A Belfast consultancy spends £60,000 on a project that brings net cash inflows of £15,000 a year. What is the payback period?

The payback period is 4 years. The working is £60,000 ÷ £15,000 = 4 years.

A client invests £50,000 in a project returning £20,000 a year. What is the payback period in years and months?

The payback period is 2 years and 6 months. The working is £50,000 ÷ £20,000 = 2.5 years, and 0.5 × 12 = 6 months.

How are the months calculated when payback falls part-way through a year?

The months equal the amount still to be recovered divided by that year's net cash inflow, multiplied by 12. The months are added to the full years already counted.

CCEA A-Level Professional Business Services 3210

The Business Environment

Topic overview Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary production Private, public and voluntary sector objectives Sole traders and partnerships Private and public limited companies Stakeholder interests and conflicts Factors of production

The Professional Business Services Sector

Topic overview The nature of professional business services The range of consultancy services Tangible goods and intangible services Local, national and global firms Why businesses use consultancy services

The Consultancy Process

Topic overview The consultancy process and the entry phase The diagnosis phase The action planning phase Implementation and termination phases

Understanding the Client's Market

Topic overview Market size, market share and market growth Reasons for market research and using its findings Primary market research methods Secondary market research and choosing a method Sampling methods in market research Market segmentation

Client Relationships

Topic overview Why client relationships matter Communication, personal contact and client needs Business culture and professionalism Trust, ethical behaviour, intellect and ideas

Business Ethics

Topic overview Fairness, integrity and freedom from bias Trust, confidentiality, transparency and openness The benefits of an ethical code

Persuading, Negotiating and Influencing

Topic overview Persuasion techniques for consultants Negotiation stages and strategies Influencing clients and stakeholders

Business Planning and Risk Management

Topic overview Strategic planning and cost–benefit analysis SWOT and PESTEL analysis in strategic planning The Ansoff matrix and the Boston matrix Assessing and managing business risk

Government Regulation

Topic overview The purpose of business regulation Regulators and compliance in Northern Ireland Codes of conduct versus external regulation

Organisational Structure and Culture

Topic overview Human resources and effective HR management Tall, flat, centralised and decentralised structures Roles, chain of command, span of control and delayering Changing and comparing organisational structures Culture, Schein's model and the McKinsey 7S framework

Recruitment and Selection

Topic overview Internal and external recruitment methods Job descriptions and person specifications Interviews and psychometric testing Competency profiling, situational judgement tests and EI questionnaires Contracts of employment and effective recruitment

Learning and Development

Topic overview Why learning and development matters to a business Induction, on-the-job, off-the-job training and CPD Outcomes of learning and development

Employee Well-Being and Motivation

Topic overview What employee well-being is and why employers value it Methods of supporting employee well-being Causes of low workplace well-being Maslow and Taylor on motivation Herzberg and Mayo on motivation Financial and non-financial methods of motivation

Managing Conflict

Topic overview Functional and dysfunctional conflict Causes of conflict at work Effects of conflict on performance, motivation and behaviour Improving employer–employee relations

Business Research Methods

Topic overview Research aims, objectives and literature searches Questionnaires, interviews and designing research tools Sampling, reliability, validity and research ethics Presenting, analysing and evaluating research findings

Sources of Finance

Topic overview Financial decision making in a client business Internal sources of finance Loans, overdrafts and share issues Leasing, hire purchase and trade credit Choosing the right source of finance

Cash Flow

Topic overview Types of budget and why firms set them Adverse and favourable variances Cash flow, profit and why firms forecast Constructing and analysing a cash flow forecast

Financial Statements

Topic overview Revenue, cost of sales and gross profit Expenses and net profit Assets on the statement of financial position Equity and liabilities

Ratio Analysis

Topic overview Profit margins and return on capital employed The current ratio, liquidity and gearing Trade receivables and trade payables days Earnings per share and return on equity Using and evaluating ratio analysis

Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions

Topic overview The payback method Net present value and discounting Average rate of return and choosing a method Appraising an investment for a client Using financial data for growth and staffing decisions

IT Systems and Communication Technology

Topic overview The role of technology in business Management information and performance management systems Choosing and integrating IT systems Email, messaging, telephone and text Websites, document sharing, conferencing and social media

Technology for People and Operations

Topic overview Performance management software HR information systems Customer relationship management software Transaction processing technology Inventory management technology

Technology for Finance and Disaster Recovery

Topic overview Spreadsheets for financial decisions Databases and accounting software Data security principles and cyber threats SSL, HTTPS and two-factor authentication Legislation on data and technology Disaster recovery planning and backup strategies

Big Data and the Ethics of Technology

Topic overview Big data, data analytics and KPIs Data storage systems Automated decisions, censorship and monitoring Personal data, the digital divide and acceptable use

Leadership and Management

Topic overview Leadership, management and emotional intelligence Fayol's functions and Mintzberg's roles The Tannenbaum–Schmidt continuum and leadership styles Transformational and transactional leadership The Blake Mouton grid and Adair's Action-Centred Leadership Performance management and review

Managing Teams

Topic overview Team working and Tuckman's stages Belbin's nine team roles Using and evaluating Belbin's model

Managing Change

Topic overview Reasons for change in the business environment Resistance to change Lewin, Kotter and Galbraith's change models Benefits and challenges of managing change

Project Management and Feasibility

Topic overview What a project is and why project management matters Project roles and responsibilities Project documents, plans and registers Client needs and feasibility research The business case and the project brief

Project Initiation and Planning

Topic overview The initiation stage and the project initiation document Project tolerances for time, cost, quality and risk The planning stage: scope, objectives and deliverables Resources, roles, quality and financial plans Gantt charts, risk plans and the stage review

Project Closure and Evaluation

Topic overview Monitoring and reviewing a project during execution Closing a project Evaluating a project and gathering stakeholder feedback

Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions

5 subtopics
15 things to know
AS 3

What Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions covers

Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions is examined in Unit AS 3, Financial Decision Making. It covers the payback method, net present value and discounting, average rate of return and choosing a method, appraising an investment for a client and using financial data for growth and staffing decisions.

Where it is assessed

AS 3

Financial Decision Making — a written examination.

Check the CCEA specification ↗

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

A project costs £90,000 and returns £30,000, £35,000 and £60,000 in years 1 to 3. What is the payback period?

Numbers

A project costs £70,000 and returns £30,000 a year for three years. Using discount factors of 0.909, 0.826 and 0.751, calculate its NPV.

Numbers

A project costs £50,000 and returns £15,000, £18,000 and £20,000 over three years. Using discount factors of 0.926, 0.857 and 0.794, calculate its NPV.

Numbers

A Lisburn IT firm spends £40,000 on a project returning £18,000, £20,000 and £22,000 over three years. Calculate its ARR.

Numbers

A £45,000 cloud accounting system saves £18,000 a year for three years. Using discount factors of 0.909, 0.826 and 0.751, calculate its NPV.

Key term

A consultancy borrows £200,000 at 7% a year to open an office expected to earn £32,000 a year before interest. Is the expansion worthwhile?

Key term

What is investment appraisal?

Key term

What is the average rate of return?

Process

What steps should an adviser follow when appraising an investment for a client?

Key term

What financial data does a business use to make major decisions?

Key term

What is the payback period?

Key term

What is meant by the time value of money?

Numbers

State the formula for the average rate of return.

Key term

A Derry accountancy practice is considering a £45,000 cloud accounting system that saves £18,000 a year for three years. What is its payback period?

Key term

How does a business use financial data when deciding whether to invest?

Take Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Payback vs Net present value
Payback: the time taken for cash inflows to recover a project's initial cost. Net present value: the total discounted cash flows of a project minus its initial outlay.
Discount factor vs Discount rate
Discount factor: the multiplier that converts a sum received later into today's money. Discount rate: the percentage used to reduce later cash flows to today's money.
Present value vs Future value
Present value: what a sum received later is worth in today's money. Future value: the amount a sum held today will grow to after earning interest.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is investment appraisal?
Model answer
Investment appraisal uses financial techniques to judge whether an investment is worthwhile. The techniques compare the cost of a project with the returns it is expected to bring.
2
What is the payback period?
Model answer
The payback period is the time a project takes to recover its initial cost from its net cash inflows. A shorter payback is usually preferred.
3
A Belfast consultancy spends £60,000 on a project that brings net cash inflows of £15,000 a year. What is the payback period?
Model answer
The payback period is 4 years. The working is £60,000 ÷ £15,000 = 4 years.
4
A client invests £50,000 in a project returning £20,000 a year. What is the payback period in years and months?
Model answer
The payback period is 2 years and 6 months. The working is £50,000 ÷ £20,000 = 2.5 years, and 0.5 × 12 = 6 months.
5
How are the months calculated when payback falls part-way through a year?
Model answer
The months equal the amount still to be recovered divided by that year's net cash inflow, multiplied by 12. The months are added to the full years already counted.
6
A project costs £90,000 and returns £30,000, £35,000 and £60,000 in years 1 to 3. What is the payback period?
Model answer
The payback period is 2 years and 5 months. After two years £65,000 is recovered, leaving £25,000. The working is 25,000 ÷ 60,000 × 12 = 5 months.

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The Business Environment

The Professional Business Services Sector

The Consultancy Process

Understanding the Client's Market

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A payback is usually preferred.

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AA firm might move its staff to a new office.

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Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions revision questions

What does Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions cover in CCEA A-Level Professional Business Services?: 5 subtopics: the payback method, net present value and discounting, average rate of return and choosing a method, appraising an investment for a client and using financial data for growth and staffing decisions. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Investment Appraisal and Financial Decisions organised?: By the CCEA 3210 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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