Apex Printing's board of directors has recently completed its multiyear strategic plan. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Matthews, and the Vice President (VP) of Sales and Administration, James Simeon, meet with you and Mary Francis to discuss it. Included in the plan is an intent to diversify Apex's current product line to include food packaging. Additional investment is required for this expansion; equipment and inventory will need to be procured and placed in service.

Primary Task Response:Respond to the following scenario with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

As the VP of Finance, you will soon need certain information for computing the net present value (NPV) and the internal rate of return (IRR) for Apex's expansion project. The calculations will be presented to the board at the next quarterly meeting for approval. Today, you are in a meeting with CEO John Matthews and Luke Stewart, VP of Production and Supply Chain, discussing the information.

Luke is excited about the prospect of going into another line of business and he says, "I know our employees will be eager to learn new processes if it means long-term job security and profitability for the company."

"Everyone will benefit if we are able to implement the project," says John. "So to gather enough capital, we must present an appealing prospectus to shareholders and bondholders. Naturally, investors want some assurance that their investment will yield returns; and it's up to us to properly assess our project given the cost of capital."

You nod in agreement and say, "We need everyone in the organization to have an appreciation for these calculations and the information that goes into them. These estimates are important because the board's approval will allow the company to diversify into the food packaging business."

Luke holds out both hands and says, "You know, my understanding is somewhat basic on the two theoretical approaches you've talked about. Let's go over some of the basics now so my grasp of the financial end of this is clearer."

"Good idea, Luke," you say. "I'll prepare brief definitions of the project financial valuation methodologies NPV and IRR."

You also need to explain the following to Luke:

• How the application of weighted average cost of capital (WACC) would be applied to each method
• How companies assess the feasibility of a project according to these valuation methodologies