate and quantifiable impact on the financial forecast as the other options.

Regulatory trends can directly affect a company's financials by altering compliance costs or impacting market conditions. Customer demographics shape market demand and sales projections, which are critical for financial forecasting as they inform revenue estimates. Vendor contracts determine costs of goods or services, thus influencing expenses and profit margins in financial forecasts.

Employee satisfaction, while essential for creating a positive workplace culture and retaining talent, does not have a direct line to financial metrics in the way that regulatory trends, customer demographics, or vendor contracts do. Therefore, it is often not included in the models used for financial forecasting.