Your first assignment in your new position as assistant financial analyst at Caledonia Products is to evaluate two new capital- budgeting proposals. Because this is your first assignment, you have been asked not only to provide a recommendation but also to respond to a number of questions aimed at assessing your understanding of the capital- budgeting process. This is a standard procedure for all new financial analysts at Caledonia, and it will serve to determine whether you are moved directly into the capital- budgeting analysis department or are provided with remedial training. The memorandum you received outlining your assignment follows:
To: The New Financial Analysts
From: Mr. V. Morrison, CEO, Caledonia Products
Re: Capital- Budgeting Analysis
Provide an evaluation of two proposed projects, both with 5- year expected lives and identical initial outlays of $ 110,000. Both of these projects involve additions to Caledonia€™s highly successful Avalon product line, and as a result, the required rate of return on both projects has been established at 12 percent. The expected free cash flows from each project are as follows:

In evaluating these projects, please respond to the following questions:
a. Why is the capital- budgeting process so important?
b. Why is it difficult to find exceptionally profitable projects?
c. What is the payback period on each project? If Caledonia imposes a 3- year maximum acceptable payback period, which of these projects should be accepted?
d. What are the criticisms of the payback period?
e. Determine the NPV for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
f. Describe the logic behind the NPV.
g. Determine the PI for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
h. Would you expect the NPV and PI methods to give consistent accept/ reject decisions? Why or why not?
i. What would happen to the NPV and PI for each project if the required rate of return in-creased? If the required rate of return decreased?
j. Determine the IRR for each project. Should they be accepted?
k. How does a change in the required rate of return affect the project€™s internal rate of return?
l. What reinvestment rate assumptions are implicitly made by the NPV and IRR methods? Which one is better? You have also been asked for your views on three unrelated sets of projects. Each set of projects involves two mutually exclusive projects. These projects follow.
m. Caledonia is considering two investments with 1- year lives. The more expensive of the two is the better and will produce more savings. Assume these projects are mutually exclusive and that the required rate of return is 10 percent. Given the following free cash flows:

1. Calculate the NPV for each project. 2. Calculate the PI for each project. 3. Calculate the IRR for each project.
4. If there is no capital- rationing constraint, which project should be selected? If there is a capital- rationing constraint, how should the decision be made?
n. Caledonia is considering two additional mutually exclusive projects. The free cash flows associated with these projects are as follows:

The required rate of return on these projects is 11 percent.
1. What is each project€™s payback period?
2. What is each project€™s NPV?
3. What is each project€™s IRR?
4. What has caused the ranking conflict?
5. Which project should be accepted? Why?

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Initial outlay Inflow year1 Inflow year 2 Inflow year3 Inflow year 4 Inflow year 5 PROJECTA -$110,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 70,000 PROJECT B -$110,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 PROJECT A Initial outlay Inflow year 1 $195,000 240,000 PROJECT B $1,200,000 1,650,000 PROJECTA -$100,000 32,000 32,000 PROJEC Т В -$100,000 Initial outlay Inflow year 1 Inflow year 2 Inflow year 3U Inflow year4 Inflow year 5 32000 a 32,000 32,000 200,000