The add-in provides a second function called the E_RIC function. RIC stands for Return on Invested Capital. This is a user-defined function and we identify it with the prefix E_ so that it appears along with the other user-defined functions of the Economics add-in. Again this function has two arguments. As for the IRR function, the first function is a range holding a series of cash flows. The second argument is the rate the organization earns for investments outside of, or external, to the project being considered. For the example we use the MARR is in cell B17, named E_Proj1_CF_MARR for this external rate.

The RIC is related to the IRR, and it is defined as the interest rate that makes the net invested capital equal to zero at the end of the project life. For Example 1, the RIC and the IRR are the same. This is always true for simple investments. We illustrate the RIC computation in the figure below.

The Net-Invested Capital for Example 1

We call the figure shown above the net-invested capital (or net investment). For each discrete time interval we compute the net-invested capital as:

According to the formula, the cash flow grows at the return associated with the investment being evaluated for negative cash flows and with the external return for positive cash flows. The RIC is the interest rate that makes the cumulative cash flow at time N (the project life) equal to 0. The figure above shows the net investment for the rate 24.29%. For this rate the value at time N is zero, so the RIC is 24.29%. For this example, as for every simple investment, the cumulative cash flow is always negative and the IRR and RIC are the same because there are no positive cumulative cash flows.

To illustrate a case where they are different, consider the cash flow for example 2.

Example 2

This is a mixed cash flow, because we see that the cash flow column has three four changes. An initial period of investment at times 0 and 1 are followed by a large return at time 2. Then another investment at time 3 is followed by a return at time 4, and finally another investment at time 5.

Plotting the net investment for this case for the interest rate 24.58%, we see that the future value is not always negative. At times 0 and 1, the net investment is negative and we apply the 24.58% rate. At time 2, the value becomes positive and for the interval from 2 to 3, and we let the cash flow grow at the MARR rate (10%). The net investment changes sign from positive to negative at time 3 and negative to positive at time 4. For this case the IRR is about 29% and the RIC is about 25%.

The Net-Invested Capital for Example 2

Although both the IRR and RIC are measures of merit, the RIC seems more rational for mixed investments. As in example 2, the project is an investment for the first two periods and in period 4, but during periods 3 and 5, the project is a lender. The project itself is not making money by its own actions in periods 3 and 5, but rather it is loaning money to the investor. During this period the project funds are earning the external rate of 10%. The return during these periods is better reflected by the MARR.

In addition to being a more reasonable measure, the RIC has the advantage that it has at most one solution for a given project, while the IRR may have more than one solution for non-simple investments. The RIC computation will fail if there is no interest rate for which the cumulative RIC cash flow is zero at the end of the project. Even when the IRR has only one solution for a cash flow with positive net investment the RIC will be different.

We should point out that a number of ways have been suggested to address the multiple root case associated with the IRR. The most popular seems to be the modified internal rate of return (MIRR). This method uses two external rates one for positive net investment, as used here) and one for negative net investment. Excel provides the MIRR function that computes this measure. The MIRR function is extensively discussed at several Web sites and in popular text books on Engineering Economics. The MIRR function can easily be applied to the cash flows provided by this add-in. We have programmed the RIC function because it seems more rational to this author. It is also described on the Web.