Posted: March 3rd, 2020

ELA Assignment 1: Case 7
Detailed Explanation of Instructions
PREVIEW p. 123
No additional remarks or explanations are needed for this section of the case. This gives you a general idea of the work before you. You will be building a spreadsheet to answer the basic question: will we have enough cash or must we get a loan?
PREPARATION p. 123
The bulleted list provides some details about the skills needed by students. A single bullet might take a student several hours. Each of you comes to this course with varied experiences and skills, so your time and effort requirement will also vary. The focus of this assignment is on your ability to ANALYZE information, not simply build a formula or function. Basic skills in Excel, like totals, counts, how to reference cells, understanding the difference between the cell’s actual content and the result that is displayed, and MOST important in this early portion of the assignment: IF statements. Look at as many examples as you need, so that you thoroughly understand the logic and structure of a basic IF function. You will need this skill many times.
Read all of Case 7 The Electric Car Financial Analysis, which begins on page 123. The reading is densely packed with important details, so you may need to read it multiple times and use it as a reference as you create your solution.
Refresh your MS Excel skills. Spreadsheet skills are crucial to any manager, in any field. Try to accept this fact with as little resistance as possible, and focus your energy instead, on developing your skills. MS Excel is currently being taught to high school freshmen. This fact should further compel you to acquire a familiarity with the tool. Tutorials C and E are helpful, as are online resources like YouTube. There are literally millions of how-to resources at your fingertips. None of them will be very effective if you don’t actively work in Excel alongside the examples. Any time you spend typing or saying things like the following, is time you could be using to learn. “I don’t agree that we should have to learn MS Excel, or I just don’t think this will be useful in my career, or I don’t know anyone who uses this tool”. If you are discussing assignment details with other students, try to avoid these conversations, as they simply are not productive. If you lack these skills, acquire them. If you possess these skills, consider helping another. But let’s not spend our time discussing whether or not we NEED to know Excel. We DO.
The sequence presented here is important: read the case FIRST, look at the tutorials AFTER you have a more focused idea of the work to be done.
BACKGROUND p. 123
Actively read the case background so you understand the story behind the company owners’ attitudes about hydrocarbons and electric cars, the industry in which they operate, the promises they made to early customers about their sports car trade-in values, and their goal of being profitable in three years from sedan sales.
From your reading, did you come across the “key financial question”. It has already been stated multiple times, as important things often are: will we have enough money after three years, or will we have to get a loan? (this is my phrasing…the text used a phrase like “raise new capital in the financial markets” but you should be able to read and rephrase as I have done here (if you are comprehending what you are actively reading). Anyone can read this case study to you, but no one can understand it for you. This “analysis” effort requires a different level of thinking on your part, a higher level of thinking. It is rare to see these kinds of exercises in freshman and sophomore college courses. Analysis is a skill relegated to junior and senior level courses (like this one). Graduate schools also develop a student’s ability to analyze information. If this is your first time to work in the area of “analysis”, be encouraged, you have almost completed a college degree, and this assignment is well-within your ability. Furthermore, you have fifty other colleagues trying to answer this question as well. Those colleagues are not your competition, they are like co-workers. In a few months, however, they WILL be your competition. Embrace this assignment as your opportunity to confirm your readiness for the workplace.
ASSIGNMENT 1: CREATING A SPREADSHEET FOR DECISION SUPPORT p.124
This is the section of the case study that provides an overall idea of the problem set and the structure of the solution.
Constants Section p.125 I need help writing my essay – research paper shade these cells yellow.
Many managerial decisions are complex, and require mindful attention to the important pieces of information that don’t change (aka constants). The CONSTANTS section of the starter file is already completed for you. Try not to alter those cells. (If you do accidentally alter them, then download the starter file again and compare the original values to the values in your working solution.)
Inputs Section p.125 I need help writing my essay – research paper shade these cells blue.
The information pieces that DO change but are not within the manager’s control are organized for you in the spreadsheet section headed INPUTS. Details are provided which explain the values that are allowed in these input fields. Your job is to understand what each of these inputs values mean, and to build solutions that refer to these inputs and perform calculations that VARY as the inputs vary. If you don’t understand what “D” in the Cost of Gasoline for 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online means, then you will never be able to confirm that your formulas work (the ones that use that “D” anyway). Read these descriptions several times until you gain a better understanding. I recommend you enter the initial values that the text describes in the “for example” statements. Just remember that these INPUTS will be changing as we think about different situations in the industry.
There are NO formulas needed in the INPUTS section. You will simply enter appropriate values in the cells, best guesses. The author assumes the current date is late 2017. We are pretending to consider whether we will have enough cash by end of 2020 to meet our goals. Try not to let the date issue confuse you. The inputs you enter for 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online are speculative (they are guesses, or forecasts). You don’t really know for sure whether the cost of gasoline is going to go up or down. You just have to guess. The inputs section is where we collect and organize our guesses.

Homework help – Summary of Key Results p.126 Place a thick border around these cells.
Finally there is some work to do in Excel. Your reading of this section should reveal the steps you need to take, but here’s a strong hint for those of you who need extra help. Cell C20 needs to display Net Income After Taxes for 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online. You are not expected to calculate the amount in this cell, since this section is just a SUMMARY of the detailed calculations elsewhere in this solution. A careful inspection of the spreadsheet will reveal that this value is being calculated down below, in row 64. So you need to enter a formula in cell C20 that will display whatever is in cell C64. The specific formula that goes in cell C20 is =C64. This is an example of me giving you the answer.
PREACH
For the record, it is completely unethical for you to share these formulas with other students. If you are smart enough to figure this Excel solution out on your own, consider how that makes you feel…it boosts your confidence. Giving other students your formulas does two things: 1. it robs them of the opportunity to understand it for themselves and feel that confidence 2. It spreads incorrect formulas (possibly). My point here is: it is futile for me to try to assist a student who has copied formulas from another student, because it is difficult to determine where their understanding breaks down or fails. Each of you should try very hard to work independently on this assignment, and share and compare RESULTS but not formulas. To be explicitly clear: you should never send your excel spreadsheet to another student, for any reason. If this occurs, and the student accidentally submits YOUR FILE instead of their own, (this happens every single semester) then BOTH students will get a zero for the assignment and a letter grade reduction in the COURSE grade. Before you cheat, consider the cost. If helping your classmate is worth a letter grade reduction, then do the work and give it away. Now a word for those who receive the copied files or answers. To those who would benefit from the hard work of others while submitting their work as your own for a grade…resist it. Don’t sell out over this small assignment. Take the point deduction if you can’t figure out the formula for cell C20 or whatever. Keep your integrity. Consider the possibility that you may some day be sitting in an interview and across the desk sits the person who you cheated off of in college. Do you expect they will offer you a job knowing what they know about your work ethic and ability? I encourage you all, do the hard work. It is so good for you.

Calculations Section p. 126 Shade these cells orange.
Rows 25 thru 41 in your spreadsheet will be the space you use to demonstrate your understanding of this complex problem by building formulas in Excel. Notice that some of the values are provided for you, and explanations are provided in the bulleted list that begins on page 126 and extends to page 127. If you will number the bullets, they will be items 1 though 17.
1. Charger Locations – read the explanation provided. Where are those “related values in the inputs section”? Answer: they are on row 16. This is another example of me giving you the answer, or at least a strong hint. You should be able to read that description and recognize that the work for you to perform on row 25 (charger locations) is in some way related to the values in the inputs section. I told you to look on row 16, but you could have figured that out on your own. Reread the explanation at the bottom of page 125 that helps you understand what “Number of New Charger Locations” data means. Do you recall from your prior reading in the CONSTANTS section, what is the cost associated with operating one of these charger stations? One more important distinction: row 16 tells you how many NEW stations will be added each year. The data you will show in row 25 will be the total number of charging stations each year, or said another way, each cell will calculate prior year stations plus anticipated new stations. So your formula in cell C25 must refer to the 600 we have in 2017 and the appropriate input cell in row 16. The formula for cell C25 should be =B25+C16. You will lose points if your formula looks like this =600+30, or like this =600 + C16. These two erroneous formulas have the 600 coded into the formula. The correct method is to use a cell reference to the cell that holds the 600 (which is cell B25). This is explicitly stated numerous times throughout the case study “Values must be computed by cell formula; hard-code numbers in formulas only when told to do so.” But might not have made much sense until now. Later on in the assignment, you will be instructed to change the input values, and your calculations must “feel” those changes when you make them. If you hard-code a value instead of a cell reference, then your calculation will continue using a hard-coded value rather than the one displayed in the inputs section. This is the most basic skill in Excel.
2. Change in Units Sold – row 26 will not have any formulas or results. This is a heading that describes the three component parts below it (rows 27,28,29). Notice row 30 Total Change. You will need to calculate and display the sum of the three component parts in row 30.
3. Market Momentum Effect – associated with a specific row from the inputs section…can you figure it out on your own? The formulas on this row are similar in structure to those formulas you built in the summary section, where you simply display in one cell the result from another cell. Row 27 should display what is sitting in the associated cells on row 17.
4. Gas Price Effect – row 28 – read this until you can sketch on paper something like the chart below. Your formulas will be IF statements. You should understand this well enough to restate it in your own words.
Expected Gas Price Then Explanation

Decrease -5 If expected gas prices decrease, then unit sales will decline by 5 percent
Increase 5 If expected gas prices increase, then unit sales will go up by 5 percent
same 0 If expected gas prices remain stable, then there will be no impact on unit sales.
Tutorial C covers IFs on page 99, but you will need to begin the reading before that section to understand it well. Search YouTube for “IF statements in Excel” and get several million videos, including one from Bill Gates himself. This is where trying hard begins to hurt a little. The reward is points! I’ll be ~ Hire our professional writers now and experience the best assignment help online with our custom paper writing service. We ensure your essays and assignments are expertly researched, written and delivered on time. ~ Grading this row carefully.
5. New Charger Location Effect – row 29 – another IF statement. Be sure you successfully evaluate the edges of each range…75 new chargers means plus 2, 76 new chargers means plus 3, 100 new chargers means plus 3, 101 new chargers means plus 5. Use the same process as above to reason through this and set up your IF statement.
6. Total Change – the description tells you this is a SUM, and I discussed it in item 2 above.
7. Units Sold – Sport – description is very clear and example calculation is given. The question you might have is…where is the “total percentage change in units expected”. Answer: on the Total Change row you just completed.
8. Units Sold – Family – Here is a case where you have to decide what to do with the 20000 units speculated for 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online. You could hard-code it into the formula, and get the correct results, but one would easily forget where the 20000 came from. Instead of that method, build a place for it in F32 and put a label in F31 to help you remember. Then for your formula in cell C32, refer to the 20000 units by the cell reference F32 rather than hard-coding the 20000.

9. Change in Selling Price – this is another heading. No formulas need to go on row 33. The description helps you understand the formulas you will build in row 37 Total Change.
10. Market Momentum Effect – row 34 – the values were provided. Leave them as-is.
11. Gas Price Effect – row 35 – another IF statement…
12. New Charger Location Effect – row 36 – another IF
13. Total Change – row 37- anther sum, see explanation on item 9 above (Change in Selling Price).
14. Selling Price – Sport – row 38 – the explanation and example provided should be sufficient. In your formulas, use the total percent change values on row 37.
15. Selling Price – Family – row 39 – In F39, key in the $35,000 initial price and give it a label in F38. Use F39 in your formula rather than hard-coding the $35,000.
16. Unit Cost – Sport – row 40 – example is provided in text. The input section, row 15, shows those Cost Reduction Factor amounts. Use cell references to these, not specific input values. I will test this using different input values. If you key in .05 in cell C15 then you should expect a result of 74,100 in cell C40. I will test your formulas by entering other values in cell C15. Screenshot in this doc shows result of .03 input values as a second check.
17. Unit Cost – Family – row 41 – in cell F41 enter the anticipated unit cost of $30,000 and give it a label in F40. Use F41 in your formula rather than hard-coding the $30,000.
SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN.
Income and Cash Flow Statements p. 127 Shade these cells green.
Read thoroughly. Apply the formatting mentioned, and heed the warning about referencing cells by their addresses rather than hard-coding values.
More bullets on page 128 indicate more work for you. If you number the bullets 1 through 14 then my comments below will be easier to follow.
Page 128
1. Beginning of the Year Cash On hand – another example of me just giving you the answer. The formula in C44 should be =B68 You can read the explanation at the bottom of page 128 to remind yourself why.
2. Revenue – rows 47 and 48 – the description is very clear, units sold times selling price. Find the values in the calculation section.
3. Total Revenue – easy, it’s the sum of the values from the two rows above.
4. Cost of Sport and Family Autos Sold – row 51 – (notice that row 50 is a heading and should have no formulas or values displayed. Description is very clear, units sold times unit costs. Another opportunity for me to remind you to use cell references in these formulas, not the results you currently see in these cells (because those results will change).
5. Research and Development Costs – just echo the amount from the constants section by cell reference not values.
6. Charger Location Operating Costs – row 54 – use the constant and the calculation as described.
7. Price Guaranty Payments – row 55 – this time you can hard-code the $1 billion dollars into your formula, for cell C55 only. Multiply the $1 billion by the claim rate on row 14 in the inputs section.
8. Fixed Costs – no further explanation should be needed.
9. Total Costs and Expenses – row 57 – SUM the amounts in rows 51 through 56 as described.
10. Income Before Interest and Taxes – row 58 – total revenue on row 49 minus total costs and expenses on row 57
11. Interest Expense – row 59 – no further explanation should be needed.
12. Income Before Taxes – no further explanation should be needed.
13. Income Tax Expense – row 61 – IF statement needed
14. Net Income after Taxes – no further explanation should be needed.
Page 129 includes 5 more bullets at the top of the page describing the calculations in row 64 through 68.
Scheduled Capital Expenditures – row 64 – echo row 6 in the constants section.
Repayment to Note Holders – row 65 – OK to hard-code these values as described.
Net Cash Position (NCP) Before Borrowing from Bank – row 66 – cash at the beginning of the year is in row 44 plus net income after taxes in row 62, MINUS both expenditures in rows 64 and 65.
Add: Borrowing from Bank – Row 67-So…if NCP on row 66 is less than the amount of cash needed (shown on row 5) then calculate the difference and display it here in row 67 to reflect the amount we must borrow from the bank to reach that minimum required cash balance to start the year (row 5), otherwise display 0.
Equals: End of the Year Cash on Hand – row 68 – sum of rows 66 and 67.
This marks the end of ELA Assignment 1. Your stopping point in the textbook is on page 129 BEFORE the “Debt Owed Section”. If you have continued working into the “Debt Owed Section” that is completely fine. I will not be looking at those cells (rows 70 – 74) during the ~ Hire our professional writers now and experience the best assignment help online with our custom paper writing service. We ensure your essays and assignments are expertly researched, written and delivered on time. ~ Grading of ELA 1.
Check your own work:
Below is a screenshot of my solution. Compare my results to your own. Be aware that I will inspect your FORMULAS not your results when ~ Hire our professional writers now and experience the best assignment help online with our custom paper writing service. We ensure your essays and assignments are expertly researched, written and delivered on time. ~ Grading.

In this screenshot, notice I have changed the inputs on ROW 16 ONLY, which caused all formulas and functions to recalculate as shown. Just another tool to help you identify mistakes.

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