Finance · Investment appraisal · Component
Project appraisal
The projected cash flows, discount rate, resulting measures and sensitivities for a single proposal to commit capital.
The deliverable
What it is
A project appraisal gathers the numbers a decision rests on into one place, in a form that can be revisited. It follows cash, period by period, and states the assumptions behind each line.
Its value later is as much as its value now. The post-investment review compares outcomes against exactly these figures, and that is only possible if they were recorded with their assumptions at the time.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
Projected cash flows
Money expected to go out and come in over the life of the project, by period, including residual value at the end.
3 attributes: Net cash flow · Period · Confidence
LearnDiscount rate
The rate used to bring future cash back to today’s value, and the reasoning for using it on this project.
3 attributes: Rate · Basis · Source
LearnAppraisal results
Net present value, internal rate of return and payback period, read together to show size, rate and exposure.
3 attributes: Net present value · Internal rate of return · Payback period
LearnSensitivities
How far each key assumption can move before the project stops being worth doing, tested one variable at a time.
3 attributes: Variable tested · Break-even value · Confidence
Learn
State which measure decided the case. When NPV and IRR disagree, the appraisal should say which one was followed and why.
The other components in investment appraisal
Investment criteria
The standards every proposal to commit capital is judged against, and the approval authority at each size of commitment.
LearnPost-investment review
A scheduled comparison of what an approved project was expected to deliver with what it delivered, and what that teaches.
Learn