The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute 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 The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Mukti Khaire, Eleanor Kenyon. The The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute (referred as “Sundance Independent” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Decision making, Entrepreneurship.

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 The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute Case Study

The Sundance case raises the question of how markets for innovative cultural products can be created and what the role of intermediaries in creative industries ought to be. The case describes the history of the Sundance Institute, which was founded by actor/director Robert Redford to promote independent filmmaking. Started as a "Lab," where independent filmmakers could work on their film projects, the Institute soon expanded to organize the Sundance Film Festival in order to facilitate the exhibition and distribution of independent films, including those not supported by the Sundance Labs. Thirty years after Sundance was founded, its top management team wonders whether the mission of Sundance would be best served by increasing and improving the supply of independent films in the market, or by educating consumers to create an audience for independent cinema.

Case Authors : Mukti Khaire, Eleanor Kenyon

Topic : Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Related Areas : Decision making, Entrepreneurship

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10003546)	-10003546	-	-
Year 1	3467468	-6536078	3467468	0.9434	3271196
Year 2	3969331	-2566747	7436799	0.89	3532690
Year 3	3964119	1397372	11400918	0.8396	3328351
Year 4	3223920	4621292	14624838	0.7921	2553647
TOTAL			14624838		12685884

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2682338

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

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. Sundance Independent 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 Sundance Independent 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 The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute

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 Innovation & Entrepreneurship 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 Sundance Independent 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 Sundance Independent 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	(10003546)	-10003546	-	-
Year 1	3467468	-6536078	3467468	0.8696	3015190
Year 2	3969331	-2566747	7436799	0.7561	3001384
Year 3	3964119	1397372	11400918	0.6575	2606473
Year 4	3223920	4621292	14624838	0.5718	1843287
TOTAL					10466333

The Net NPV after 4 years is 462787

(10466333 - 10003546 )

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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	(10003546)	-10003546	-	-
Year 1	3467468	-6536078	3467468	0.8333	2889557
Year 2	3969331	-2566747	7436799	0.6944	2756480
Year 3	3964119	1397372	11400918	0.5787	2294050
Year 4	3223920	4621292	14624838	0.4823	1554745
TOTAL					9494832

The Net NPV after 4 years is -508714

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9494832 - 10003546 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Sundance Independent 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 Sundance Independent has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Sundance Independent 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 Sundance Independent, then the stock price of the Sundance Independent 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 Sundance Independent 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 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 are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

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 The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute

References & Further Readings

Mukti Khaire, Eleanor Kenyon (2018), "The Kid Grows Up: Decisions at the Sundance Institute Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.