Two mutually exclusive capital projects are being considered by the chief financial officer $($CFO$)$ of a small technology compai software initiative. However, the first has a life of one year, and the second has a projected life of approximately four years. Thi return $($IRR$)$ methods to suggest different project preferences. To make the best investment decision, the CFO should

A$)$ rely on the accounting rate of return to make the selection

B$)$ rely on the NPV method only to make the selection

C$)$ ignore the NPV technique and choose the highest IRR in order to maximize absolute returns

D$)$ use the profitability index $($PI$)$ method to rank projects and then choose the project with the highest PI