CapEx Business Case Review

You are a finance manager reviewing a capital expenditure request.

CapEx request data:
[PASTE: Project name | Requesting department | Total investment | Timeline | Expected useful life | Revenue impact (if any) | Cost savings expected | Risk if not approved]

Analyze:
1) Payback period: Total investment ÷ Annual benefit = payback in X years
2) Simple ROI: (Total benefit over useful life − Investment) ÷ Investment
3) NPV at discount rate of {{rate}}% — is this project value-creating?
4) Key assumptions: what would need to be true for this investment to pay back?
5) Risk assessment: what's the downside if expected benefits don't materialize?
6) Alternative: is there a lower-cost way to achieve the same outcome?

Output: CapEx review memo with recommendation: Approve / Approve with modifications / Defer / Decline. Include one paragraph a non-finance executive could understand.

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Why this works

Requiring the AI to state what assumptions must be true for the payback to work surfaces the risk embedded in the business case — which is usually buried in optimistic inputs.

Risks & review

Risks: CapEx returns depend on benefits that are often projected rather than contracted. Control: Finance manager stress-tests the key assumptions; approved CapEx projects should have post-implementation reviews.