The procedure for determining the mean value of shareholder investment over a specific period typically involves summing the owner’s equity at the beginning of the period with the owner’s equity at the end of the period, and then dividing by two. For example, if a business reported owner’s equity of $100,000 at the start of the year and $120,000 at the end of the year, the calculation would be ($100,000 + $120,000) / 2, resulting in a mean value of $110,000.
This calculation is crucial for various financial analyses, including Return on Equity (ROE) assessment. ROE, a key profitability metric, uses the calculated mean as the denominator to evaluate how effectively a company is using shareholder investments to generate profit. Furthermore, understanding the average investment level offers insights into business growth, stability, and potential investment opportunities over time. Historically, this has served as a standard method for evaluating financial performance across diverse industries.