Answer: Project X
Step-by-step explanation:
The Payback period is the amount of time it would take for the cash inflows accruing from an investment to payoff the cost of the investment.
Project X has a constant cashflow of $24,000 for 3 years and a cost of $68,000 for the Payback period is;
= 68,000/24,000
= 2.83 years
Project Y has an uneven cash flow with a cost of $60,000. Payback is calculated as;
= Year before payback + Amount left to be paid/cashflow in year of payback
Year before payback = 4,000 + 26,000 + 26,000
= $56,000
This means that the third year is the year before payback.
60,000 - 56,000 = $4,000
Payback period = 3 + 4,000/20,000
= 3.2 years
Based on a Payback period of 3 years, only Project X should be chosen as it pays back in less than 3 years.