V Skill HF-D8.4-004 cross-sector 10 skills
Business case and investment analysis
Substantiates a proposal with costs, benefits, assumptions and risks and calculates payback period and return for the decision makers.
How hrmforce measures this
- Assessment method
- Work sample test · rho 0.33 (SD 0.09)
- hrmforce instrument
- Work sample test, Knowledge test (client-specific)
- Competency (50-framework)
- Judgment
- Trainability
- high
- Demand outlook 2026 to 2030
- rising
The candidate performs a representative work sample under standardised conditions.
Behavioural anchors
| Level | Behaviour at this level |
|---|---|
| N1 Guided | Fills a standard business case template with supplied figures and names which data are still missing. works under supervision and follows instruction · routine, one variable at a time · own task |
| N3 Proficient | Builds an own business case with scenarios, makes the assumptions explicit and defends the outcome in the meeting. sets own approach and seeks input proactively · several variables, some ambiguity · own team or process |
| N5 Leading | Sets the calculation rules and threshold values for investments and weighs the entire investment portfolio of the organisation. sets the standard and the policy · strategic, under high uncertainty · organisation, value chain or profession |
N2 and N4 are deliberately not anchored. Raters place them between the anchors, following the O*NET convention.
Underlying skills
These skills inherit the assessment route and the behavioural anchors of this construct.
| T | Skill | Definition | Demand outlook 2026 to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Building a business case Business case | Sets problem, solution, costs, benefits and risks of a proposal in a traceable document. | rising |
| V | Calculating payback period Payback period | Calculates after how much time the returns of an investment have recovered the outlay. | rising |
| V | Calculating net present value Net present value | Discounts future cash flows to today and assesses whether the investment adds value. | rising |
| V | Calculating internal rate of return Internal rate of return | Calculates the return percentage at which the net present value of a project is zero. | rising |
| V | Drafting an investment proposal Investment proposal | Writes a proposal with amount, purpose, alternatives, return and requested decision for management. | rising |
| V | Scenario and sensitivity analysis Sensitivity analysis | Calculates variants with other assumptions and shows which variable moves the outcome most. | rising |
| V | Substantiating and recording assumptions Assumption documentation | Makes explicit which assumptions underlie the calculation and with which source or experience. | rising |
| V | Calculating total cost of ownership Total cost of ownership | Includes purchase, use, maintenance and disposal in the total cost over the lifespan. | rising |
| V | Presenting an investment case to the board Board presentation | Presents the core of a business case to decision makers and defends the assumptions. | rising |
| V | Performing a cost benefit analysis Cost benefit analysis | Places quantitative and qualitative benefits next to the costs and weighs them against each other. | rising |