CONTENT OF THE STUDY REPORT

The executive summary presents an overview

of the study scope, methodology and results

The full report of the results consists of two volumes that can be read selectively

The purpose of this executive summary is to introduce the reader to the underlying documentation of the study results. The summary is organized in three sections:

• Overview of the Study and Methodology — States the scope and explains the care taken to ensure that the methodology was consistently applied and that the results were documented and reported accurately.

• Overview of the Study Results - Introduces the results of the study and summarizes the major categories of costs incurred.

• Use of the Study Results - Suggests possible uses of the data developed in the course of the study.

The full report of study results consists of two volumes in addition to this executive summary which is also Chapter 1 of the report. Those who are interested in the thorough approach adopted in collecting and reviewing the data should read Chapters 2, 3 and 4, "Study Methodology," "Data Collection Methodology," and "Cost Determination Principles and Guidelines," respectively.

Readers whose interests lie in the detailed results should refer to Chapter 5, "Results of the Study" and Chapters 6 through 11 which describe the study results for each of the six agencies. Those chapters also contain companies' observations and recommendations related to specific regulations or areas of regulation.

For those interested in the detailed statistical results of the study, a separate volume, the Appendix, provides the data. The information presented in the tables analyzes costs by agency, by specific regulation or groups of regulations, by industry, by cost classification and subclassification and by labor or nonlabor cost source.

Many readers will want to read Chapter 12, "The Future of Regulation," which describes regulatory trends and some approaches toward reform.

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OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY AND METHODOLOGY

The scope of the study was established to ensure useful results

The study methodology was pilot-tested to verify its feasibility

The regulations of six federal agencies were selected for study

The Business Roundtable Cost of Government Regulation Study was designed to provide more specific information than previous cost studies by identifying high cost regulations and by seeking to identify the attributes that characterize them. Accordingly, one of the major objectives of the study was to develop a comprehensive methodology to determine by accounting methods the incremental costs of compliance with specific regulations for a large number of companies and industries, to identify the high cost and problem regulations and to report observations and recommendations made by participating companies.

During the development phase, the methodology was extensively pilot-tested to verify the feasibility of applying its cost principles and data collection procedures. In addition, the methodology and, in some instances, the detailed procedures manual were discussed with many individuals in business, academic institutions and government. The purpose of this effort was to create an awareness and understanding of the study methodology, to obtain suggestions for improvement and to take advantage of the views of others involved in regulating or in regulatory reform.

The six regulatory agencies' selected for study were:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Department of Energy (DOE)

• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The agencies were selected on the basis that they were perceived to have a significant cost impact on a broad cross-section of Business Roundtable

The term agency is applied throughout the study to each of these six regulatory areas. Only designated portions of DOE and FTC were included in the study.

member companies and industries. Furthermore, the cost impact of these agencies was expected to increase through future regulatory programs.

Forty-eight member companies of the Business Roundtable (Figure 1-1) elected to participate in the study. Not all companies included all of their domestic operations in the study of each agency. For example, in the oil and gas industry, seven companies studied EPA and OSHA for only portions of their business operations.

The 48 participating companies comprise an important segment of business in the United States

The significance of the 48 participating companies in the U.S. economy is illustrated in Figure 1-2 which displays the companies' shares of the U.S. civilian labor force excluding agriculture and government workers, sales of certain industrial sectors and capital investment.

Some industries were represented in the study more heavily than others

The 48 companies participating in the study included operations classified in many Standard Industrial Classification categories (two digit SIC codes). For purposes of reporting study results, their operations have been categorized in 20 industry groupings. Figure 1-3 shows the participating companies' share of