EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Benefits Assessment Process We are pleased to present this Global Benefits Assessment. This report provides a detailed review of ABC’s Employee Benefits programs (in particular, its Pension, Life/Accident, Disability and Medical benefits) provided in Japan and the United Kingdom. This is the first step in a planned review of ABC’s benefits worldwide, culminating in a review of potential global strategies to educate and empower your Home Office and Regional employee benefits management to understand and control your global employee benefits moving forward. SUMMARY OF THE BENEFITS ASSESSMENT PROCESS As outlined in our project proposal, the primary objective of this Benefits Assessment was to evaluate whether the corporate sponsored employee benefits offered by ABC in each country were: 1. Effective in terms of plan design, costs, and service provider utilization on a local and global scale 2. Cost efficient and designed to take advantage of global strategies where appropriate 3. Compliant with local requirements for social security and other compulsory benefits programs. The Benefits Assessment process involved three major components: Information Gathering / Inventory Our appointed Project Consultants initiated the Local ABC Contacts project by contacting David Smith, VP of Global HR, in order to: ‰ Japan – Takashi Murakami ‰ United Kingdom – Gregory Mathers ‰ Establish the Benefits Assessment scope and procedures for each country, ‰ Modify the generic inventory questionnaire to local conditions in each country, and ‰ Determine whether, and with whom, direct contact with local ABC representatives was necessary and appropriate. In each case, the direct contact in each country proved very useful in gathering the necessary information and answering additional questions as they arose. The questionnaire results are provided in the “Summary of Existing Benefits” section of each Country Report to follow. Benchmark Analysis Based upon the information gathered during interviews with the ABC representatives, the local Project Consultants conducted a benchmark analysis of ABC’s programs that included: ‰ Comparison of the existing program with that offered by other companies of similar size, industry and location; and ‰ A review of the existing program with regard to local trends, customs and legislation. ABC – Global Benefits Assessment Page A - 1