Changes

You may decide to use a frequency greater than 1 for an ongoing activity if the regulatory requirement explicitly states that it must be conducted several times per year, or if the requirement to conduct the activity is triggered by some other event that happens several times per year. A frequency greater than 1 will split each year of the analysis into evenly spaced periods corresponding to the frequency. For example, if the frequency = 2, then each year will have 2 periods and there will be 20 total periods over a 10-year timeframe. If the frequency = 1,200, then each year will have 1,200 periods and there will be 12,000 periods over a 10-year timeframe. Since the RCC estimates the stakeholder count in every period, then an annual frequency of 1,200 means that it will estimate the stakeholder count 1,200 times per year (which is more than 3 times per day!). This level of precision may not be warranted based on the historical data you are using to justify your annual stakeholder growth rate. Also, if you are doing the RCC in parallel with a separate CBA spreadsheet, you have probably not set up your main CBA to have 1,200 distinct periods per year, so using a very high frequency will increase the differences between your RCC and CBA results. Although there is nothing mathematically wrong with using a high frequency in the RCC, it can be computationally intensive and it may not be necessary.     

You may decide to use a frequency greater than 1 for an ongoing activity if the regulatory requirement explicitly states that it must be conducted several times per year, or if the requirement to conduct the activity is triggered by some other event that happens several times per year. A frequency greater than 1 will split each year of the analysis into evenly spaced periods corresponding to the frequency. For example, if the frequency = 2, then each year will have 2 periods and there will be 20 total periods over a 10-year timeframe. If the frequency = 1,200, then each year will have 1,200 periods and there will be 12,000 periods over a 10-year timeframe. Since the RCC estimates the stakeholder count in every period, then an annual frequency of 1,200 means that it will estimate the stakeholder count 1,200 times per year (which is more than 3 times per day!). This level of precision may not be warranted based on the historical data you are using to justify your annual stakeholder growth rate. Also, if you are doing the RCC in parallel with a separate CBA spreadsheet, you have probably not set up your main CBA to have 1,200 distinct periods per year, so using a very high frequency will increase the differences between your RCC and CBA results. Although there is nothing mathematically wrong with using a high frequency in the RCC, it can be computationally intensive and it may not be necessary.     

   

   

If we consider an example where an activity takes 1 hour each time it is conducted, then if it happens 1,200 times per year it is evident that 1,200 hours per year will be spent on the activity. This can be modelled in several ways, such as:  

If we consider an example where an activity takes 1 hour per occurrence, then if it happens 1,200 times per year it is evident that 1,200 hours per year will be spent on the activity. This can be modelled in several ways, such as:  

# Frequency = 1,200; Time Spent = 1 hour

# Frequency = 1,200; Time spent per occurrence = 1 hour

# Frequency = 1; Time Spent = 1,200 hours

# Frequency = 1; Time spent per occurrence = 1,200 hours

# Frequency = 12; Time Spent = 100 hours

# Frequency = 12; Time spent per occurrence = 100 hours

# Frequency = 4, Time Spent = 300 hours

# Frequency = 4; Time spent per occurrence = 300 hours

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.   

All of the above methods will result in 1,200 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. This can be computationally intensive and could hinder the performance of the RCC.     

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. This can be computationally intensive and could hinder the performance of the RCC.