a method of determining the present value of a troubled asset to its present owner based on the assumption that the asset will be held for a period of time and sold at some future date. The present value includes future earnings the asset is expected to generate, less the cost of owning, holding, developing and operating the asset.
To compensate for these costs, the asset's projected future net cash flows are discounted using a formula that incorporates the cost of capital (the cost of paying dividends and interest). Net realizable value, therefore, is based on a formula incorporating what the asset must earn in order to pay for its share of the costs of running the business.
Net realizable value is one accounting method used to calculate the present value of an asset (a loan) at some point after the loan has become past due and book value is no longer valid. See fair value.