The average accounting return (AAR) is the average project earnings after taxes and depreciation, divided by the average book value of the investment during its life.
There are three steps to calculating the AAR.
First, determine the average net income of each year of the project's life. Second, determine the average investment, taking depreciation into account. Third, determine the AAR by dividing the average net income by the average investment.
Average accounting return does have a disadvantage; it does not take time value of money into account. Therefore, there is no clear indication of profitability.
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