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Description

Investment Profitability: Building Cash Flows, Calculating and Deciding

Compare several projects against explicit financial criteria rather than the sponsor's powers of persuasion

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

Investment cases reach the committee with inconsistent assumptions. One is built on accounting profit, another on cash receipts, and a third overlooks the working capital it generates. Without a shared method, the decision rests on the sponsor's ability to defend the project.

This one-day virtual programme installs a common method. Participants build a project cash flow table, then apply the standard criteria: payback period, net present value, internal rate of return and profitability index. The programme closes with the discount rate and sensitivity analysis.

Learning objectives

  • Build the forecast cash flow table for a project
  • Incorporate the change in working capital and the terminal value
  • Calculate the payback period, net present value and internal rate of return
  • Justify the discount rate selected
  • Run a sensitivity analysis on the decisive assumptions
  • Compare several projects and argue a recommendation

What makes this programme different

Each participant builds the cash flow table in a spreadsheet during the session
The criteria are set against each other on a project where they do not select the same winner
A summary note for an investment committee is drafted from the calculations

Programme

1Project Framing and Forecast Cash Flows

Moving from profit to cash receipts

  • Distinguishing cash flows from accounting profit
  • Initial outlay and phasing of investment spend
  • Induced operating cash flows and the change in working capital
  • Terminal value and the study horizon selected

2Decision Criteria

Measuring what a project returns

  • Simple and discounted payback period
  • Net present value and its economic meaning
  • Internal rate of return and the limits of interpretation
  • Profitability index and comparing projects of different sizes
  • Selecting and building the discount rate

3Uncertainty and Decision-Making

Defending a debatable case

  • Sensitivity analysis on the decisive assumptions
  • Building pessimistic, central and optimistic scenarios
  • Factoring in the risk specific to the project
  • Assembling the investment case and presenting it to the committee

Who is it for

Management controllers and finance managers, along with project managers and operational leaders who submit investment requests.

Prerequisites

Able to read financial statements and build a calculation model in a spreadsheet

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.