 Using the compound interest tables mentioned above, an engineer or manager can quickly determine the value of capital over a certain time period.For example, a company wishes to borrow $5,000.00 to finance a new machine, and will need to repay that loan in 5 years at 7%.Using the table, 5 years and 7% gives the factor of 1.403, which will be multiplied by $5,000.00.