Developing a Common Language About IT Risk 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 Developing a Common Language About IT Risk case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Developing a Common Language About IT Risk case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by George Westerman, Richard Hunter. The Developing a Common Language About IT Risk (referred as “Risk Technical” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Decision making, Financial analysis, Managing uncertainty.

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 Developing a Common Language About IT Risk Case Study

Although IT risk can have wide-ranging business consequences, few executives feel comfortable discussing it. Risk is uncertainty, and addressing IT risk seems to require making sense of complex technical issues. In reality, executive-level trade-offs around IT risk are managerial, not technical. The Four A Framework of Availability, Access, Accuracy and Agility provides a common language you and your IT managers can use to manage IT risks without getting bogged down in technical details. Then you can start to take additional steps - improving the IT foundation, installing a risk governance process and creating a risk-aware culture - to build a capability that increases the returns from your IT risk management investments.

Case Authors : George Westerman, Richard Hunter

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Decision making, Financial analysis, Managing uncertainty

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Developing a Common Language About IT Risk Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021229)	-10021229	-	-
Year 1	3473003	-6548226	3473003	0.9434	3276418
Year 2	3980959	-2567267	7453962	0.89	3543039
Year 3	3954249	1386982	11408211	0.8396	3320064
Year 4	3225500	4612482	14633711	0.7921	2554898
TOTAL			14633711		12694419

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2673190

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

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Developing a Common Language About IT Risk

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 Technology & Operations 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 Risk Technical 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 Risk Technical 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	(10021229)	-10021229	-	-
Year 1	3473003	-6548226	3473003	0.8696	3020003
Year 2	3980959	-2567267	7453962	0.7561	3010177
Year 3	3954249	1386982	11408211	0.6575	2599983
Year 4	3225500	4612482	14633711	0.5718	1844190
TOTAL					10474353

The Net NPV after 4 years is 453124

(10474353 - 10021229 )

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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	(10021229)	-10021229	-	-
Year 1	3473003	-6548226	3473003	0.8333	2894169
Year 2	3980959	-2567267	7453962	0.6944	2764555
Year 3	3954249	1386982	11408211	0.5787	2288339
Year 4	3225500	4612482	14633711	0.4823	1555507
TOTAL					9502570

The Net NPV after 4 years is -518659

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9502570 - 10021229 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Risk Technical 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 Risk Technical has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Risk Technical 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 Risk Technical, then the stock price of the Risk Technical 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 Risk Technical 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.

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

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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.

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 Developing a Common Language About IT Risk

References & Further Readings

George Westerman, Richard Hunter (2018), "Developing a Common Language About IT Risk Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.