Exam 12: Cash Flow Estimation and Risk Analysis

Although it is extremely difficult to make accurate forecasts of the revenues that a project will generate, projects' initial outlays and subsequent costs can be forecasted with great accuracy. This is especially true for large product development projects.

A company is considering a new project. The CFO plans to calculate the project's NPV by estimating the relevant cash flows for each year of the project's life (i.e., the initial investment cost, the annual operating cash flows, and the terminal cash flow), then discounting those cash flows at the company's overall WACC. Which one of the following factors should the CFO be sure to INCLUDE in the cash flows when estimating the relevant cash flows?

Currently, Powell Products has a beta of 1.0, and its sales and profits are positively correlated with the overall economy. The company estimates that a proposed new project would have a higher standard deviation and coefficient of variation than an average company project. Also, the new project's sales would be countercyclical in the sense that they would be high when the overall economy is down and low when the overall economy is strong. On the basis of this information, which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Langston Labs has an overall (composite)Which set of projects would maximize shareholder wealth?

Wilson Co. is considering two mutually exclusive projects. Both require an initial investment of $10,000 at t = 0. Project X has an expected life of 2 years with after-tax cash inflows of $6,000 and $8,500 at the end of Years 1 and 2, respectively. Project Y has an expected life of 4 years with after-tax cash inflows of $4,600 at the end of each of the next 4 years. Each project has a WACC of 11%. What is the equivalent annual annuity of the most profitable project?

A firm is considering a new project whose risk is greater than the risk of the firm's average project, based on all methods for assessing risk. In evaluating this project, it would be reasonable for management to do which of the following?

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?

The two methods discussed in the text for dealing with unequal project lives are approach.

Superior analytical techniques, such as NPV, used in combination with risk-adjusted cost of capital estimates, can overcome the problem of poor cash flow estimation and lead to generally correct accept/reject decisions.

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?

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

Fool Proof Software is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The equipment that would be used has a 3-year tax life, and the allowed depreciation 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 life. What is the Year 1 cash flow?

Mulroney Corp. is considering two mutually exclusive projects. Both require an initial investment of $10,000 at t = 0. Project X has an expected life of 2 years with after-tax cash inflows of $6,000 and $7,900 at the end of Years 1 and 2, respectively. Project Y has an expected life of 4 years with after-tax cash inflows of $4,300 at the end of each of the next 4 years. Each project has a WACC of 8%. Use the replacement chain approach to determine the NPV of the most profitable project.

Clemson Software is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The required equipment has a 3-year tax life, after which it will be worthless, and it will be depreciated by the straight-line method over 3 years. Revenues and other operating costs are expected to be constant over the project's 3-year life. What is the project's Year 1 cash flow?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

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 statements is CORRECT?

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.

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?

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 numbers: Project X Project Y Expected NPV $350,000 $350,000 Standard deviation (sNPV)Project beta (vs. market)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?