what information does the payback period provide? Payback period essentially provides the number of years it would take for a project to recover the Initial investment from its operating cash flows. As the model was criticized. the model evolved incorporating time value of money.Ir to create the discounted payback method. The models still reected fauity ran king criteria but they provided importan information about liquidity and risk. cash flows expected in the distant future are risky than cash flows received in the near-termwhich suggests that the payback period can also serve as an indicator of project risk