A successful sushi chain in Hong Kong spent $$500,000$ to conduct a study on whether or not to open a location in the United States. The study showed that the best place for the company to open their first location would be in Chicago. When conducting its capital budgeting analysis, how should the company account for the cost of the study when estimating the amount of the initial investment that the new store will require?

The company should ignore it$.$

The company should include it in the amount of the initial investment.