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IR 1 · Graphics Interpretation — Scatter Plot

The scatter plot above shows Q3 marketing spend versus new customers acquired for eight regional offices.

Among the three regions that spent less than $3 million, select the one with the best marketing efficiency (most customers per dollar spent). Then, if the company wants to double CEN's current customer base (20,000) while maintaining CEN's current cost per customer, select the approximate additional marketing budget required.

IR 2 · Graphics interpretation — Line chart

The graph above shows the employee retention rate for each tenure group at a mid-sized professional services firm. The retention rate is the percentage of employees in each group who remained with the firm over the past year.

From each drop-down menu, select the option that creates the most accurate statement based on the information given.

Among all tenure groups shown, the range of retention rates is, to the nearest whole percent, percentage points.

Between any two consecutive tenure groups, the greatest increase in retention rate is, to the nearest whole percent, percentage points.

IR 3 · Multi-source reasoning — Questions 3–6

The following questions refer to three internal documents from MeridianMart, a retail chain evaluating a new flagship store. Review all tabs before answering.

CEO'S PROPOSAL TO THE BOARD

MeridianMart currently operates 12 stores generating $85 million in combined annual revenue. The Board has approved an $8 million capital plan for a new flagship store in the Riverside district.

The flagship is projected to generate $12 million in annual revenue and will create 45 new full-time positions. Based on projected net operating income, the investment will reach break-even within 18 months of opening. The flagship will strengthen brand visibility and reduce average customer wait times across the network.

CFO — FINANCIAL REVIEW OF FLAGSHIP PROPOSAL

The Board approved an $8 million construction and buildout budget. Pre-opening costs — including permits and licensing ($0.40 million), IT infrastructure ($0.50 million), and other items — add approximately $2.00 million, raising total estimated capital required to $10.00 million.

Projected annual operating costs for the flagship are $9.8 million, well above the chain average of $5.8 million per store, reflecting the premium Riverside location and above-average staffing requirements. The chart below compares projected first-year revenue to actual results for the last four new MeridianMart openings.

HR DIRECTOR — WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT FOR RIVERSIDE FLAGSHIP

The Riverside district labor market has an unemployment rate of 2.9%, classified as “tight.”

The CEO’s plan calls for 45 full-time positions, but the HR team estimates that 58 full-time equivalents (FTE) are needed. MeridianMart’s chain-wide average hourly wage is $15.00. Labor market analysis for the Riverside area indicates that comparable retail wages average $18.00 per hour. Standard annual work hours are 2,080 per full-time employee.

✏ Answer the following

The CEO projects the flagship will earn $12 million in its first year. The CFO's chart shows actual vs. projected Year 1 revenue for four recent stores. If the flagship matches the average actual-to-projected revenue ratio of those four stores, by approximately how much would its first-year revenue fall short of covering the CFO's projected annual operating costs for the flagship?

A $0.5 million

B $0.8 million

C $1.1 million

D $1.4 million

E The flagship would cover operating costs

IR 4 · Multi-source reasoning (continued)

Refer to the three MeridianMart documents below.

CEO'S PROPOSAL TO THE BOARD

MeridianMart currently operates 12 stores generating $85 million in combined annual revenue. The Board has approved an $8 million capital plan for a new flagship store in the Riverside district.

The flagship is projected to generate $12 million in annual revenue and will create 45 new full-time positions. Based on projected net operating income, the investment will reach break-even within 18 months of opening. The flagship will strengthen brand visibility and reduce average customer wait times across the network.

CFO — FINANCIAL REVIEW OF FLAGSHIP PROPOSAL

The Board approved an $8 million construction and buildout budget. Pre-opening costs — including permits and licensing ($0.40 million), IT infrastructure ($0.50 million), and other items — add approximately $2.00 million, raising total estimated capital required to $10.00 million.

Projected annual operating costs for the flagship are $9.8 million, well above the chain average of $5.8 million per store, reflecting the premium Riverside location and above-average staffing requirements. The chart below compares projected first-year revenue to actual results for the last four new MeridianMart openings.

HR DIRECTOR — WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT FOR RIVERSIDE FLAGSHIP

The Riverside district labor market has an unemployment rate of 2.9%, classified as “tight.”

The CEO’s plan calls for 45 full-time positions, but the HR team estimates that 58 full-time equivalents (FTE) are needed. MeridianMart’s chain-wide average hourly wage is $15.00. Labor market analysis for the Riverside area indicates that comparable retail wages average $18.00 per hour. Standard annual work hours are 2,080 per full-time employee.

✏ Answer the following

The CEO states that MeridianMart's 12 existing stores generate $85 million in combined annual revenue. For how many of the four new stores in the CFO's chart did the actual Year 1 revenue fall below this existing chain-wide average revenue per store?

A 1

B 2

C 3

D All four

E None — all exceeded the average

IR 5 · Multi-source reasoning (continued)

Refer to the three MeridianMart documents below.

CEO'S PROPOSAL TO THE BOARD

MeridianMart currently operates 12 stores generating $85 million in combined annual revenue. The Board has approved an $8 million capital plan for a new flagship store in the Riverside district.

The flagship is projected to generate $12 million in annual revenue and will create 45 new full-time positions. Based on projected net operating income, the investment will reach break-even within 18 months of opening. The flagship will strengthen brand visibility and reduce average customer wait times across the network.

CFO — FINANCIAL REVIEW OF FLAGSHIP PROPOSAL

The Board approved an $8 million construction and buildout budget. Pre-opening costs — including permits and licensing ($0.40 million), IT infrastructure ($0.50 million), and other items — add approximately $2.00 million, raising total estimated capital required to $10.00 million.

Projected annual operating costs for the flagship are $9.8 million, well above the chain average of $5.8 million per store, reflecting the premium Riverside location and above-average staffing requirements. The chart below compares projected first-year revenue to actual results for the last four new MeridianMart openings.

HR DIRECTOR — WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT FOR RIVERSIDE FLAGSHIP

The Riverside district labor market has an unemployment rate of 2.9%, classified as “tight.”

The CEO’s plan calls for 45 full-time positions, but the HR team estimates that 58 full-time equivalents (FTE) are needed. MeridianMart’s chain-wide average hourly wage is $15.00. Labor market analysis for the Riverside area indicates that comparable retail wages average $18.00 per hour. Standard annual work hours are 2,080 per full-time employee.

✏ Answer the following

For each statement, select Yes if it can be verified using the documents, or No if it cannot.

The CFO's total estimated capital for the flagship exceeds the average annual revenue generated by each of MeridianMart's existing 12 stores.

If the flagship is staffed at the HR Director's recommended 58 FTE rather than the CEO's planned 45, the annual cost of the 13 additional positions at chain-average wages ($15.00/hr for 2,080 hours) would exceed the CFO's estimated cost for permits and licensing.

The HR Director's estimated annual wage premium for Riverside ($362,000) exceeds the CFO's estimated cost of IT infrastructure for the flagship.

IR 6 · Multi-source reasoning (continued)

Refer to the three MeridianMart documents below.

CEO'S PROPOSAL TO THE BOARD

MeridianMart currently operates 12 stores generating $85 million in combined annual revenue. The Board has approved an $8 million capital plan for a new flagship store in the Riverside district.

The flagship is projected to generate $12 million in annual revenue and will create 45 new full-time positions. Based on projected net operating income, the investment will reach break-even within 18 months of opening. The flagship will strengthen brand visibility and reduce average customer wait times across the network.

CFO — FINANCIAL REVIEW OF FLAGSHIP PROPOSAL

The Board approved an $8 million construction and buildout budget. Pre-opening costs — including permits and licensing ($0.40 million), IT infrastructure ($0.50 million), and other items — add approximately $2.00 million, raising total estimated capital required to $10.00 million.

Projected annual operating costs for the flagship are $9.8 million, well above the chain average of $5.8 million per store, reflecting the premium Riverside location and above-average staffing requirements. The chart below compares projected first-year revenue to actual results for the last four new MeridianMart openings.

HR DIRECTOR — WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT FOR RIVERSIDE FLAGSHIP

The Riverside district labor market has an unemployment rate of 2.9%, classified as “tight.”

The CEO’s plan calls for 45 full-time positions, but the HR team estimates that 58 full-time equivalents (FTE) are needed. MeridianMart’s chain-wide average hourly wage is $15.00. Labor market analysis for the Riverside area indicates that comparable retail wages average $18.00 per hour. Standard annual work hours are 2,080 per full-time employee.

✏ Answer the following

The CEO projects the flagship will earn $12 million in its first year. If the flagship matches the performance of the best-performing new store shown in the CFO's chart (as a percentage of its projection), approximately how much revenue would the flagship earn?

A $7.2 million

B $8.4 million

C $9.0 million

D $10.2 million

E $12.0 million

IR 7 · Graphics Interpretation — Bubble Chart

Each bubble represents a metropolitan area. X-axis = population, Y-axis = average commute time (minutes), bubble size proportional to annual transit ridership (millions, labeled inside/near bubbles).

Select the city with the highest annual transit ridership per capita and the approximate average commute time for the city with a population of 1.2 million. One selection per column.

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Integrated Reasoning