Inputs:
Investment: This number must always be negative. It is the amount of investment required to do the project.
Year 1 to 24: These are the inputs for the cash flows seen from the original investment.
Samples:
Project 1: This project shows an investment of $12 million. Cash flows are scattered from year 1 to year 7. This project creates an IRR of 13.76%. This means that the project created on average 13.76% return per year for 7 years.
Project 2: This project has an investment of $8 million. Years 1 to 9 provide $0 in cash flow then $4 million comes in years 10. Years 11 to 19 have $0 for cash flow followed by a large lump sum of $50 million in year 20. This means that the project created on average 10.70% return per year for 20 years.
Project 3: This project has an investment of $8 million. Similar to Project 2, there are years where the investment provides $0 for cash flow. This project created on average 11.51% return per year for 24 years.