Investment Proposals, Sources of Funding, and Cash Management: A Management Report for XYZ Corporati

Literature Review

Details of the task

Case Study 1 XYZ Smart Drone

XYZ Corporation has just developed a smart drone technology, which uses sensors and blockchain technology to monitor crop health, and spray ailing crops with pesticides and fertilizers according to crop condition. The company is planning to begin production on this smart drone and go to market with this new technology.

Feasibility studies have been made to determine probable costs and market potential for the smart drone. These studies have provided the following information:

a. Facilities would have to be built to produce the smart drone. 
The facilities would cost $30 million.and has a 10-years useful life. After 10 years, it would have a salvage value of about $2 million.

b. Production and sales of the drone would require working capital of $200,000 to finance accounts receivable, inventories, and day-to-day cash needs. This working capital would be released at the end of the project’s life.

c. The drone would sell for $15 000 each.

d. Fixed costs for salaries, maintenance, property taxes, and insurance on the equipment would total $1 million per year. Variable costs of production would be $500 per unit

Case Study 2 – Cash Budgeting

XYZ Corporation has a major shareholding in ABC, a fertilizer supplier.
On January 2, 2020, ABC is attempting to budget cash flows through February 28, 2020. On this latter date, an unsecured note will be payable in the amount of $200,000. This amount was borrowed in November to carry the company through the seasonal peak in December and January.
The company estimates that approximately 50% of the sales will be for cash, and the rest will be on credit.

Of the credit sales, 20% of the money will be received in the month of sale. 40% will be collected in the following month, and 38% will be received 2 months after sale. Approximately 2% of credit sales are never collected and are written off.

Purchases are made on basis of 70% the following month’s projected sales quantity. All purchases are payable within 30 days. Approximately 70% of the purchases in a month are paid that month and the rest the following month. The average cost is $60 per ton.

Total budgeted marketing, distribution, and customer-service costs for the year are $3 000 000. Of this amount, $120 000 are considered fixed (and include depreciation of $80 000). Fixed costs are accrued evenly through the year.

The remaining variable costs ($10 per unit) with accrued evenly with unit sales. Both fixed and variable costs are paid in the month incurred.

Requirements:

You will be required to write a management report to the board of XYZ Corporation in which the following points should be discussed.

• Analyse the Investment proposals by using NPV and provide recommendations. You should also briefly comment on other investment proposal techniques that XYZ may use, and the limitations of using those techniques.

• Provide an explanation on the different sources of funding available to the company, and their advantages and disadvantages and make recommendations as to how these funding sources are appropriate to the planned investment project.

• The use of management tools such as Breakeven analysis and Budgets. A computation of your breakeven analysis should be computed for the drone project. The cash budget should be prepared for December 2019 and January 2020.

• An evaluation of ABC’s cash position over the budgeting period.

• A detailed Literature Review of the tools you have used such as capital investment techniques, breakeven analysis and budgets and their importance to the business case.

• Other issues for management to consider that you think are vital for them to survive and make a profit.

Assignment Guidelines Structure
You have been asked to produce an individual report (word count 2,500). It should contain the following:
• Appropriate coversheet (as attached in this document)
• Title Sheet
• Executive Summary
• Contents Page
• Introduction
• Literature review to support your accounting models used.
• Sources of Funding
• Investment appraisal
• Cash budgeting
• Breakeven analysis
• Evaluation
• Any other issues to be considered.
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Appendices which should be numbered (Calculations in appendix)