August 19, 2008
Academics, investors and business professionals throughout the world agree that SaaS inherently provides a host of economic benefits to the customer. However, recent studies show that the vast majority of finance professionals will use a valuation technique that may fail to capture those same benefits1. While SaaS providers have enjoyed much success in recent years, this should be a concern for those that compete against traditional license based models for the true value of the SaaS application may go unrecognized.
July 30, 2008
This article suggests that the time tested Altman Z-score, originally designed to predict corporate default represents considerable value when used as a corporate performance metric if measured continuously as opposed to one moment in time. Indeed, one could reason that if the measure has merit as a predictor of default, then it only make sense to manage the underlying drivers in order to optimize the ongoing viability of the firm. Used in this manner, this article argues that the Z-score should be considered more often in the corporate performance management setting. In addition, the article highlights the significance of the measure when crafting loan covenants to compliment other measures that are perhaps shorter term in nature. A generic framework is provided that illustrates the relationship of underlying drivers that contribute to the score, representing at least one approach to managing firm viability as a component of corporate strategy.
July 30, 2008
In recent years, academics and management consultants have argued the merit of the strategic management plan that is based upon the intelligent use of company performance data. New technologies have evolved to support the growing need for data that supports intelligent management decision making. Corporate performance management systems clearly provide a distinct competitive advantage to those with the ability to execute strategy based upon the data. However, while vigorous data analysis and reporting makes sense, the effort may be fruitless if causal factors and metrics to measure those same factors are not linked to corporate strategy. If the goal is to increase economic value, management energy must be purposefully directed toward activities that exhibit the greatest potential to influence the outcome in a positive way.
July 30, 2008
Providing transparent and accurate financial performance data to investors, partners and auditors is becoming increasingly important, if not critical for those engaged in the business of private equity and venture capital. In the recent past, this complex environment was tied together with a myriad of Excel® spreadsheets that served to aggregate, consolidate and report portfolio-company performance, making this task extraordinarily inefficient, costly and fraught with error. This paper will frame the problem in some detail and will offer several solutions designed to meet the needs of capital providers that seek to provide more accurate and consistent financial reporting to those that depend on it most.
January 1, 2008
A significant amount of literature favors the notion that a real-options approach to capital budgeting is superior to the conventional discounted cash flow technique when uncertainty is present in the investment opportunity. Unlike traditional licensed-based software, SaaS inherently provides the buyer with the flexibility to change the course of the investment as uncertainty related to the product or service is resolved. In this respect, SaaS changes the game with regard to the economic benefits provided by the product or service. The SaaS model builds management flexibility into the investment decision and that same flexibility may be valuable when uncertainty is present. With that said, the question at hand is whether or not conventional valuation techniques such as DCF can be counted on to make accurate SaaS capital budgeting decisions. And if such methods cannot be counted on, do OPM techniques such as binomial lattices or modified Black Scholes models provide a more accurate picture of their value? The final and perhaps more important question seeks to understand which of the two methods is most likely to be used by finance professionals when making SaaS capital budgeting decisions. This paper will show that a considerable gap exists between those that intend to use conventional DCF models versus more sophisticated OPM techniques when making capital investment decisions that involve SaaS. This gap should be a concern for those that buy or sell products and services delivered via SaaS for the value of flexibility may go unrecognized.
