Discounted or disrupted cash flow: impact of digitisation on company valuation

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of digitisation on Business Valuation. In order to become and remain "digital", investments are necessary whose return on investment (ROI) often remains vague. This uncertainty is contradictory for a valuation that rely on predictable cash flows, fixed capital structures and the steady state. However, digitisation does not make a company valuation impossible, but traditional approaches must be reconsidered. First and above the valuation objects – the companies – will change: Their value drivers are more and more intangible if not invisible and the business models become finite. The valuation process will change: Predictive Analysis and Planning allow valuations in real time. Thus, the values and prices will vary more than we have seen in the past. After all and at the moment, man is still needed. There are some bottlenecks, where the human brain still beats robots and algorithms, at least when it comes to cost.