The underlying Bachelor Thesis aims to provide a standardized procedure for Stadler Rail, which was developed based on two thoroughly examined expansion investments and internal capital budgeting procedures from Stadler Rheintal AG and Stadler Deutschland GmbH. Great importance is attached to the autonomy of each subsidiary which, consequently, led to the introduction of deviating procedures. However, the ambition of this Bachelor Thesis was to understand what may be found missing and which steps could be retained from the existing capital budgeting system from either subsidiary.

The theoretical framework incorporates the subjects: capital budgeting decisions, classification of investment proposals, capital budgeting methods, capital budgeting procedure, and behavioral finance. With the quantitative and qualitative data collected, a sound framework was created. The two examined expansion investments and current processes provided the foundation to develop a standardized capital budgeting procedure incorporating the most practical guidelines presently in place at either subsidiary. Moreover, observed discrepancies could be made transparent and accordingly improved.

Six improvement propositions are brought forward that were found absent in the two procedures examined. The revised standardized capital budgeting procedure aspires to meet the individual needs of each subsidiary and seeks to reduce discrepancies between different capital budgeting decisions. Furthermore, it shall enable intracompany comparisons, corporate learning, and post-control mechanisms. The revised procedure, therefore, includes a mixture of practical steps observed at either subsidiary during their present capital budgeting procedure. The six developed improvement propositions are similarly introduced and implemented to complete the revised procedure. This study highlighted the need for a streamlined guideline within a process of high decision-making complexity. Moreover, it underlined the mission to keep Stadler Rail's efficiency at the company's heart for many years.