Weighted Average Cost of Capital Formula

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CPA Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) › Weighted Average Cost of Capital Formula

Questions 1 - 6
1

Which one of a firm's sources of new capital usually has the lowest after-tax cost?

Bonds

Preferred stock

Retained earnings

Common stock

Explanation

Debt is a cheaper source of financing than equity. In addition, there is a tax deduction for interest paid on debt.

2

Which of the following rates is most commonly compared to the internal rate of return to evaluate whether to make an investment?

Prime rate of interest

Long term rate on US Treasury bonds

Short term rate on US Treasury bonds

Weighted average cost of capital

Explanation

WACC is used as the hurdle rate within capital budgeting techniques. Investments that provide a return that exceeds the WACC should continuously add to the value of the firm.

3

Which one of the following factors might cause a firm to increase the debt in its financial structure?

An increase in the PE ratio

A decrease in the times interest earned ratio

An increase in the corporate income tax rate

Increased economic uncertainty

Explanation

Interest on debt financing is tax-deductible whereas dividends from equity are not. An increase in tax rates might cause a firm to increase debt financing.

4

The marketable securities with the least amount of default risk are:

Repurchase agreements

Federal government agency securities

US Treasury securities

Bankers acceptances

Explanation

Default risk is the risk that the security will not be paid. US Treasury securities are issued by the Treasury Department which has no risk of non payment.

5

Which of the following measurement models is being used if a calculation includes risk-free rate, beta coefficient, rate of return, and required rate of return?

Capital asset pricing

Constant growth

Overall cost of capital

Weighted marginal cost of capital

Explanation

These factors are included in the calculation of CAPM.

6

Which of the following would never be included in the WACC formula?

Tax rate

Required rate of return

Summed market values of a firm's capital structure

Risk

Explanation

Risk is not assessed in calculating the WACC. WACC is used to determine the cost of financing for a firm.

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