Concepts used in cash flow estimation

Capital budgeting analysis not only requires the evaluation of cash flows but also requires the understanding of the origin of those cash flows. Based on your understanding of cash flows in a firm, answer the following questions:

Which of the following is a reason cash flows may differ from accounting income?

Depreciation is a tax-deductible expense but is not a cash outlay.

The total number of units sold will be different for accounting income and cash flows.

Which of the following best describes incremental cash flows?

Incremental cash flows are not relevant because they will occur whether or not the project is accepted.

They are the difference between the cash flows the firm will have if it accepts the project versus the cash flows it will have if it rejects the project.

Understanding the nature of projects

Capital budgeting analysis often involves decisions related to expansion projects and/or replacement projects. Based on your understanding of expansion and replacement projects, answer the following:

A rental car company bought a new fleet of midsize cars and sold off its old midsize cars because they had too many miles on them. Which type of project would this be considered?

An expansion project

A replacement project

What are sunk costs?

A successful sushi chain in Hong Kong spent $500,000 to conduct a study on whether to open a location in the United States. The study showed that the best place for the company to open their first location would be in Chicago. When conducting its capital budgeting analysis, how should the company account for the cost of the study when estimating the amount of the initial investment that the new store will require?

The company should ignore it.

The company should include it in the amount of the initial investment.

The role of externalities

A cell phone company recently gave customers the ability to buy applications that they can download to their cell phones. Allowing customers to use these applications increased cell phone sales. This is an example of (a positive within-firm, a negative within firm or an environmental) externality?