McAngus Company, a medium-sized manufacturer, recently acquired another company located approximately 1,000 miles away. The new company manufactures a line of products that complements the present product line. Both manufacturing plants have signif- icant investment in land, buildings, machinery, and equipment. Each plant is to be operated as a separate division headed by a division manager. Each division manager is to have virtually complete authority and responsibility for the profit contribution of the division. A complete set of financial statements is to be prepared for each division as well as for the company. The president and senior management team intend to concentrate their efforts on coordinating the activities of the two divisions and investigating and evaluating new mar- kets, new product lines, and new business acquisition possibilities. Because of the cash required for the recent acquisition and the cash needs for desired future expansion, the president is particularly concerned about cash flow and the effective management of cash. Explain the objectives and describe the process that McAngus can use to plan for and evaluate the long-term commitments of its resources, including cash. Describe three tech- niques, including one that considers the time value of money, that the company can use to evaluate various alternatives in its long-range plan. Explain the advantages and disadvan- tages of each.