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IMANET CMA Exam - Topic 6 Question 86 Discussion

Actual exam question for IMANET's CMA exam
Question #: 86
Topic #: 6
[All CMA Questions]

Union Electric Company must clean up the water released from its generating plant. The company's cost of capital is 12 percent for average risk projects, and that rate is normally adjusted up or down by 2 percentage points for high- and low- risk projects. Clean-Up Plan A . which is of average risk, has an initial cost of $10 million, and its operating cost will be $1 million per year for its 10-year life. Plan B, which is a high-risk project, has an initial cost of $5 million, and its annual operating cost over Years 1 to 10 will be $2 million. What is the approximate PV of costs for the better project?

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Suggested Answer: B

The cash flows of Plan A are discounted at 12%, the company's cost of capital for average risk projects. Plan B is evaluated with a lower cost of capital that reflects a greater risk of the cash outflow of the project. Thus, the cash flows of Plan B are discounted at 10% (12% --- 2%). the company's adjusted cost of capital for high risk projects. The net present value of each plan is the initial cost plus the present value of an annuity for 10 years at the appropriate rate multiplied times the annual operating cost.

The present value factors are found in the tools section of CMA Test Prep.

Plan A NPV = $10,000,000 + ($1,000,000 x 5.650)

Plan A NPV = $15,650,000

Plan B NPV = $5,000,000 + ($2,000,000 x 6.145)

Plan B NPV = $17,290,000

Plan A has a lower NPV and thus is the better project.


Contribute your Thoughts:

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Gwen
3 months ago
I’m leaning towards Plan C for the PV calculations.
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Skye
3 months ago
The cost of capital adjustments really matter here!
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Lynelle
3 months ago
Wait, how can Plan B be high-risk with lower initial costs?
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Eleonora
4 months ago
I think Plan A is definitely the better choice!
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Corinne
4 months ago
Plan A has a lower initial cost but higher operating costs.
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Christoper
4 months ago
I just can't recall if I should include the initial costs in the PV calculation for both plans. I think we did something like this in our practice exam.
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Louis
4 months ago
I’m not completely confident, but I feel like I should use the formula for PV of an annuity for the operating costs. I hope I remember the right discount factor!
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Stevie
4 months ago
I think Plan A is the better option because its total costs seem lower when you factor in the present value. We did a similar question about comparing projects last week.
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Louvenia
5 months ago
I remember we calculated the present value of costs in class, but I'm a bit unsure about how to adjust the discount rate for Plan B since it's high-risk.
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Yaeko
5 months ago
This seems like a tricky one. I'll need to be really careful with the calculations to make sure I don't miss anything. I better start working through it step-by-step to avoid any mistakes.
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Emmett
5 months ago
Okay, let's see. I need to find the present value of the initial costs and the annual operating costs for each plan, using the appropriate discount rates. Then I can compare the total PV for each plan to determine the better one.
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Kristofer
5 months ago
This question looks pretty straightforward. I think I can handle calculating the present value of the costs for each plan and then comparing them to determine the better project.
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Joseph
5 months ago
Hmm, I'm a bit unsure about how to handle the different risk levels for the two plans. Do I need to adjust the discount rate for that? I'll have to review my notes on that.
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Glennis
5 months ago
I'm not sure about this one. The options seem a bit tricky. I might need to review my data modeling concepts before answering.
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Dorthy
5 months ago
Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. I'm trying to think through the requirements - no network connectivity, graphical interface... Maybe a console-based app wouldn't work since it doesn't have a GUI? I'll have to think this through a bit more.
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Elly
5 months ago
Okay, I think I've got it now. The pattern is used to resolve issues caused by different disk types across redundant cloud storage devices that use different storage methods. That makes sense to me, so I'll go with C.
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Kenneth
2 years ago
I think A is better at around $15,432,000. Option A.
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Catarina
2 years ago
Operating cost differences are crucial. A has $1M/year, B has $2M/year.
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Aleta
2 years ago
For Plan B, high risk. Cost of capital is 14%.
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Kenneth
2 years ago
Plan A has average risk, so cost of capital is 12%.
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Elenora
2 years ago
We need to find the PV of costs for Plan A and B.
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Catarina
2 years ago
This question seems complicated. Anyone has ideas?
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