A small chain of retail stores selling outdoors equipment, Shenandoah Outfitters is expanding rapidly. The finance manager has to develop a financial plan for accommodating this growth and the investments it requires. Analysis reveals that the business is growing faster than can be financed from internal sources–-Shenandoah has been increasing the amount of its long-term loan and has just ended the year with a higher-than-usual balance on its bank line of credit.

The operations and financing of this business are relatively simple, so students can focus on core skills. As such, this case is appropriate for all degree and nondegree programs. At the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, it has been used as an introduction to financial forecasting. It works best after an introduction to financial ratios, but it can also be used to build familiarity with those ratios. It has also been used successfully as a vehicle for contrasting the cash flow statement (an accounting view) with a free cash flow calculation (a valuation view). In general, the role of the case is to tie finance principals to accounting data.