Invested capital

The money actually at work in the operating business. Net fixed assets plus operating working capital, with surplus cash and non-operating investments taken out.

A manufacturer with ₹2,900 crore of net fixed assets, ₹1,100 crore of operating working capital and ₹400 crore of surplus cash has ₹3,600 crore invested.

The same figure can be built from the funding side, as equity plus debt minus cash and non-operating assets, and the two routes should agree. When they do not, something has been classified inconsistently and finding it is usually worth the hour.

Two judgements move the answer materially. Whether to include goodwill, which decides whether you are measuring the operating business or the shareholders' money including what was paid for acquisitions. And how much cash counts as surplus, since every business needs some working balance.

Make both calls explicitly and keep them for five years.