ROI is the amount of profit received with respect to invested capital. At my prior job, I reviewed reports of ROI on a daily basis to measure and calculate all the different capital improvement projects occurring within the manufacturing plant and to review the over/under process of each project. I was the controller of a small to midsize company with 53m in sales revenue and 12m in capital projects, which was equivalent to 22% of our total revenue. Ninety percent of the capital projects were funded by loans and there was not any room for error on the 8 projects. Due to the high level of risk, the labor, costs and expenses were reviewed and tracked everyday at a micro level. The company could not afford to absorb additional expenses from cash, and needed the additional capital funding to achieve the next level of sales revenue of 100m plus. Payback for the projects was projected within 3.8 years, due to the increase in sales volume, coming from the government contracts that were in place. With a 22 cent return on every dollar invested within 4 years, this was a risk I signed off on.

The answer to this question is very straightforward. Literally give the definition of ROI. Then provide an example of when you used ROI in your professional experience or in your educational classes. If you do not have any personal experience and have been working in the finance field for a few years, then provide an example of how your current or previous employer uses ROI.