In: Accounting
Jenny is the president of the West division of Courland Inc. In December she reviews the division’s projected accounting statements for the year. If she does nothing, she expects the division to have $5 million in revenue, $2.4 million in variable costs, and $1.6 million in fixed costs, on volume of 100,000 units. The division has $6 million in assets. Courland has a cost of capital of 12%.
a) Calculate the projected value of the West division’s ROI and RI.
b) Jenny will receive a $100,000 bonus if she can achieve an ROI of 18%. Clearly, she would like to do that. She considers the following schemes to earn the bonus. Answer the question provided for each of these schemes.
I) West division could ship a lot of extra product to customers at year-end (called channel stuffing). Assume the extra products sell at the typical price and have the typical variable cost. How many extra units would West division need to sell to reach the ROI target?
II) West division could defer some of its costs (such as maintenance) until next year. This would decrease fixed costs this year. How much fixed cost would need to be deferred to reach the ROI target?
III) West division could hide some of its assets from the year-end balance sheet. There are several ways to do that (e.g., repurchase agreements, special purpose entities, or early pay down of operating liabilities). How much assets would need to be hidden to reach the ROI target?
Solution a:
Projected operating income = Projected revenue - variable expenses - fixed expenses = $5,000,000 - $2,400,000 - $1,600,000 = $1,000,000
Invested Assets = $6,000,000
Projected ROI = Opearating income / Operating assets = $1,000,000 / $6,000,000 = 16.67%
Minimum required return = $6,000,000*12% = $720,000
Residual Income = $1,000,000 - $720,000 = $280,000
Solution b-I:
Required net income to achieve 18% ROI = $6,000,000 * 18% = $1,080,000
Project net income = $1,000,000
Additional net income required = $1,080,000 - $1,000,000 = $80,000
Current selling price per unit = $5,000,000 / 1000000 = $50 per unit
Variable cost per unit = $2,400,000/100000 = $24 per unit
Contribution margin per unit =$50 - $24 = $26 per unit
Extra unit required to be sell to acheive 18% ROI = Required additional income / contribution margin per unit
= $80,000/$26 = 3077 units
Solution b-II:
Additional income required to achieve desired ROI = $80,000
Therefore $80,000 of fixed cost should be deferred to reach ROI target.
Solution b-III:
Existing income = $1,000,000
Required operating assets to show ROI of 18% = $1,000,000/18% = $5,555,556
Assets need to be hidden to reach ROI target = $6,000,000 - $5,555,556 = $444,444