You are considering two mutually exclusive projects with the following cash flows. Which project(s) should you accept if the discount rate is 8.5 percent? What if the discount rate is 13 percent?Year 0 1 2 3Project A -80,000 31,000 31,000 31,000Project B -80,000 0 0 110,000

One of the methods to evaluate a project is to determine the NPV or Net Present Value from the project. If a project provides a positive NPV after discounting the cash flows from the project at a set discount rate, the project should be accepted. If the project gives a negative NPV, the project should be discarded.

The NPV is calculated as follows,

NPV = CF1 / (1+r) + CF2 / (1+r)^2 + ... + CFn / (1+r)^n - Initial cost

Where,

CF1, CF2, ... represents the cash flows in year 1 and year 2 and so on
r is the discount rate

At 8.5% discount rate

NPV Project A = 31000/(1+0.085) + 31000/(1+0.085)^2 + 31000/(1+0.085)^3 - 80000

NPV Project A = - $825.31

NPV Project B = 110000 / (1+0.085)^3 - 80000

NPV Project B = $6119.89

So, at a discount rate of 8.5%, Project B should be accepted.

At 13% discount rate

NPV Project A = 31000/(1+0.13) + 31000/(1+0.13)^2 + 31000/(1+0.13)^3 - 80000

NPV Project A = - $6804

NPV Project B = 110000 / (1+0.13)^3 - 80000

Npv Project B = - $3764.48

So, at a discount rate of 13%, neither of the projects should be accepted.