• Cellulosic ethanol production capacity = 21.0 million gallons / yr • Designed
ID: 380182 • Letter: #
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• Cellulosic ethanol production capacity = 21.0 million gallons / yr
• Designed for two separate feedstocks: cobs or corn stover
• Process conversion rates
Cobs: 92 gallons / ton (for 10% moisture cobs at the plant, includes allowance for ash).
Stover: 75 gallons / ton (for 10% moisture stover at the plant, includes allowance for ash).
• Contracts for 32% of the corn acres in the area (net 224 acres contracted per square mile or 32% of total land area, where 1 sq mi = 640 acres).
• Cob harvest is 0.6 tons / acre (20% average cob harvest moisture)
• Stover harvest is 1.9 tons / acre (20% average harvest stover moisture)
• Cobs and stover are stored on the field edge until they are brought to the plant, averaging 6 months in the field.
• Spoilage (of the initial harvested weight) while stored in the field means contracting additional acres to
make up for the spoilage.
7.5% average spoilage rate for cobs stored in field for 6 months.
10% average spoilage rate for stover stored in field for 6 months.
• Cobs and stover are dried at the plant. Spoilage after it is received at the plant is negligible.
Truck hauls a load of 24 tons of cobs or stover.
$200 flat rate <10 miles
$280 flat rate 10-49 miles
$360 flat rate >50 miles
1. Answer these questions for two scenarios: (1) all cobs and (2) all stover.
a. What is the total net feedstock requirement (in tons) at the plant moisture content for cobs and stover?
b. How many tons are lost to moisture shrink (i.e., moisture weight loss from field to after drying in the plant) for cobs and stover?
c. What is the spoilage loss (in tons) in the field for cobs and stover?
d. To run the plant at capacity, how many acres should be under contract?
e. What is the gross area under from which each feedstock will be drawn?
f. What is the total cost of transportation expense associated with each type of feedstock?
g. Which feedstock has the lowest total transportation expense, stover or cobs?
h. Why does the feedstock you named in (f) have the lowest total transportation expense?
All Cobs All Stover 1a. Net feedstock requirement (in tons) 1b. Moisture shrink (tons) 1c. Spoilage loss in the field (tons) 1d. Acres under contract (acres) 1e. Gross area (square miles) 1f. Transportation expense ($) 1g. Lowest transportation cost (choose cobs or stover)Explanation / Answer
The Major Ethical challenges that a financial manager might face as follows :_
The CGMA survey report Managing Responsible Business, A Global Survey on Business Ethics shows the trends, pressure points, and ethical gaps within some organizations. The key findings of the CGMA survey include:
Business challenge 1—Ethical Culture
The survey showed a 10%-15% increase since 2008 in organizations providing both statements of ethical values and a code of ethics, as well as related training, provision of hotlines, and incentives, such as performance-based rewards.
Corporate leadership appears to be less actively engaged in reviewing and taking responsibility for ethical performance compared to 2008 as shown by a significant decline in the number of corporate leaders who held formal responsibility for ethics. This provides more evidence of a gap between the rhetoric from corporate leadership on ethical issues and actual practice. A weakened “tone from the top” has potentially serious implications for the overall ethical operating culture of an organization.
Business challenge 2—Accounting for Ethics
The survey showed an almost 20% increase in organizations both collecting and reporting ethical information. The majority of management accountants feel it is important to collect and analyze ethical information, but one in five do not believe their organization will do so in the near future.
Business challenge 3—Ethical Dilemmas and Pressures
Despite an increase in ethical codes and training, there is greater pressure within organizations to act unethically. Pressures are most apparent in emerging economies.
Business challenge 4—Business Issues
Security of information remains the biggest issue of concern across all markets. Bribery has risen from sixth to third in the rankings of issues of concern, reflected by the increase in anti-bribery and corruption legislation.
Fewer now believe that business has a moral imperative to help address global issues, with a decline from 84% to 77% since 2008.
Examples of the most common ethical dilemmas in the business environment are varied and include:
Dealing with pressure to act unethically, particularly from dominant superiors;
Balancing confidentiality with blowing the whistle on illegal or improper actions of others;
Disclosing information in the public interest; and
Wrongful trading in a distressed situation where insolvency might be imminent.
Such ethical dilemmas cover various ethical issues, such as overstating performance and valuation, participating in fraudulent activity, non-disclosure and withholding of information from auditors and other stakeholders, and making a decision without adequate information.
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