Frequently Asked Questions

How WACCFINDER™ Simplifies WACC For Your Business


Manually calculating an accurate WACC is complex, especially in a country's unique market. It requires precise, local data on:

  • Risk-Free Rates, e.g. government bond yields
  • Accurate Company Beta relative to the stock exchange
  • Up-to-date country specific Equity Risk Premiums
  • Comparable Corporate Debt Rates and Tax implications

 

 

WACCFINDER™ automates this complex process. Our platform is built with your country's financial landscape in mind, providing you with a fast, accurate, and auditable WACC calculation. This gives founders confidence in their strategic numbers and provides auditors with a transparent, data-driven methodology to verify.

Why Should You Trust WACCFINDER™ With Your Data?


Your company's reputation and compliance are paramount. By choosing a CSA Cyber Essentials-marked solution, you:

Demonstrate Due Diligence: Show clients and partners you use government-certified security.

Mitigate Risk: Drastically reduce the risk of a data breach and its associated costs.

 

Accelerate Sales: Enterprise clients often require evidence of robust security; our certification provides it.

What Evidence Can WACCFINDER™ Provide For An Audit?


Transparency is key to accountability. Our system generates detailed access logs that provide a tamper-evident record of all user actions within the platform. 

This gives auditors and founders complete transparency and simplifies the compliance verification process, significantly reducing audit complexity and time.

How Is My User Data Protected And Encrypted?


We treat data protection as a core obligation:

End-to-End Encryption: All user data—including personal details, consents, and preferences—is encrypted both in motion (using TLS) and at rest in our databases.

Auditable Data Handling: All user consents and data actions are stored in an immutable, auditable fashion, providing a clear trail for compliance with Singapore's PDPA and other regulations.

How Is Access To My Account And Customer Data Secured?


We enforce strict Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) protocols:

 

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is mandatory for all accounts, adding a critical layer of security beyond just a password.

 

Flexible Secure Logins: User access is authenticated via both email and mobile phone, balancing security with user convenience.

What Is WACC?


In Simple Terms: The "Cost" of Your Company's Money

Think of Weighted Average Cost of Capital ("WACC") as the average interest rate your company pays to finance its operations. It represents the blended cost of all your capital sources—including equity (money from owners/investors) and debt (loans from banks).

WACC is used to discount 'risky' future investment cash flows.

People prefer certain investments over uncertain investments.

The risk premium is the amount of higher return investors demand to accept uncertainty.

 

A lower WACC generally means your company can undertake more projects profitably, as the hurdle to clear (the cost of the capital used) is lower. It is a fundamental metric used in financial modeling and Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis to determine the value of a company or project.

Why WACC Matters For Founders and Auditors


For Founders:

  • Strategic Decision-Making: Use your WACC as a benchmark to evaluate new projects, acquisitions, or expansion plans. If a project's expected return is higher than your WACC, it will likely create value.
  • Investor Communication: A well-calculated WACC demonstrates financial sophistication to potential investors and venture capitalists, showing you understand the true cost of capital.
    Performance Measurement: It helps you assess whether your company is generating sufficient returns relative to its risk.

For Auditors:

 

  • Valuation Verification: Auditing the assumptions used in a client's WACC calculation is a critical step in validating business valuations, impairment testing, and financial fairness opinions.
  • Risk Assessment: The components of WACC (cost of equity, cost of debt) provide insight into the company's risk profile and capital structure stability.
  • Compliance & Governance: Ensuring the methodology for calculating WACC is sound and aligns with accepted financial standards is a key governance function.

Is WACCFINDER™ Security Controls Certified Against Singapore's National Standards?


Yes. WACCFINDER™ is proud to carry the Cyber Essentials mark issued by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA). This certifies that our platform is assessed to comply with the Singapore Standardisation Programme, Technical Reference 106 (TR 106:2022) for "Tiered Cybersecurity Standards for Enterprises."

 

This government endorsement provides founders and auditors with immediate, verifiable confidence that our security controls meet a recognized national benchmark.

 

For Auditors: You can verify our framework against the official standard: Download TR 106:2022 here.

Is WACCFINDER™ International Valuation Standards (IVS) Compliant?


Yes. WACCFINDER™ is engineered to ensure full compliance with the International Valuation Standards (IVS), providing a defensible and auditable framework for business valuation.

How We Ensure IVS Compliance:

WACCFINDER™ is built to guide users through a compliant valuation process, aligning with key IVS requirements.

  • Adherence to IVS Framework: Our platform structures calculations to meet the core principles of IVS 105 (Valuation Approaches) and IVS 200 (Business Valuation), particularly the Income Approach which relies on a robust WACC.

  • Audit-Ready Documentation: Every variable in the WACC calculation is clearly sourced and documented, creating a transparent audit trail. This allows auditors to efficiently verify the reasonableness of all market-derived inputs and assumptions.

  • Global Data Integration: The platform integrates reputable, global data sources for risk-free rates, equity risk premiums, and other critical inputs, ensuring your cost of capital reflects current market conditions.

Why It Matters:

For Auditors: WACCFINDER™ transforms WACC calculation into a standardized, transparent process, significantly reducing audit risk and review time.

For Founders & Financial Leaders: It de-risks financial modeling, providing investor-ready valuations built on an internationally recognized framework for fundraising, M&A, and financial reporting.

How is small capitalization premium calculated?


Small capitalization premium is typically calculated by subtracting the expected return of large-cap stocks from the expected return of small-cap stocks. The expected return of large-cap stocks is typically calculated by taking the average return of large-cap stocks over a period of time, and adjusting it for inflation. The expected return of small-cap stocks is typically calculated by taking the average return of small-cap stocks over a period of time, and adjusting it for inflation. The resulting number is typically expressed as percentage.

What is an affiliate code?


An affiliate code is a unique identifier assigned to an affiliate partner. It is typically used to track the performance of an affiliate partner, and to ensure that the affiliate partner receives the correct commission for their referrals.

What is small capitalization premium?


Small capitalization premium is the additional return that investors require for investing in small-cap stocks instead of large-cap stocks. It is typically calculated by subtracting the expected return of large-cap stocks from the expected return of small-cap stocks, and is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is blended country risk premium?


Blended country risk premium is used to assess the risk of investing in more than country and to determine the appropriate rate of return for investments across those countries of operation. It is calculated by taking the weighted average of the countries' risk premiums.

How is country risk premium calculated?


Country risk premium is typically calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the expected return of the country's stock market. The expected return of the country's stock market is typically calculated by taking the average return of the stock market over a period of time, and adjusting it for inflation. The resulting number is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is country risk premium?


Country risk premium is the additional return that investors require for investing in a particular country instead of a risk-free investment. It is typically calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the expected return of the country's stock market, and is typically expressed as a percentage.

How is equity risk premium calculated?


Equity risk premium is typically calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the expected return of the stock market. The expected return of the stock market is typically calculated by taking the average return of the stock market over a period of time, and adjusting it for inflation. The resulting number is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is equity risk premium?


Equity risk premium is the additional return that investors require for investing in stocks instead of risk-free investments. It is typically calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the expected return of the stock market, and is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is the difference between raw beta and adjusted beta?


The difference between raw beta and adjusted beta is that raw beta is the measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole, before any adjustments are made for risk, while adjusted beta is the measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole, after adjustments are made for risk. Raw beta is typically used to measure the risk associated with a particular investment, and is calculated by comparing the security's returns to the returns of the overall market. Adjusted beta takes into account the

How is adjusted beta calculated?


Adjusted beta is typically calculated by taking the raw beta of a security and adjusting it for the risk-free rate, the market risk premium, and the company's specific risk. This calculation is then adjusted for the risk-free rate, and is typically expressed as a number between 0 and 1.

What is adjusted beta?


Adjusted beta is the measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole, after adjustments are made for risk. It is typically used to measure the risk associated with a particular investment, and is calculated by comparing the security's returns to the returns of the overall market.

How is raw beta calculated?


Raw beta is typically calculated by taking the covariance of the security's returns and the returns of the overall market, and dividing it by the variance of the returns of the overall market. This calculation is then adjusted for the risk-free rate, and is typically expressed as a number between 0 and 1.

What is raw beta?


Raw beta is the measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole, before any adjustments are made for risk. It is typically used to measure the risk associated with a particular investment, and is calculated by comparing the security's returns to the returns of the overall market.

What is beta?


Beta in finance is a measure of a security's volatility relative to the market as a whole. It is typically used to measure the risk associated with a particular investment, and is calculated by comparing the security's returns to the returns of the overall market.

Why does the weighted average cost of capital insist on using a risk-free rate compared to a non-risk free rate?


The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) uses a risk-free rate instead of a non-risk free rate because it is a measure of the cost of capital for a company, and the risk-free rate is used as a benchmark for other investments. By using the risk-free rate, the WACC can be used to compare the cost of capital of different companies, and to assess the risk associated with a particular investment.

What is blended risk-free rate?


Blended risk-free rate is a rate of return that is calculated by combining the risk-free rate of return from different sources. This rate is used to measure the performance of investments and to compare different investments. It is also used to calculate the cost of capital for a company.

How is risk free-rate calculated?


Risk-free rate is typically calculated by taking the interest rate of government bonds with the longest maturity. This rate is then adjusted for inflation, and is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is risk-free rate?


Risk-free rate is the rate of return that an investor can expect to receive on an investment with no risk of loss. It is typically used as a benchmark for other investments, and is typically based on the interest rate of government bonds.

How to calculate cost of equity?


Use the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to determine its cost of equity financing. Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta × (Market Rate of Return – Risk-Free Rate of Return) to reach 1 + 1.1 × (10-1) = 10.9%.

What is cost of equity?


Cost of equity is the return that a company requires for an investment or project, or the return that an individual requires for an equity investment. The formula used to calculate the cost of equity is either the dividend capitalization model or the capital asset pricing model (“CAPM”).

How can I calculate a company's debt to capital ratio from the financial statements?


To calculate a company's debt to capital ratio from the financial statements, you need to divide the company's total debt by its total capital. Total debt is typically found on the balance sheet under liability, and total capital is typically found on the statement of shareholders' equity. The resulting ratio is typically expressed as a percentage.

What is the debt to capital ratio?


The debt to capital ratio is a measure of a company's financial leverage, calculated by dividing its total debt by its total capital. It is used to assess the risk associated with a company's capital structure, and is typically expressed as a percentage.

How does marginal tax rate differ from effective tax rate?


Marginal tax rate is the rate of tax that a person or company must pay on their next dollar of income. It is typically set by the government of the country in which the person or company is located, and can vary depending on the type of income and the amount of income earned. Effective tax rate is the rate of tax that a person or company actually pays on their income. It is typically lower than the marginal tax rate, as it takes into account deductions and other tax credits that may be

What is effective tax rate?


Effective tax rate is the rate of tax that a person or company actually pays on their income. It is typically lower than the marginal tax rate, as it takes into account deductions and other tax credits that may be available.

What is marginal tax rate?


Marginal tax rate is the rate of tax that a person or company must pay on their next dollar of income. It is typically set by the government of the country in which the person or company is located, and can vary depending on the type of income and the amount of income earned.

What is corporate tax rate?


Corporate tax rate is the rate of tax that a company must pay on its profits. It is typically set by the government of the country in which the company is incorporated, and can vary depending on the type of business and the size of the company.

Which can I find long term cost of debt on a company's financial statements?


Long term cost of debt can be found on a company's balance sheet. It is typically listed as the interest rate on long term debt, and can also be found in the notes to the financial statements.

What is pre-tax cost of debt?


Pre-tax cost of debt is the rate of return that a company must pay to its creditors for the use of borrowed funds, before taxes are taken into account. It is typically expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed, and is calculated by taking into account the interest rate, fees, and other costs associated with the loan.

What is cost of debt?


Cost of debt is the rate of return that a company must pay to its creditors for the use of borrowed funds. It is typically expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed, and is calculated by taking into account the interest rate, fees, and other costs associated with the loan.

What is weighted average cost of capital used for?


Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is used to evaluate the cost of capital for a company, and is used to make decisions about investments and financing. It is also used to compare the cost of capital of different companies, and to assess the risk associated with a particular investment.

What is weighted average cost of capital?


Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average cost of capital for a company, which is the cost of capital that a company must pay to finance its operations. It is calculated by taking into account the cost of debt and equity, and weighting them according to their respective proportions in the company's capital structure.

Who developed the average cost of capital formula?


The average cost of capital formula was developed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Franco Modigliani and his colleague Merton Miller in 1958. The formula is used to calculate the weighted average cost of capital for a company, which is the cost of capital that a company must pay to finance its operations.

Why do we look at a business' geography of operations instead of country of incorporation to identify which country risk premium to select?


We look at a business' geography of operations instead of country of incorporation to identify which country risk premium to select because the risk associated with a business can vary depending on the countries in which it operates. For example, a business operating in a country with a higher risk of political instability or economic volatility may be subject to a higher country risk premium than a business operating in a country with a lower risk of these factors.

What is a business' geography of operations? How is this different from country of incorporation?


A business' geography of operations is the geographic area in which the business operates. This can include the country of incorporation, as well as other countries in which the business has a presence. Country of incorporation is the country in which the business is legally incorporated. This is typically the country in which the business is headquartered and where it is registered with the relevant government authorities.

What is transactional currency?


Transactional currency is the currency used to conduct a financial transaction. It is typically the currency of the country in which the transaction is taking place, but can also be a foreign currency. Transactions involving foreign currencies are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, which can affect the value of the transaction.

What is an industry?


An industry is a sector of the economy that produces goods or services. Industries are typically divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, with each sector having its own unique characteristics and economic activities. Examples of industries include manufacturing, retail, finance, and healthcare.

What is duration of cash flow?


Duration of cash flow is the length of time it takes for a cash flow to be received or paid out. It is typically used to measure the risk associated with a particular investment, as longer duration cash flows are generally more risky than shorter duration cash flows.

What is valuation date?


Valuation date is the date on which the value of an asset or liability is determined. It is used to calculate the present value of an asset or liability, and is typically used in financial transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, stock options, and other investments.

Classic vs Extended WACC: Why The Difference?


Our Classic WACC formula is based on the famed Modigliani–Miller theorem by of Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller. It forms the basis for modern thinking on capital structure. Our Extended WACC formula adds country risk premium and a small capitalization premium to Classic WACC. Valuation practitioners have found over time that Classic WACC under-estimates cost of capital in the real world.