Cost Accounting (14th Edition)

752 CHAPTER 21 CAPITAL BUDGETING AND COST ANALYSIS
Categories of Cash Flows
A capital investment project typically has three categories of cash flows: (1) net initial
investment in the project, which includes the acquisition of assets and any associated additions
to working capital, minus the after-tax cash flow from the disposal of existing assets;
(2) after-tax cash flow from operations (including income tax cash savings from annual
depreciation deductions); and (3) after-tax cash flow from terminal disposal of an asset and
recovery of working capital. We use the Top-Spin example to discuss these three categories.
As you work through the cash flows in each category, refer to Exhibit 21-6. This
exhibit sketches the relevant cash flows for Top-Spin’s decision to purchase the new
machine as described in items 1 through 3 here. Note that the total relevant cash flows for
each year equal the relevant cash flows used in Exhibits 21-2 and 21-3 to illustrate the
NPV and IRR methods.
1. Net Initial Investment. Three components of net-initial-investment cash flows are
(a) cash outflow to purchase the machine, (b) cash outflow for working capital, and
(c) after-tax cash inflow from current disposal of the old machine.
1a. Initial machine investment. These outflows, made for purchasing plant and
equipment, occur at the beginning of the project’s life and include cash outflows
for transporting and installing the equipment. In the Top-Spin example, the
$390,000 cost (including transportation and installation) of the carbon-fiber
machine is an outflow in year 0. These cash flows are relevant to the capital
budgeting decision because they will be incurred only if Top-Spin decides to purchase
the new machine.
1b. Initial working-capital investment. Initial investments in plant and equipment are
usually accompanied by additional investments in working capital. These additional
investments take the form of current assets, such as accounts receivable and
inventories, minus current liabilities, such as accounts payable. Working-capital
investments are similar to plant and equipment investments in that they require
cash. The magnitude of the investment generally increases as a function of the
level of additional sales generated by the project. However, the exact relationship
varies based on the nature of the project and the operating cycle of the industry.
Exhibit 21-6
Relevant Cash Inflows and Outflows for Top-Spin’s Carbon-Fiber Machine
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Sketch of Relevant Cash Flows at End of Year
0 1 2 3 4 5
1a. Initial machine investment $ (390,000)
1b. Initial working-capital investment (9,000)
1c. After-tax cash flow from current disposal
of old machine
19,900
Net initial investment
(379,100)
2a. Annual after-tax cash flow from operations
( excluding the depreciation effect)
$ 72,000 $ 72,000 $ 72,000 $ 72,000 $ 63,000
2b. Income tax cash savings from annual
d epreciation deductions
28,000 28,000 28,000 28,000 28,000
3a. After-tax cash flow from terminal disposal
of machine 0
3b. After-tax cash flow from recovery of
working
capital
9,000
Total relevant cash flows,
as shown in Exhibits 21-2 and 21-3
$(379,100) $ 100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000