Changes

Other times, the regulatory text may state that an activity must be conducted every time some other event happens (e.g., "do Activity X every time Event Y happens"). An example of the latter is a requirement to report the importation of goods containing a certain chemical: this could happen 1 time, 2 times, or 1,000 times per year. In these situations, the appropriate frequency is not always straightforward. If the activity takes 1 hour each time, then if it happens 1,000 times per year it is evident that 1,000 hours per year will be spent on the activity, however this can be modelled in several ways, such as:  

Other times, the regulatory text may state that an activity must be conducted every time some other event happens (e.g., "do Activity X every time Event Y happens"). An example of the latter is a requirement to report the importation of goods containing a certain chemical: this could happen 1 time, 2 times, or 1,000 times per year. In these situations, the appropriate frequency is not always straightforward. If the activity takes 1 hour each time, then if it happens 1,000 times per year it is evident that 1,000 hours per year will be spent on the activity. But this can be modelled in several ways, such as:  

# Frequency = 1000, Time Spent = 1 hour  

# Frequency = 1000, Time Spent = 1 hour  

All of the above methods will result in 1,000 hours being spent on the activity per year for businesses that are in the market at the start of the year. However, with positive stakeholder growth, the selected frequency determines at which point the RCC will model new entrants as entering the market and therefore beginning to incur the cost. This means that the choice of frequency can affect the total impact estimates; the different methods of modelling the activity by shifting between frequency and time spent will not give the exact same results.  

 

All of the above methods will result in 1,000 hours being spent on the activity per year for businesses that are in the market at the start of the year. However, with positive stakeholder growth, the selected frequency determines at which point the RCC will model new entrants as entering the market and therefore beginning to incur the cost. If the frequency is set to 1,000 then that means there are 1,000 evenly spaced periods throughout each year. Stakeholders who enter the market partway through the year would not incur the cost associated with the activity 1,000 times. This means that the choice of frequency can affect the total impact estimates; the different methods of modelling the activity by shifting between frequency and time spent will not give the exact same results.

Note that the stakeholder count must be estimated in every period of the analysis, and costs incurred in every period must be discounted back to the present-value base year. The frequency determines how many analytical periods there are in each year of the analysis, and hence the total amount of periods throughout the analysis. This means that if you have a lot of periods, the RCC will be estimating the stakeholder count many times and doing a lot of sub-annual discounting.  

Note that the stakeholder count must be estimated in every period of the analysis, and costs incurred in every period must be discounted back to the present-value base year. The frequency determines how many analytical periods there are in each year of the analysis, and hence the total amount of periods throughout the analysis. This means that if you have a lot of periods, the RCC will be estimating the stakeholder count many times and doing a lot of sub-annual discounting.  

   

   

If the annual frequency is 1, then there will be 1 period per year, and 10 total periods over a 10-year timeframe. This is the easy case and the analytical framework will align with what you probably have in your main CBA. However, if you enter an annual frequency of 1,200, then you are telling the RCC that you want to split every single year into 1,200 evenly spaced periods, in which the stakeholder count must be estimated and impacts must be discounted back to the PV base. Is that really what you want to do? That is probably not how you set up your main CBA. With 1,200 evenly spaced periods that means the RCC will estimate the stakeholder count more than 3 times per day. There is nothing mathematically wrong with this, however it is computationally intensive and it may not be necessary.  

If the annual frequency is 1, then there will be 1 period per year, and 10 total periods over a 10-year timeframe. This is the easy case and the analytical framework will align with what you probably have in your main CBA. However, if you enter an annual frequency of 1,200, then you are telling the RCC that you want to split every single year into 1,200 evenly spaced periods, in which the stakeholder count must be estimated and impacts must be discounted back to the PV base. Is that really what you want to do? That is probably not how you set up your main CBA. With 1,200 evenly spaced periods that means the RCC will estimate the stakeholder count more than 3 times per day. There is nothing mathematically wrong with this, however it is computationally intensive and it may not be necessary.  

It is possible to switch the frequency to 1 and multiply the Time Spent by 1,200, or alternatively you could set the frequency to 12 (monthly impact estimation), and multiply the Time Spent by 100.  

It is possible to switch the frequency to 1 and multiply the Time Spent by 1,200, or alternatively you could set the frequency to 12 (monthly impact estimation), and multiply the Time Spent by 100.  

The most easily understood frequencies are annually, bi-annually, quarterly, monthly, and weekly. If you are trying to do anything beyond this it is possible that you are making a mistake. Check the message in the Error Check column and consult your TBS analyst if you are unsure what to do.   

The most easily understood frequencies are annually, bi-annually, quarterly, monthly, and weekly. If you are trying to do anything beyond this it is possible that you are making a mistake. Check the message in the Error Check column and consult your TBS analyst if you are unsure what to do.