PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng. The PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting (referred as “Knowledgecurve Pwc” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, IT.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting Case Study

In May 2002, Stephen Langley, CIO of Asia Pacific, PwC Consulting, and his counterparts in the United States and Europe were engaged in pressing issues pertaining to the separation of the fabric of the KnowledgeCurve, the lifeline of the firm, in preparation for a spinoff scheduled for early August. The KnowledgeCurve was an Intranet system that supported the daily business activities of the entire firm. With the emergence of newer technologies and Internet-based applications, it seemed illogical to duplicate the legacy infrastructure upon which the KnowledgeCurve had been built. Furthermore, consulting staff were constantly pushing for newer functionalities that would, for example, allow them to access and retrieve information not only from PwC's knowledge base, but also from the wealth of external information service providers. In response to these changes and emerging demands, PwC Consulting started working on a portal, to be launched in Q4 2002, that would encompass the Intranet as it existed at the time. The migration from the legacy infrastructure posed a few technological challenges. Should it adopt a full portal integration approach, buy middleware to enable the integration of certain applications, or simply link the existing KnowledgeCurve to the portal to provide data access? Other issues arising from the spin-off needing resolution included ownership of intellectual property rights.

Case Authors : Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : IT

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021480)	-10021480	-	-
Year 1	3453131	-6568349	3453131	0.9434	3257671
Year 2	3973170	-2595179	7426301	0.89	3536107
Year 3	3963176	1367997	11389477	0.8396	3327559
Year 4	3238547	4606544	14628024	0.7921	2565233
TOTAL			14628024		12686569

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2665089

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Payback Period
3. Profitability Index
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Knowledgecurve Pwc have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Knowledgecurve Pwc shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Strategy & Execution Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Knowledgecurve Pwc often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Knowledgecurve Pwc needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021480)	-10021480	-	-
Year 1	3453131	-6568349	3453131	0.8696	3002723
Year 2	3973170	-2595179	7426301	0.7561	3004287
Year 3	3963176	1367997	11389477	0.6575	2605853
Year 4	3238547	4606544	14628024	0.5718	1851650
TOTAL					10464512

The Net NPV after 4 years is 443032

(10464512 - 10021480 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021480)	-10021480	-	-
Year 1	3453131	-6568349	3453131	0.8333	2877609
Year 2	3973170	-2595179	7426301	0.6944	2759146
Year 3	3963176	1367997	11389477	0.5787	2293505
Year 4	3238547	4606544	14628024	0.4823	1561799
TOTAL					9492059

The Net NPV after 4 years is -529421

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9492059 - 10021480 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Knowledgecurve Pwc to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Knowledgecurve Pwc has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Knowledgecurve Pwc can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Knowledgecurve Pwc, then the stock price of the Knowledgecurve Pwc should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Knowledgecurve Pwc should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting

References & Further Readings

Ali F. Farhoomand, Pauline Ng (2018), "PricewaterhouseCoopers KnowledgeCurve and the Spinning Off of PwC Consulting Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.