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The portion of R&D spend that is capitalized is usually only a small part of R&D. However, most companies benefit from R&D spending in the form of acquired know-how. This acquired know-how is a valuable asset that produces cash flow in the future. Analysts and investors should want the value of R&D spending in the balance sheet. So R&D should be treated like another investment and the R&D spending capitalized like other assets such as an investment in a building. But how do you capitalize R&D expenses? What are the steps involved in capitalizing R&D expenses?

This article discusses the steps involved in capitalizing R&D expenses.

Background: Accounting regulation requires research and development expenses be considered an operating expense and written off in the income statement. There are specific exceptions to this rule. For example, when a product has become commercially feasible in the pharmaceutical industry, all associated costs can be capitalized and considered a capital asset. This capital asset can then be reflected in the balance sheet. The difficulty in accurately valuing the benefits of R&D and the duration of the associated benefits is a primary reason that R&D is not capitalized. But why is this a bad practice from a DCF valuation practice?

This article discusses why is expensing R&D expenses is a bad practice from a DCF valuation perspective.

Depreciation is the allocation of the cost of a tangible fixed asset over its useful life. Amortization is the allocation of the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life. In both cases, there is no cash flow associated with these assets after the year of purchase and so should not affect your cash flows in a DCF valuation. However, both depreciation and amortization become relevant in a DCF valuation under specific conditions. Only under specific conditions is there a difference between depreciation and amortization from a DCF valuation perspective.

This article discusses the specific conditions when there will be a difference between depreciation and amortization from a DCF valuation perspective.

In principle, if an operating lease is genuinely an operating expense, it must continue to be shown as an expense and treated accordingly. However, if it was structured to avoid taking on debt, it must be capitalized. Capitalized simply means that it must be treated as a capital asset.

In practice, you treat the operating lease in accordance with the rules prescribed by the SEC. We address the steps required to capitalize an operating lease on this page

Companies can either buy or lease assets it needs on a long-term basis. For example, a firm can buy a truck required for the business or lease the truck. A company usually leases a long-term asset if it either 1) does not have the money to buy it and 2) does not want to borrow the capital required to buy these assets. The business case should be the driver of this decision. Sometimes, companies may lease the asset because it does not have money to buy the asset or wants to avoid taking on more debt. The SEC has prescribed accounting rules that specify the conditions required to treat a lease as an operating expense or a capital item.

SEC regulations aside, we address how you should deal with operating leases when preparing cash flows for a DCF valuation on this page.

International firms will receive cash flows in a variety of currencies. Often you are called to value an overseas operation. In these circumstances, you have to decide on the currency you will use for estimating cash flows in your DCF model. On this page, we discuss if the choice of currency of cash flows matters when valuing an international firm?

Accounting rules for currency translation can be very complex. We only discuss the basics from a valuation perspective and provide a simple Microsoft Excel illustration showing how the cash flow of a Brazilian firm is converted to USD given the current exchange rates and interest rates in Brazil and the USA.

Many valuation models start with EBIT. EBIT includes all kinds of income earnings and expenses before only interest and tax expenses. However, not all revenues and expenses that show up in EBIT must be valued when evaluating a business. What line items found in EBIT must be removed when preparing cash flows for a DCF? This article discusses this question in detail and gives you examples of different types of line items that you must remove from EBIT in a DCF valuation. These include incomes, expenses, nonrecurring line item, temporary items, etc.

You can use the levered or unlevered free cash flow to value a company using the DCF method of valuation. However, there are different situations when you prefer one over the other. This article discusses three specific instances when you can use the levered free cash flow instead of the unlevered free cash flow when valuing a company using the DCF method.

You can use the levered or unlevered free cash flow to value a company using the DCF method of valuation. However, there are different situations when you prefer one over the other. This article discusses three specific instances when you should use the unlevered free cash flow instead of the levered free cash flow when valuing a company using the DCF method.

Why/When do you use unlevered FCF when valuing a company using the DCF method?