18 June 2022 12:08

Intuition behind Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

It is a measure with intuitive appeal. It provides a way of grasping the rate of return a project, or income-producing asset, is yielding. Internal rate of return (IRR) is the discount rate used in capital budgeting that makes the net present value of all cash flows from a particular project equal to zero.

What is the intuition behind the NPV method?

What’s the intuition behind the NPV formula? The net present value is simply the difference between the present value of all cash flows inflows and the present value of all cash outflows. In other words NPV is simply value minus cost.

What can IRR tell you?

What Does IRR Tell You About a Project? The internal rate of return is used to evaluate projects or investments. The IRR estimates a project’s breakeven discount rate (or rate of return) which indicates the project’s potential for profitability. Based on IRR, a company will decide to either accept or reject a project.

Is NPV or IRR better for decision making and why?

IRR is useful when comparing multiple projects against each other or in situations where it is difficult to determine a discount rate. NPV is better in situations where there are varying directions of cash flow over time or multiple discount rates.

What is the difference between IRR and NPV?

What Are NPV and IRR? Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time. By contrast, the internal rate of return (IRR) is a calculation used to estimate the profitability of potential investments.

Why is the IRR important?

The IRR is a great way to evaluate and compare the returns of different investments. The IRR provides an easy-to-understand average performance of variable cash flows over the life of an investment. It is important to compare the IRR of an investment against appropriate performance benchmarks.

Why is a higher IRR better?

The higher the projected IRR on a project—and the greater the amount it exceeds the cost of capital—the more net cash the project generates for the company. Meaning, in this case, the project looks profitable and management should proceed with it.

Is a high IRR good?

IRR is helpful for gauging the return on cash flows, but it can potentially be used by managers to manipulate investment performance. A high IRR over a short period may seem appealing but in fact yield very little wealth. To understand the wealth earned, equity multiple is a better measure.

Why is there a conflict between NPV and IRR?

Ranking conflicts between NPV and IRR



The reason for conflict is due to differences in cash flow patterns and differences in project scale. For example, consider two projects one with an initial outlay of $1 million and another project with an initial outlay of $1 billion.

Which of the following is true of the internal rate of return IRR approach to assessing investments?

Which one of the following is true of the internal rate of return (IRR) approach to assessing investments? IRR fails to take all of the cash flows into account.

Which of the following are reasons why IRR continues to be used in practice?

Which of the following are reasons why IRR continues to be used in practice?



  • The IRR of a proposal can be calculated without knowing the appropriae discount rate.
  • It is easier to communicate information about a proposal with an IRR.
  • Businesspeople prefer to talk about rates of return.


Why does IRR decrease over time?

Again, the reason why our outstanding initial investment decreases is because we are receiving more cash flow each year than is needed to earn the IRR for that year. This extra cash flow results in capital recovery, thus reducing the outstanding amount of capital we have remaining in the investment.

When using internal rate of return to evaluate investment projects if the internal rate of return is less than the required rate of return the project should be accepted?

When evaluating capital investment projects, if the internal rate of return is less than the required rate of return, the project will be accepted. When selecting a capital investment project from three alternatives, the project with the highest net present value will always be preferable.

What if IRR is greater than the required rate of return?

If the IRR is greater than or equal to the company’s required rate of return (often called the hurdle rate), the investment is accepted; otherwise, the investment is rejected.

How do you explain IRR to dummies?


Quote: For business when you compare the money you earn from the candy machine with the amount you paid for the candy machine you can compute the candy machines IRR.

Which of the following statements related to the internal rate of return IRR are correct?

Which one of the following statements related to the internal rate of return (IRR) is correct? C. The IRR is equal to the required return when the net present value is equal to zero.

Why is the IRR formula set equal to zero?

Why is the IRR formula set equal to zero? By definition, IRR is the interest rate that makes the summation of the present values of all the cash flows equal zero. Rate-based decision statistics are popular because managers like to compare the expected rate of return to which of these.

What is internal rate of return chegg?

Internal Rate of Return Definition



The internal rate of return is defined as the discount rate, which makes the NPV of a project equal to zero. It is used to ascertain the profitability of a project.

Which one of the following is an advantage of the average accounting return method of analysis?

It can be compared to the return on assets ratio. Which one of the following is an advantage of the average accounting return method of analysis? –Easy availability of information needed for the computation.

What meant by the internal rate of return IRR )? And explain briefly its advantage and disadvantage?

The internal rate of return, or IRR, is the interest rate where the net present value of all cash flows from a project or an investment equal zero. IRR involves positive and negative cash flows. It is used to evaluate how attractive a specific investment or project happens to be.

What is the main shortcoming of IRR approach?

Limitations Of IRR



It ignores the actual dollar value of comparable investments. It does not compare the holding periods of like investments. It does not account for eliminating negative cash flows. It provides no consideration for the reinvestment of positive cash flows.