Question

Suppose a firm has evaluated four capital budgeting projects and, using one of the time value of money-capital budgeting techniques, has determined that all of the projects are acceptable. If the projects are mutually exclusive, which of the following capital budgeting techniques should be used to make the purchasing decision to ensure the firm's value is maximized?
traditional payback period (PB)

the internal rate of return (IRR)

modified internal rate of return (MIRR)

net present value (NPV)

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is: the following three should be used.

• net present value (NPV)
• traditional payback period (PB)  
• the modified internal rate of return (MIRR)

Explanation:

First of all, the NPV of the four projects must be positive. Only NPV positive projects should be financed. If the NPV is negative, the project should be tossed away. This is like a golden rule in investment.

Now comes the "if" part. What does the company value more, a short payback period or a higher rate of return.

If the company values more a shorter payback period (usually high tech companies do this due to obsolescence), then they should choose the project with the shortest payback period.

If the company isn't that concerned about payback periods, then it should choose to finance the project with the highest modified rate of return. This means that the most profitable project should be financed.