The manager of a plant that manufactures stepper drives knows that Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) and Double Declining Balance (DDB) are both accelerated depreciation methods, but out of curiosity, he wants to determine which one offers faster write-off in the first 3 years for equipment that has a first cost of $500,000, a 5-year life/recovery period, and a $40,000 salvage value. Determine which method provides a faster write-off for 3 years (i.e., yields lower book-value in year 3) and by how much? (Note: Use GDS 5-year recovery. period for MACRS)

The manager of a plant that manufactures stepper drives knows that Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) and Double Declining Balance (DDB) are both accelerated depreciation methods, but out of curiosity, he wants to determine which one offers faster write-off in the first 3 years for equipment that has a first cost of $500,000, a 5-year life/recovery period, and a $40,000 salvage value. Determine which method provides a faster write-off for 3 years (i.e., yields lower book-value in year 3) and by how much? (Note: Use GDS 5-year recovery. period for MACRS)

Principles of Accounting Volume 2

19th Edition

ISBN:9781947172609

Author:OpenStax

Publisher:OpenStax

Chapter11: Capital Budgeting Decisions

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 2TP: Austins cell phone manufacturer wants to upgrade their product mix to encompass an exciting new...

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Mallette Manufacturing, Inc., produces washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers. Because of increasing competition, Mallette is considering investing in an automated manufacturing system. Since competition is most keen for dishwashers, the production process for this line has been selected for initial evaluation. The automated system for the dishwasher line would replace an existing system (purchased one year ago for 6 million). Although the existing system will be fully depreciated in nine years, it is expected to last another 10 years. The automated system would also have a useful life of 10 years. The existing system is capable of producing 100,000 dishwashers per year. Sales and production data using the existing system are provided by the Accounting Department: All cash expenses with the exception of depreciation, which is 6 per unit. The existing equipment is being depreciated using straight-line with no salvage value considered. The automated system will cost 34 million to purchase, plus an estimated 20 million in software and implementation. (Assume that all investment outlays occur at the beginning of the first year.) If the automated equipment is purchased, the old equipment can be sold for 3 million. The automated system will require fewer parts for production and will produce with less waste. Because of this, the direct material cost per unit will be reduced by 25 percent. Automation will also require fewer support activities, and as a consequence, volume-related overhead will be reduced by 4 per unit and direct fixed overhead (other than depreciation) by 17 per unit. Direct labor is reduced by 60 percent. Assume, for simplicity, that the new investment will be depreciated on a pure straight-line basis for tax purposes with no salvage value. Ignore the half-life convention. The firms cost of capital is 12 percent, but management chooses to use 20 percent as the required rate of return for evaluation of investments. The combined federal and state tax rate is 40 percent. Required: 1. Compute the net present value for the old system and the automated system. Which system would the company choose? 2. Repeat the net present value analysis of Requirement 1, using 12 percent as the discount rate. 3. Upon seeing the projected sales for the old system, the marketing manager commented: Sales of 100,000 units per year cannot be maintained in the current competitive environment for more than one year unless we buy the automated system. The automated system will allow us to compete on the basis of quality and lead time. If we keep the old system, our sales will drop by 10,000 units per year. Repeat the net present value analysis, using this new information and a 12 percent discount rate. 4. An industrial engineer for Mallette noticed that salvage value for the automated equipment had not been included in the analysis. He estimated that the equipment could be sold for 4 million at the end of 10 years. He also estimated that the equipment of the old system would have no salvage value at the end of 10 years. Repeat the net present value analysis using this information, the information in Requirement 3, and a 12 percent discount rate. 5. Given the outcomes of the previous four requirements, comment on the importance of providing accurate inputs for assessing investments in automated manufacturing systems.
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Friedman Company is considering installing a new IT system. The cost of the new system is estimated to be 2,250,000, but it would produce after-tax savings of 450,000 per year in labor costs. The estimated life of the new system is 10 years, with no salvage value expected. Intrigued by the possibility of saving 450,000 per year and having a more reliable information system, the president of Friedman has asked for an analysis of the projects economic viability. All capital projects are required to earn at least the firms cost of capital, which is 12 percent. Required: 1. Calculate the projects internal rate of return. Should the company acquire the new IT system? 2. Suppose that savings are less than claimed. Calculate the minimum annual cash savings that must be realized for the project to earn a rate equal to the firms cost of capital. Comment on the safety margin that exists, if any. 3. Suppose that the life of the IT system is overestimated by two years. Repeat Requirements 1 and 2 under this assumption. Comment on the usefulness of this information.
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The Aubey Coffee Company is evaluating the within-plant distribution system for its new roasting, grinding, and packing plant. The two alternatives are (1) a conveyor system with a high initial cost but low annual operating costs and (2) several forklift trucks, which cost less but have considerably higher operating costs. The decision to construct the plant has already been made, and the choice here will have no effect on the overall revenues of the project. The cost of capital for the plant is 8%, and the projects’ expected net costs are listed in the following table: What is the IRR of each alternative? What is the present value of the costs of each alternative? Which method should be chosen?
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Gina Ripley, president of Dearing Company, is considering the purchase of a computer-aided manufacturing system. The annual net cash benefits and savings associated with the system are described as follows: The system will cost 9,000,000 and last 10 years. The companys cost of capital is 12 percent. Required: 1. Calculate the payback period for the system. Assume that the company has a policy of only accepting projects with a payback of five years or less. Would the system be acquired? 2. Calculate the NPV and IRR for the project. Should the system be purchasedeven if it does not meet the payback criterion? 3. The project manager reviewed the projected cash flows and pointed out that two items had been missed. First, the system would have a salvage value, net of any tax effects, of 1,000,000 at the end of 10 years. Second, the increased quality and delivery performance would allow the company to increase its market share by 20 percent. This would produce an additional annual net benefit of 300,000. Recalculate the payback period, NPV, and IRR given this new information. (For the IRR computation, initially ignore salvage value.) Does the decision change? Suppose that the salvage value is only half what is projected. Does this make a difference in the outcome? Does salvage value have any real bearing on the companys decision?
St. Johns River Shipyards welding machine is 15 years old, fully depreciated, and has no salvage value. However, even though it is old, it is still functional as originally designed and can be used for quite a while longer. A new welder will cost 182,500 and have an estimated life of 8 years with no salvage value. The new welder will be much more efficient, however, and this enhanced efficiency will increase earnings before depreciation from 27,000 to 74,000 per year. The new machine will be depreciated over its 5-year MACRS recovery period, so the applicable depreciation rates are 20.00%, 32.00%, 19.20%, 11.52%, 11.52%, and 5.76%. The applicable corporate tax rate is 25%, and the project cost of capital is 12%. What is the NPV if the firm replaces the old welder with the new one?
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