Given the range of tools and techniques available for appraising capital projects, financial managers are confronted with the problem of selecting appropriate techniques that adequately reflect their goals. This article explores the rationale underlying alternative measures of project profitability in order to discuss the relationship between various appraisal methods and the goals of management. Appraisal methods are introduced by way of numerical illustrations and diagrams which are summarised together with their underlying rationale into a single chart in order to facilitate easy reference.