What is 'Capital Budgeting'
Capital budgeting is the process in which a business determines and evaluates potential expenses or investments that are large in nature. These expenditures and investments include projects such as building a new plant or investing in a long-term venture. Often times, a prospective project's lifetime cash inflows and outflows are assessed in order to determine whether the potential returns generated meet a sufficient target benchmark, also known as "investment appraisal."