Disadvantages of Banking as a Service
Banking as a service is set to transform the commercial banking industry. It is the latest buzzword in the commercial banking industry and almost every well-known commercial bank is allocating billions of dollars from its budget to get this model implemented at the earliest. This is because there are several advantages to implementing banking as […]
Sustainable Growth Rate and the Du-Pont Analysis (PRAT Model)
We now have a basic understanding of the concept of sustainable growth rate and how it related to the valuation of any given firm. In this article, we will dig deeper in the same formula in an attempt to connect it with the famous Du-Pont model which is used worldwide to predict the Return On […]
Investment Banks and Underwriting
The primary function of investment banks is to help their clients raise equity capital. This is often done by initial public offerings. This is where investment banks provide their biggest service i.e., underwriting. Most people have a basic understanding of underwriting. They know that when an investment bank underwrites a share issue, they guarantee to […]
Financial Troubles in the Fracking Industry
The fracking industry has had a huge impact on the financial situation of the world in the past decade or so. The process of hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking has allowed countries like the United States to produce oil from shale reserves. The result has been that the United States has become the third […]
Free Cash Flow to Operating Cash Flow Ratio – Meaning, Formula and Interpretation
The free cash flow to operating cash flow ratio is different from other ratios. It is different in the sense that it is comparing two measures of cash flow. Usually cash flow ratios compare a cash flow item to an item on the income statement or on the balance sheet. Here are the details of […]
We have earlier discussed the fact that Net present Value (NPV) is considered to be the gold standard when it comes to financial decision making. If a project has an NPV greater than zero then it is supposed to be a financially viable project and the firm must invest its resources towards that project, if not the project should be rejected.
But NPV is not the only metric that we can use to come to this decision regarding accepting or rejecting a project. Payback period is another such metric. In this article we will discuss about the conceptual foundation of payback period and then we shall see its drawbacks.
Payback period basically pays attention to the speed at which the initial investment made in a project will be recovered by subsequent cash flows. The project which helps recoup the investment the fastest is considered to be the best project and that is the project that the firm must dedicate its resources to.
Example:
Let’s say that there are 2 projects A and B. Both require an equal outlay of $2000. Project A pays back $1500 in year 1, $500 in year 2 and $500 in year 3. Project B on the other hand pays $750 for 4 consecutive years.
So, now in this case if we were to use the payback period rule. We could consider the period in which the initial $2000 investment is recovered. In case of Project A, we recover it in 2 years whereas in case of Project B it requires 3 years. So according to the payback rule, Project A is better than Project B and the company must clearly devote its finite resources to Project A before it decides whether or not to undertake Project B.
Now, this decision could be wrong because of a couple of reasons:
To overcome the second limitation of ignoring the time value of money, a modified measure of payback period called the discounted payback period is often used. This measure still does not overcome the fact that payback period does not account for the cash flows after the initial investment has been recouped. This is the reason why payback period is not a perfect metric and why NPV leads to better decisions.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
