Behavioral Aspects of EVA
some companies have found that EVA encourage the right kind of behavior from their division in a way that emphasis on operating income alone cannot. The underlying reason is EVA's reliance on the true cost of capital. In many companies,the responsibility for investment decisions rests with corporate management. As a result, the cost of capital is considered a corporate expense. If a division builds inventories and investment, the cost of financing that investment is passed on to the overall income statement, and does not reduce the division's operating income. Investment seems free to the division,and of course, they want more. as a result, EVA should be measured for subsets of the company.
suppose that Supertech,Inc.,has two divisions, the Hardware Division and the Software Division. Operating income statements for the divisions are as follows: