CHAPTER 12 Using Excel to Make Decisions at Current Designs Topic(s): Planning for Capital Investment Decisions: Annual rate of return, Payback period, NPV, IRR Excel Functions and Tools: IRR function; NPV function A company that manufactures recreational pedal boats has approached Mike Cichanowski to ask if he would be interested in using Current Designs' rotomold expertise and equipment to produce some of the pedal boat components. Mike is intrigued by the idea and thinks it would be an interesting way of complementing the present product line. One of Mike's hesitations about the proposal is that the pedal boats are a different shape than the kayaks that Current Designs produces. As a result, the company would need to buy an additional rotomold oven in order to produce the pedal boat components. This project clearly involves risks, and Mike wants to make sure that the returns justify the risks. In this case, since this is a new venture, Mike thinks that a 15% discount rate is appropriate to use to evaluate the project. As an intern at Current Designs, Mike has asked you to prepare an initial evaluation of this proposal. To aid in your analysis, he has provided the following information and assumptions. Instructions a. Compute the annual rate of return. b. Compute the payback period. c. Compute the net present value using a discount rate of 9%. Should the proposal be accepted using this discount rate? d. Compute the net present value using a discount rate of 15%. Should the proposal be accepted using this discount rate