Why do accounting earnings mislead an NPV, and which three tests must a project's cash flows pass before they are discounted?
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What finance supplies and what business supplies
List the three inputs to an NPV (cash flows, discount rates, strategic options) and record which come from business expertise and which finance evaluates.
Cash flows, not accounting earnings
State the first principle and record the off-balance-sheet futures contract, worth zero at entry, and the 2008 FAS 157 fair-value debate as illustrations of accounting recording only the realized past.
After-tax cash flows and depreciation
State the second principle and record that a depreciation schedule, including accelerated or 100% first-year expensing, changes cash flow only through the tax shield it generates.
Incremental cash flows: with versus without the project
State the third principle as the difference between the firm with and without the project, and record that working-capital investment is included while sunk costs are excluded.