Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2016

Any time you propose a capital expenditure, you can be sure senior leaders will want to know what the return on investment (ROI) is. There are a variety of methods you can use to calculate ROI — net present value , payback, breakeven — and internal rate of return , or IRR. A Refresher on Net Present Value.

Rate of Return 8

Rate of Return IRR NPV Net Present Value 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 23, 2015

Most finance managers in both large and small businesses encounter numerous proposals for capital investments and many of the people proposing these investments don’t have a clear picture of what the return will be. But finance people like me are skeptical even when the proposals do project a return. Here’s why.

Finance 8

Finance NPV CFO ROI 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 29, 2018

Despite a one-year payback period and a highly positive net present value (NPV) from this investment, the department will often reject the attractive opportunity. Consider the opportunity to raise spending in Year 1 by $100,000 to acquire technology that would decrease spending each year thereafter by $100,000.

Budgeting 8

Budgeting System Innovation Payback Period 8