CIMA F3 Exam With Confidence Using Practice Dumps

Under traditional (pre–Modigliani & Miller) capital structure theory, there is an assumed inverse relationship between WACC and company value. The idea is:

As a firm moves towards its optimal capital structure, the WACC falls, and the total value of the firm (equity + debt) rises.

Beyond that optimal point, extra gearing increases financial risk, so the required return from both debt and equity goes up, causing WACC to rise and firm value to fall.

So, within this framework, if a company’s WACC increases, that means it has moved away from its optimal capital structure, and the value of the company will decrease.

Therefore, under traditional theory, an increase in WACC → decrease in company value, so the correct answer is B.

A – “X may be able to sell the receipts forward.”

If X invoices in customers’ currencies, it will receive known foreign-currency amounts and can hedge the exchange risk using forward contracts. So this is correct.

D – “The overseas customers may have difficulty obtaining X's home currency … so the proposal may increase sales.”

Right now, customers must obtain X’s currency to pay, bearing FX costs and risk. If X invoices in their local currency, buying becomes easier and could boost sales. So D is correct.

Why the others are wrong:

B: Effective sales price might go up or down; it isn’t necessarily lower.

C: Invoicing in customers’ currency removes certainty for X in home-currency terms unless hedged.

E: That describes the current position (customers bear the risk), not the proposed change.

B. Diversification into another product market will lower business risk

Diversifying into a different sector can reduce unsystematic (business-specific) risk, as cash flows from different industries may be less correlated.

C. Greater protection from transaction risk

Company A already has B$ exposures (manufacturing and a B$ loan). Acquiring Company B, which operates and earns in B$, can provide B$ inflows that help naturally hedge B$ outflows, reducing transaction risk.

D. Greater protection from translation risk

The acquisition adds net assets in B$, which can act as a balance sheet hedge against existing B$ liabilities (such as the B$ loan). On consolidation, this can reduce the volatility of reported equity due to exchange rate movements, i.e. translation risk.

Option A is weak: political risk in Country B is not reduced by owning more assets there. E is doubtful because Company B is in a different industrial sector, so classic production scale economies are unlikely to be a primary justification.