Question

Maria Gutierrez and Devin Duzan recently graduated from the same university. After graduation they decided not to seek jobs at established organizations but, rather, to start their own small business hoping they could have more flexibility in their personal lives for a few years. Maria’s family has operated Mexican restaurants and taco trucks for the past two generations, and Maria noticed there were no taco truck services in the town where their university was located. To reduce the amount they would need for an initial investment, they decided to start a business operating a taco cart rather than a taco truck, from which they would cook and serve traditional Mexican-styled street food.

They bought a used taco cart for $15,000. This cost, along with the cost for supplies to get started, a business license, and street vendor license brought their initial expenditures to $20,000. They took $5,000 from personal savings they had accumulated by working part time during college, and they borrowed $15,000 from Maria’s parents. They agreed to pay interest on the outstanding loan balance each month based on an annual rate of 4 percent. They will repay the principal over the next few years as cash becomes available. They were able to rent space in a parking lot near the campus they had attended, believing that the students would welcome their food as an alternative to the typical fast food that was currently available.

After two months in business, September and October, they had average monthly revenues of $20,000 and out-of-pocket costs of $16,000 for rent, ingredients, paper supplies, and so on, but not interest. Devin thinks they should repay some of the money they borrowed, but Maria thinks they should prepare a set of forecasted financial statements for their first year in business before deciding whether or not to repay any principal on the loan. She remembers a bit about budgeting from a survey of accounting course she took and thinks the results from their first two months in business can be extended over the next 10 months to prepare the budget they need. They estimate the cart will last at least five years, after which they expect to sell it for $5,000 and move on to something else in their lives. Maria agrees to prepare a forecasted (pro forma) income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows for their first year in business, which includes the two months already passed.Page 535

Required

Prepare the annual pro forma financial statements that you would expect Maria to prepare based on her comments about her expectations for the business. Assume no principal will be repaid on the loan.

Review the statements you prepared for the first requirement and prepare a list of reasons why actual results for Devin and Maria’s business probably will not match their budgeted statements.

Answer 1

Workings

1. Interest on loan from Maria's parents

=15000*4%=600 p.a.

2. Depreciation on cart=

(15000-5000)/5=2,000

The projected financial statements may be different from actual financials because of the following reasons

a) Project financial statements assume the income and expenses to be same as per average revenue of the first two months but they may be different in actual as the sales and corresponding expenditureis expected to grow as the business grow.

b) The costs of ingredients might fluctuate according to seasonal availability of products

c) Also the revenue will decline when the college will be off for few days.