HW4-3 (20 points)

Active Life Inc., a sports equipment retailer, needs to prepare a cash budget for the first quarter of 2021. The financial staff at Active Life has forecasted the following sales figures:

January	February	March	April	May
$100,000	$150,000	$300,000	$250,000	$150,000

Actual sales in October, November, and December 2020 were $125,000, $146,000, and $125,000, respectively. Cash sales are 40% of the total, and the rest are on credit. Under the current credit policy the firm expects to collect 60% of credit sales the following month, 30% two months after, and the remainder in the third month after the sale.

Each month, the firm makes inventory purchases equal to 45% of the of the next months sales. The firm pays for 40% of its inventory purchases in the same month and 60% in the following month; nevertheless, the firm enjoys a 2% discount if it pays during the same month as the purchase.

Estimated disbursements include monthly wages and other expenses representing 25% of the same months sales; a major capital outlay of $30,000 expected in January; a dividend payment of $25,000 in February; $40,000 of long-term debt maturing in March; and a tax payment of $60,000 in April. The interest rate on its short-term borrowing is 7%. It has a required minimum cash balance of $10,000 every month, and has an ending cash balance of $30,000 for December 2020.

1. Using the above information, create a cash budget for January to June 2021. The cash budget should account for short-term borrowing and payback of outstanding loans. Using Excels outline feature, group the worksheet area at the top of the cash budget so that the preliminary calculations can be easily hidden or unhidden (Analysis, Identify and Access Needed Information and use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose 12 pts).
2. Ms. Elaine Benes, Active Lifes CFO, is considering three credit proposals from the firms supplier. In the first proposal the firm will pay 75% of its purchases in the same month and 25% in the following month; in the second proposal the firm will pay half in the same month and half in the following month; in the third proposal the firm will pay 25% of its purchases in the same month and 75% in the following month. Suppliers have offered 4%, 3%, and 2% discounts over the payments made during the same month of the purchase if the firm pays according to the first, second, and third proposals, respectively (Identify and Access Needed Information 4 pts).

Optional: The CFO has asked you to use the Scenario Manager to see which proposal has the lowest total interest cost.

3. Ms. Benes is now considering three credit policies from the firms customers. In the first policy the firm will sell 60% on cash and will collect 60% of the balance during the first month, and the remaining balance during the second month. In the second policy, 50% of sales will be on cash, and the firm will collect 50%, 30%, and 20% of credit sales during the first, second, and third months, respectively. The last policy consists of 40% sales on cash, and 40%, 30%, and 30% of the remaining balance will be collected during the first, second, and third months, respectively. (Identify and Access Needed Information 4 pt).

Optional: The CFO has asked you to use the Scenario Manager to see what credit proposal has the lowest total interest cost.

4. Interpretation: please describe where you obtained information to develop analyses and interpret the results. Please include your written description in the interpretation tab. If you do not complete this section with your words or leave the interpretation tab as a blank, you receive 0 point in this HW.