Twelve numbered inputs, each with a value, a source and a confidence grade, form the FI499 Unit 3 assumption set for the car-wash acquisition shown on this page. Searches like "fi 499 unit 3 assignment example", "fi499 unit 3 sample" and "fi499 unit 3 example" land here.
What a finished FI499 Unit 3 assumption set looks like
A two-page table followed by a page of notes. Rows run from A1 to A12. Revenue falls 2 percent in the first year as members re-enroll under the new brand (A1), then grows 6, 5, 4 and 3 percent (A2), settling at 2.5 percent a year beyond year five (A3). The rival's EBITDA margin moves from 25 percent to 27 percent by year three (A4), and purchasing and management savings add 350,000 dollars a year from year two (A5). Upkeep spending is 60,000 per site each year (A6), plus 900,000 of conversion work in year one (A7). Tax runs at 25 percent on EBITDA less 900,000 of depreciation (A8), working capital is set at zero (A9), and the discount rate is 10.5 percent (A10). Price, financing and a 3.5-times leverage covenant close the list (A11, A12).
How a FI499 Unit 3 example is structured
The table comes first because every later unit will cite it by row number rather than restating a value. Columns hold the label, the value, the unit of measure, the source, a confidence grade of high, medium or low, and the later units expected to use that row. Notes follow in the same order, one short paragraph per assumption, explaining where the figure came from and what evidence would move it. The discount rate note shows its own build: a 14 percent equity cost and an after-tax borrowing cost near 6.2 percent, weighted 55 to 45. Three rows, A4, A5 and A10, carry a flag marking them as load-bearing, with a sentence each on why. A change log sits at the bottom, empty for now, dated and ready to record every revision the term forces.
Rows numbered for citation
A1 through A12 give every later schedule a short reference, so a figure in the valuation can be traced to its row without searching the text.
Sources beside values
Case statements, the lender's quote, the rival's member reports and the author's own judgment are named row by row, and judgment is labeled as judgment.
Confidence graded honestly
Tax and the loan rate earn a high grade; the margin recovery and the savings estimate are graded low, and the notes say what evidence is missing.
Three rows flagged as load-bearing
Margin, savings and discount rate are marked early as the inputs most able to reverse the recommendation, previewing the sensitivity testing still to come.
A change log left open
An empty, dated revision table waits under the list, signaling that assumptions will be revised in the open rather than quietly overwritten.
Where marks go in FI499 Unit 3
Unsupported values cost the most in an assumption set: a growth rate or a margin with no source reads as a number chosen to produce an answer. Lists that stop at operating inputs and omit the discount rate, the tax rate or the financing terms leave later units to invent them mid-analysis, which is exactly where contradictions begin. Values stated as ranges with no base case make every later schedule ambiguous. Assumptions that conflict with each other, such as rapid growth alongside flat upkeep spending, draw comment in many sections. A set that grades every input with equal confidence misses the point of grading. The strongest lists identify which rows the conclusion depends on and commit to a visible record of changes, since holding one set of inputs steady across ten units is the skill under review.
Get a FI499 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Send the case materials and the Unit 3 prompt, along with the rubric and whatever assumptions template your section uses. Your set is drawn from your own case: numbered for citation, sourced row by row, graded for confidence, with the load-bearing inputs marked. The first one is free and usually returns in 24-48h.
FI499 Unit 3 questions, answered
How many assumptions should the set contain?
Enough to run every later schedule without inventing a number, and no more. For an acquisition case that usually means revenue, margin, investment spending, tax, working capital, discount rate and financing terms, roughly ten to fifteen rows. The sample has twelve. A list of thirty tends to bury the few inputs that actually decide the recommendation under many that never will.
Is it acceptable to change an assumption later?
Yes, if the change is recorded and carried through everything that used the old value. Capstone graders penalize the silent change, not the revision itself. The sample's change log exists for that reason: each entry gives the row, the old and new values, the date and the evidence that prompted it, so a reader can see the analysis learning rather than drifting.
Where does the 10.5 percent discount rate come from?
From a build shown in the notes: a 14 percent cost of equity for a small private operator, including a size premium, and the 8.25 percent loan rate cut to about 6.2 percent after tax, weighted 55 to 45. The result is 10.48 percent, rounded up. Your own case may supply a rate directly or ask for a build like this one.