CFA CFA Level 2 How would the following items affect FCFF?

How would the following items affect FCFF?

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    • Avatar of vincenttvincentt
      Participant
        • CFA Level 3
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        The question is:

        Assuming a FCFF figure for year 1 is £1m, for the items below calculate how a £200k increase in each item below would impact on FCFF. Assume where relevant a tax rate of 20%.

        1. Depreciation (assuming it is tax deductible)
        2. Accounts receivables
        3. Interest expense

        Answer:
        1. +40k
        2. -200k
        3. no impact

        I understand #2 and #3 but i couldn’t figure how the logic for #1.

        I thought the formula for FCFF is NI + NCC(noncash charges e.g. depreciation) – WCInv + Int * (1-tax) – FCInv

        So why was the increase only 40k and not 200k ?

        Even if it’s ‘tax deductible’ shouldn’t it be +160k?

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        Isn’t FCFF actual cash flow? So any depreciation adjustments wouldn’t actually directly impact FCFF, but the tax savings it generates (assuming an increase in £200k in depreciation saves you 200*20%=40k) will be added to the FCFF.

        In terms of explaining it via the formula, your NCC would increase by £200k, but NI would decrease by £200k as well, plus an increase of 40k in tax benefits. The better formula to use would be:

        EBIT * (1-tax) + Depreciation & Amortization – WCInv – FCInv

        So adding your 200k increase to depreciation, you get

        (EBIT – 200k) * (1 – 20%) + (D&A + 200k) – WCInv – FCInv
        = EBIT – 160k + (D&A + 200k) – WCInv – FCInv
        = EBIT + D&A – WCInv – FCInv + 40k

      • Avatar of Zee TanZee Tan
        Keymaster
          • CFA Charterholder
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          What he said.

          @mattjuniper no, you’re not picking up an easy badge that way!

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          Never mind, they’re not taxed. Just added.

          We addressed this, but would deferred taxes come into play for FCF formulas in the equity section? (I think not…)

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          What he said.

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          Thanks @mattjuniper! 😀

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          Would preferred dividends be taxed when adding to get FCFF, like interest?

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          @Zee Ha I wish! Actually I had nothing more to add. @Fabian covered it off beautifully!

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