If an independent project with conventional, or normal, cash flows is being analyzed, the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) methods __ agree. Projects Y and Z are mutually exclusive projects. Their cash flows and NPV profiles are shown as follows. If the required rate of return for each project is 6%, do the NPV and IRR methods agree or conflict? The methods agree. The methods conflict. A key to resolving this conflict is the assumed reinvestment rate. The NPV calculation implicitly assumes that intermediate cash flows are reinvested at the __, and the IRR calculation assumes that the rate at which cash flows can be reinvested is the __. As a result, when evaluating mutually exclusive projects, the __ is usually the better decision criterion