11. The NPV and payback period What information does the payback period provide? Payback period essentially provides the number of years it would take for a project to recover the initial investment from its operating cash flows. As the model was criticized, the model evolved incorporating time value of money to create the discounted payback method. The models still reflected faulty ranking criteria but they provided important information about liquidity and risk. The the payback, other things constant, the greater the project's liquidity. Suppose ABC Telecom Inc.'s CFO is evaluating a project with the following cash inflows. She does not know the project's initial cost; however, she does know that the project's regular payback period is 2.5 years. Year Cash Flow Year 1 $375,000 Year 2 500,000 Year 3 450,000 Year 4 500,000 If the project's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is 9%, what is its NPV? $366,572 $403,229 O $311,586 O $293,258