Exam 11: Cash Flow Estimation and Risk Analysis

The relative risk of a proposed project is best accounted for by which of the following procedures?

The change in net working capital associated with new projects is always positive, because new projects mean that more working capital will be required. This situation is especially true for replacement projects.

In cash flow estimation, the existence of externalities should be taken into account if those externalities have any effects on the firm's long-run cash flows.

Aggarwal Enterprises is considering a new project that has a cost of $1,000,000, and the CFO set up the following simple decision tree to show its three most likely scenarios. The firm could arrange with its work force and suppliers to cease operations at the end of Year 1 should it choose to do so, but to obtain this abandonment option, it would have to make a payment to those parties. How much is the option to abandon worth to the firm?

Suppose Walker Publishing Company is considering bringing out a new finance text whose projected revenues include some revenues that will be taken away from another of Walker's books. The lost sales on the older book are a sunk cost and as such should not be considered in the analysis for the new book.

Temple Corp. is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The equipment that would be used has a 3-year tax life, would be depreciated by the straight-line method over its 3-year life, and would have a zero salvage value. No new working capital would be required. Revenues and other operating costs are expected to be constant over the project's 3-year life. What is the project's NPV?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Taussig Technologies is considering two potential projects, X and Y. In assessing the projects' risks, the company estimated the beta of each project versus both the company's other assets and the stock market, and it also conducted thorough scenario and simulation analyses. This research produced the following data:Correlation of the project cash flows with cash flows from currently existing projects. Cash flows are not correlated with the cash flows from existing projects. Cash flows are highly correlated with the cash flows from existing projects. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

The primary advantage to using accelerated rather than straight-line depreciation is that with accelerated depreciation the present value of the tax savings provided by depreciation will be higher, other things held constant.

A company is considering a proposed new plant that would increase productive capacity. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Which one of the following would NOT result in incremental cash flows and thus should NOT be included in the capital budgeting analysis for a new product?

Rowell Company spent $3 million two years ago to build a plant for a new product. It then decided not to go forward with the project, so the building is available for sale or for a new product. Rowell owns the building free and clear--there is no mortgage on it. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

The two cardinal rules that financial analysts should follow to avoid capital budgeting errors are: (1) in the NPV equation, the numerator should use income calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and (2) all incremental cash flows should be considered when making accept/reject decisions.

Accelerated depreciation has an advantage for profitable firms in that it moves some cash flows forward, thus increasing their present value. On the other hand, using accelerated depreciation generally lowers the reported current year's profits because of the higher depreciation expenses. However, the reported profits problem can be solved by using different depreciation methods for tax and stockholder reporting purposes.

Which of the following is NOT a relevant cash flow and thus should not be reflected in the analysis of a capital budgeting project?

Sub-Prime Loan Company is thinking of opening a new office, and the key data are shown below. The company owns the building that would be used, and it could sell it for $100,000 after taxes if it decides not to open the new office. The equipment for the project would be depreciated by the straight-line method over the project's 3-year life, after which it would be worth nothing and thus it would have a zero salvage value. No new working capital would be required, and revenues and other operating costs would be constant over the project's 3-year life. What is the project's NPV? (Hint: Cash flows are constant in Years 1-3.)

Florida Car Wash is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The equipment to be used has a 3-year tax life, would be depreciated on a straight-line basis over the project's 3-year life, and would have a zero salvage value after Year 3. No new working capital would be required. Revenues and other operating costs will be constant over the project's life, and this is just one of the firm's many projects, so any losses on it can be used to offset profits in other units. If the number of cars washed declined by 40% from the expected level, by how much would the project's NPV decline? (Hint: Note that cash flows are constant at the Year 1 level, whatever that level is.)

Typically, a project will have a higher NPV if the firm uses accelerated rather than straight-line depreciation. This is because the total cash flows over the project's life will be higher if accelerated depreciation is used, other things held constant.

Your company, CSUS Inc., is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The required equipment has a 3-year tax life, and the accelerated rates for such property are 33%, 45%, 15%, and 7% for Years 1 through 4. Revenues and other operating costs are expected to be constant over the project's 10-year expected operating life. What is the project's Year 4 cash flow?

If a firm's projects differ in risk, then one way of handling this problem is to evaluate each project with the appropriate risk-adjusted discount rate.