New Jersey Forensic Accountant Robert A. Bonavito, CPA, speaks on the build-up method, which is a way to calculate the discount rate and, in turn, the capitalization rate. As an investor or manager of a company, whether it be a large corporation or small business, understanding how to develop a capitalization rate is one of the most important functions you will do. If you don’t know your businesses capitalization rate, you don’t know your business.