Valuation experts often use discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques to determine the value of a business or estimate economic losses. A critical input in a DCF model is the cost of capital. This is the rate that’s used to discount future earnings into today’s dollars. Small changes in this rate can have a major impact on the expert’s conclusion, so it’s important to get it right. Debt vs. equity The term “cost of capital” refers to the expected rate of return that the market requires to attract funds to a particular investment. The cost of capital is based on the perceived risk of the investment. Risky companies (or investments) warrant a higher discount rate and, therefore, a lower value (and vice versa). A business can be financed with...