Business case for a new initiative

Write a business case that I can submit to {{approver}} for this initiative: {{initiative}}.

Problem or opportunity: {{problem}}
Proposed solution: {{solution}}
Costs I know (one-off and ongoing): {{costs}}
Benefits I expect (savings, revenue, risk reduced): {{benefits}}
Time horizon for evaluation: {{horizon}}

Include these sections:
1. **Summary and ask** (under 100 words): what we want approved, the total cost, and the headline return.
2. **Problem and urgency**: the cost of doing nothing, quantified where possible.
3. **Options considered**: do nothing, the proposed option and one alternative. Explain why the proposed option wins.
4. **Financials**: a table by year for costs, benefits, net benefit and cumulative cash flow; then ROI, payback period and a simple NPV if I gave enough information. Show formulas in words. Where I gave no number, use a clearly marked assumption.
5. **Benefits not in the numbers**: strategic, customer and morale benefits, written without exaggeration.
6. **Risks and mitigations** and a downside scenario at 30% lower benefits.
7. **Implementation outline**: phases, owners and milestones.
8. **Success measures**: how we will know after 6 months whether it is working.

Tone: confident, concrete and transparent about uncertainty. Avoid buzzwords. Highlight the two numbers the approver is most likely to challenge.