Harvard Business Review

MARCH 31, 2017

If you’re not a numbers person, finance is daunting. But having a grasp of terms like EBITDA and net present value are important no matter where you sit on the org chart. Stop avoiding finance because you’re afraid of numbers. Think of it this way, “Finance is the way businesses keep score.

Finance 8

Finance Skills EBITDA Net Present Value 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2016

There are a variety of ways to calculate a return on investment (ROI) — net present value , internal rate of return , breakeven — but the simplest is payback period. A Refresher on Net Present Value. Finance & Accounting Article. Further Reading.

Payback Period 8

Payback Period Net Present Value ROI Rate of Return 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 17, 2016

There are a variety of methods you can use to calculate ROI — net present value , payback, breakeven — and internal rate of return , or IRR. According to Knight, it’s commonly used by financial analysts in conjunction with net present value, or NPV. A Refresher on Net Present Value.

Rate of Return 8

Rate of Return IRR NPV Net Present Value 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

But why compare apples (book value) to oranges (share price and dividends)? Buffett explains that book value is the best proxy for "intrinsic value," the net present value of all estimated future cash flows. Consider that since 1965, Berkshire's book value grew 434,057% and the S&P index grew only 5,430%.

Letter 15

Letter P&L Insurance Net Present Value 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Anyone who has had to make the argument for an investment knows the basic tool involved: a Net Present Value (NPV) calculation. The overall value of a foreign investment is equal to the NPV of the expected stream of profits for the life of the investment.

NPV 14

NPV Short-term Discount Politics 14

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

This lack of an analytical approach has traditionally formed a barrier between marketing and finance. CFOs are more interested in capital investment estimates, net present values, and a clear outline of the trade-offs of any investment. They’re going to make ads and do whatever it is they do. Ask for the CFO’s help.

CFO 9

CFO Short-term Long-term Benchmarking 9

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 8, 2018

Business students have traditionally considered net present value, payback period, and hurdle rates as necessary tools to determine which project to select. This notion, that risk is a desirable feature, can seem like sacrilege to anyone who’s taken an introductory finance course.

Report 8

Report GAAP Net Present Value CFO 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 1, 2017

Today, the average cost of equity capital sits at close to half that: just 8% for the roughly 1600 companies comprising the Value Line Index. So, in real terms, debt financing is essentially free. In these circumstances, strategies that generate faster growth create more value for most companies than those that improve profit margins.

ROE 15

ROE Long-term GDP Short-term 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 9, 2015

Sure, you may know this already, but people who haven’t studied finance often find this statement confusing. Finance & Accounting Tool. It’s where your company’s finance department will ask the toughest questions and scrutinize your estimates and assumptions most carefully. Excerpted from. Joe Knight.

ROI 8

ROI Analysis Rate of Return Net Present Value 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 18, 2015

In particular, we are interested in how many of their responses correlate with what academic finance knows and what it teaches. ” PE firms typically take three types of value increasing actions — financial engineering, governance engineering, and operational engineering. What PE firms do after they invest.

CAPM 8

CAPM Discounted Cash Flow Company Rate of Return 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. Instead, the finance office can allow the department to keep some of the savings it created, in excess of the original acquisition cost, in future year budgets.

Budgeting 8

Budgeting System Innovation Payback Period 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Employees frequently attribute breakdowns to incompetence or bad faith on the part of colleagues in other departments: "Those bozos in headquarters [or finance or marketing] screw everything up." Strategies often falter in execution because of insufficient coordination across the organization.

Strategy 9

Strategy Proposal Guidelines Net Present Value 9