6.1 Evaluating a Business Plan

Example 6.1.1

Suppose a business plan would require an investment of $20,000 now and would result in cash flows of $13,000 in one year and $8,000 in two years.

Cash Flow diagram

 

Then, if you ignore (just for a moment!) the time value of money, you can see that:

[latex]\begin{align*} Profit&=Revenue- Expense\\ &=$21,000 -$20,000\\ &=$1,000 \end{align*}[/latex]

 

showing a positive profit.

 

Key Takeaways

A positive profit is a minimum requirement for a successful investment. No company would choose investments which they expect to result in a loss.

 

Beyond this the question is: How can we decide whether this investment is preferable to others?

Suppose that an alternative investment was to place the money in a trust account which would pay 6% effective over the two-year period, and from which withdrawals could be made at any time.

Then, if you try to match the sequence of cash flows you would have:

Time Interest Deposit Withdrawal Balance
0 $20,000.00 $0.00 $20,000.00
1 $1,200.00 13,000.00 8,200.00
2 492.00 8,000.00 692.00

 

 

The final balance of $692.00 shows that in the account we could have withdrawn a total payment of $8,692 at the end of the second year, which is more than the original investment would allow; hence, the trust company account would be a better investment. The first investment made money, but not fast enough to earn 6% effective.

 

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