Finance Basics
80
Evaluating unquantifi able
costs and benefi ts
The numbers never tell the whole story, so your ROI
analysis should acknowledge qualitative factors as
well. Does the new opportunity fi t with the company’s
mission? Can the management team take on a new
product line without losing focus? At times, seem-
ingly unquantifi able factors can at least be estimated
numerically. Suppose you’re evaluating an investment
in a new database, and you are trying to assess the
value of the information it will provide. You might
come up with a ballpark dollar fi gure representing the
value of employees’ time saved. You might also esti-
mate the value of increased customer retention due to
better understanding of purchase patterns. You may
or may not ...