Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess, Jonathan Hiatt. The Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing (referred as “Bennett Centurion” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Emotional intelligence, Ethics.

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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing Case Study

Richard Bennett was faced with a serious ethical dilemma that would impact his career, family, and co-workers. Bennett, a regional vice president in the Cable Division of Centurion Media, believed that a contract executed by the new president of his division, Joseph Fowler, would cause significant financial losses for Bennett's own division and the company. Bennett suspected that Fowler might have a serious conflict of interest, since he owned stock and options in Northpark-the company with which he had negotiated the contract. Bennett was only two years from retirement. If he chose to protest the contract, it would likely have very unpleasant consequences -- including jeopardizing his own financial security. He would probably be fired. Additionally, his actions might endanger the careers of other employees and co-workers. The personal relationship between the CEO of Centurion Media, Chuck Reilly, and Fowler made Bennett's decision more difficult. When Bennett contacted the general counsel and controller in the corporate office of Centurion Media, they suggested he back off. He was surprised by their stance that the contract, which Bennett thought would be financially disastrous, was in the best interest of the company. The Controller went so far as to remind Bennett how near he was to retirement, emphasizing that he should be concerned about protecting his job. What should Bennett do about the situation he faced?

Case Authors : Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess, Jonathan Hiatt

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Emotional intelligence, Ethics

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10006984)	-10006984	-	-
Year 1	3450164	-6556820	3450164	0.9434	3254872
Year 2	3954263	-2602557	7404427	0.89	3519280
Year 3	3963200	1360643	11367627	0.8396	3327579
Year 4	3243639	4604282	14611266	0.7921	2569266
TOTAL			14611266		12670997

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2664013

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. Payback Period
4. Internal Rate of Return

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 Bennett Centurion 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. Bennett Centurion 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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing

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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion 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	(10006984)	-10006984	-	-
Year 1	3450164	-6556820	3450164	0.8696	3000143
Year 2	3954263	-2602557	7404427	0.7561	2989991
Year 3	3963200	1360643	11367627	0.6575	2605868
Year 4	3243639	4604282	14611266	0.5718	1854561
TOTAL					10450563

The Net NPV after 4 years is 443579

(10450563 - 10006984 )

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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	(10006984)	-10006984	-	-
Year 1	3450164	-6556820	3450164	0.8333	2875137
Year 2	3954263	-2602557	7404427	0.6944	2746016
Year 3	3963200	1360643	11367627	0.5787	2293519
Year 4	3243639	4604282	14611266	0.4823	1564255
TOTAL					9478926

The Net NPV after 4 years is -528058

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9478926 - 10006984 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion, then the stock price of the Bennett Centurion 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 Bennett Centurion 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 –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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

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.

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

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 Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing

References & Further Readings

Carolyn Conn, Aundrea K. Guess, Jonathan Hiatt (2018), "Centurion Media: Doing the Right Thing Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.