FM Assignment
FM Assignment
5:
Payback Period:
Payback method helps in revealing the payback period of an investment. Payback period (PBP)
is the time (number of years) it takes for the cash flows of incomes from a particular project to
cover the initial investment.
IRR:
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a financial measure used to evaluate projected cash flow results
and to compare the feasibility of a project/investment. IRR is generally used with other financial
measures such as Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI). IRR is defined as
the discount rate at which you can ensure that your investment makes more money than its actual
cost. In other words, it is the rate at which NPV is zero. If the IRR value is less than the cost of
capital, then the project should be rejected Else, the project can be accepted.
(b)
The internal rate of return (IRR) rule is a guideline for deciding whether to
proceed with a project or investment. The rule states that a project should be
pursued if the internal rate of return is greater than the minimum required rate of
return. That is, the project looks profitable.
On the other hand, if the IRR is lower than the cost of capital, the rule declares
that the best course of action is to forego the project or investment.
NPV is an indicator of how much value an investment adds. In financial theory, if there is a
choice between two mutually exclusive alternatives, the one yielding the higher NPV should
be selected and generally speaking the following is true:
(c)
Advantages of NPV:
1. The primary benefit of using NPV is that it considers the concept of the time value of
money i.e., a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow owing to its earning
capacity. The computation under NPV considers the discounted net cash flows of an
investment to determine its viability.
2. NPV method enables the decision-making process for companies. Not only does it help
evaluate projects of the same size, but it also helps in identifying whether a particular
investment is profit-making or loss-making.
Disadvantages of NPV:
1. The entire computation of NPV rests on discounting the future cash flows to its present
value using the required rate of return. However, there are no guidelines as to the
determination of this rate. This percentage value is left to the discretion of companies,
and there could be instances wherein the NPV was inaccurate due to an erroneous rate of
returns.
2. Another disadvantage of NPV is that it cannot be used to compare projects of different
sizes. NPV is an absolute figure and not a percentage. Therefore, the NPV of larger
projects would inevitably be higher than a project of a smaller size. The returns of the
smaller project may be higher than its investment, but overall the NPV value might be
lower.
3. NPV only takes into account the cash inflows and outflows of a particular project. It does
not consider any hidden costs, sunk costs, or other preliminary costs incurred about the
specific project. Therefore, the profitability of the project may not be highly accurate.
(d)
Advantages of IRR:
1. It considers the time value of money even though the annual cash inflow is even and
uneven.
2. The profitability of the project is considered over the entire economic life of the project.
In this way, a true profitability of the project is evaluated.
3. There is no need of the pre-determination of cost of capital or cut off rate. Hence, Internal
Rate of Return method is better than Net Present Value method.
Disadvantages of IRR:
1. This method assumed that the earnings are reinvested at the internal rate of return for the
remaining life of the project. If the average rate of return earned by the firm is not close
to the internal rate of return, the profitability of the project is not justifiable.
2. It involves tedious calculations.
3. The results of Net Present Value method and Internal Rate of Return method may differ
when the projects under evaluation differ in their size, life and timings of cash inflows.
(e)
In capital budgeting, there are a number of different approaches that can be used
to evaluate a project. Each approach has its own distinct advantages and
disadvantages. Most managers and executives like methods that look at a
company's capital budgeting and performance expressed in percentages rather
than dollar figures. In these cases, they tend to prefer using IRR or the internal
rate of return instead of the NPV or net present value. But using IRR may not
produce the most desirable results.
Question no. 7:
Advantages of profitability index:
1. PI considers the time value of money.
2. PI considers analysis all cash flows of entire life.
3. PI makes the right in the case of different amount of cash outlay of different project.
4. PI ascertains the exact rate of return of the project.
Disadvantages of Profitability Index (PI):
1. It is difficult to understand interest rate or discount rate.
2. It is difficult to calculate profitability index if two projects having different useful life.