Accounting data for non-financial limited companies

Name: Accounting data for non-financial limited companies
Topic: Business & technology

Division for Accounting Statistics and Business Register

National level

Frequency: Annuall, preliminary & final figurs.

Timliness: Preliminary figurs, 9 months and final figurs 16 months after the end of financial year.

Not relevant

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

The purpose of the statistics is to obtain detailed statistical material for analyses and overviews of economic enterprises.

The statistics were produced for the first time for the 1999 financial year, and the purpose is to provide more detailed information than Accounting Statistics based on the financial statments of non-financial limited & public companies (preliminary figures).

The major user of the statistics is the National Account Division, in Statistics Norway. In addition, the statistics are used by the Ministry of Finance, researchers, students and bankks.

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.

From and including the year 2008, the publication scheme for the annual accounting statistics has changed. In the past, two final accounting statistics were published, one based on the companies' annual accounts and the other based on the companies' tax quetinnarer which are an appendix to the tax return. From 2008, only one final accounting statistics are published, and it is primarily based on business' tax return quetionnre (but are supplemented with annual accounts for individual enterprises). It is published in the spring of year t+2. In addition, preliminary accounting statistics is published in the autumn of year t+1, which is largely based on the companies' annual financial statements.

Under the link Previously published and in the statistics bank there are references to previously published articles and tables both from the statistics based on tax quetionnare and annual financial statements.

There are some fundamental differences between the annual financial statements and the tax quetionnare for the enterprises. For example: For some commission-based industries (such as travel agencies), income and costs are usually entered net in the annual accounts, but usually gross in the tax quetionnare. Comparisons between accounting statistics based on the financial statements and tax quetionnare must therefore be made with some reservatins. This applies to both the accounting values ​​and the key figures.

The accounting information that forms the basis for this statistics is also used in the statistics,business statistics in Statistics Norway.

The statistics cover virtually the same population and reveal the same results as Accounts Statistics Annual reports for non-financial limited companies (now preliminary figurs) . The population furthermore corresponds to a large degree to Income statistics for limited companies.

Furthermore, the population and results largely coincide with the statistics Income and Deductions for Companies.

The statistics have a certain connection with Accounting Statistics, key figures for listed enterprises which are based on the companies' quarterly accounting reports which are prepared and published in accordance with the stock exchange regulations. The statistic is discontinued and figures for this statistics are available up to and including the 4th quarter of 2016.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

The statistics are included in the national program for official statitistics, Main area Establishments, enterprises and accounts, and Sub area Accounts.

Not relevant.

The population are economically active non-financial limited companies. Limited companies, which operate financial activities such as commercial banks, mortgage companies, finance companies, insurance companies and the like are not included in the population.

The statistical unit is the enterprise .

The statistics are based on the Tax questionnaire for businesses. The questionnaire documents revenues and expenses vis-à-vis tax authorities, and is an attachment to the tax return in conjunction with the tax assessment of limited companies. Joint-stock companies and other enterprises that prepare annual accounts pursuant to the Accounting Act (tax liable enterprises) should use Tax questionnaire on accounting. The questionnaire contains company accounts, not consolidated accounts.

From and including the financial year 2005, the statistics have been supplemented with data from the enterprises' official annual accounts submitted to the Accounts Register in Brønnøysund for enterprises where the tax questinnare was not available.

To the data on each enterprise is added industy and institutional sektor information from the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises.

For the financial years 1999 and 2000, a representative sample of limited companies in various industries has been drawn. Limited companies meeting one or more specified criteria have been included in the sample. The criteria is linked inter alia to whether the limited company is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange, or whether it is a public limited company and whether they meet the size criteria determined by employment, operating revenues and/or total assets (balance-sheet amount). A sample among other limited companies was selected.

From the financial year 2001, the selection was supplemented with business statements for limited companies that chose to report electronically from the Tax Directorate. This led to a gradual increase in the number of units included in the sample on which the statistics are based.

From the financial year 2005, the statistics are procuced by a total count. By far the majority of tasks are obtained in electronic form from the Directorate of Taxes. For enterprises where the tax questionnare is not available, data from the annual accounts is used.

The statistics are based on tax questionnaires on accounting obtained for other statistics and have no independent data collection. Furthermore, tax questionnaires reported electronically to the Directorate of Taxes is collected.

The Register of Companies in Brønnøysund and Statistics Norway check the annual reports manually and mechanically to ensure that the information is correctly recorded. More checks are carried out to make sure that there is consistency between some accounts in profit and loss account and the balance sheet.

The controls and editing of the material are done mechanically and manually. Controls have been worked out which apply to consistency both within the individual statement, and in relation to available information, among others, the annual accounts submitted to the Register of Annual Company Accounts in Brønnøysund. Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data.

From the financial year 1999 to 2004, weights were calculated by stratifying the sample by industry and size. The weights were then calibrated against Accounting Statistics annual accounts for non-financial limited companies. From the financial year 2005 onwards, the statistics are based on a total count, so there is no need to calculate weights.

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Employees of Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures if there is a risk of the respondent’s contribution being identified. This means that, as a general rule, figures are not published if fewer than three units form the basis of a cell in a table or if the contribution of one or two respondents constitutes a very large part of the cell total.

Statistics Norway can make exceptions to the general rule if deemed necessary to meet the requirements of the EEA agreement, if the respondent is a public authority, if the respondent has consented to this, or when the information disclosed is openly accessible to the public.

To ensure confidentiality, the suppression method is used in these statistics.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

The statistics were first prepared in their present form for the 1999 financial year.

From 2000 and onwards, the statistics do not cover turnover at the Nordic exchange of electric power. From 2000 the amounts of sale and purchase of electricity is net reported.

Preliminary accounting statistics are mainly based on annual reports obtained from the Register of Company Accounts in Brønnøysund. Since not all accounts are available when the statistics are produced, the statistical basis is not complete. Final accounting statistics is published in spring t+2. The final statistics cover more companies and are mainly based on tax questionnaires on accounting. There are some conceptual differences between accounting information in the tax questionnaire on accounting and accounting information in annual reports.

The preliminary statistics are however combined with the final statistics for the previous years. The aforementioned conceptual differences should be taken into account when the preliminary and final figures are compared.

A new institutional sector classification was introduced in 2012. This had an impact on enterprises in portfolio investments, which were moved from the non-financial limited companies.

During the entry and processing of the material, errors can occur both at the assessment authorities, Statistics Norway and the individual taxpayer.

In those cases where tax questionnaires on accounting are obtained from the tax authorities, the tax assessment can also cause changes in the questionnaire that cannot be traced back to the items where the change really took place. It should be pointed out that the information on the tax questionnaire in the first instance is to be regarded as the enterprise's assertions vis-à-vis the tax authorities, i.e. in those cases where the tax questionnaire has been obtained directly from the enterprise, it has not been subjected to any tax assessment-related processing. When the tax questionnaires on accounting are obtained from the tax authorities, the vast majority of the questionnaires will not contain changes resulting from tax assessment processing. It is only in some cases that the tax assessment has caused changes that can be traced back to the tax accounting questionnaire.

Our routine controls disclose errors, when there are logical flaws in the forms, and deviations from the information in the Register of Annual Company Accounts in Brønnøysund. In some areas there are differences between the Accounting Act and the Tax Act, as well as between accounting and tax assessment practice. As a result, data in the accounts filed according the specifications of the Accounting Act and the tax questionnaire on accounting can be different. The controls are therefore in the first instance used as an aid to uncover units in the statistics that contain errors and inconsistencies. In many cases, the findings of the controls will turn out not to be errors in the statement of accounts, but a result of different adjustments the limited company has an opportunity to use.

For enterprises where the tax quetionnare is not available, data from the annual accounts is used. This in itself is a source of error as the annual accounts are usually less detailed than the tax quetionnare. For example, total salary costs will be added under the item for salary, holiday pay etc. , and not broken down into more detailed salary and personnel costs

Dropouts in the statistics is due to the limited company no longer being in operation due to termination, merger or because the company has not prepared or submitted tax questionnaire and annual accounts for other reasons.

The organization number, which is the key to connecting information about the enterprise from the central business and enterprise register, may be incorrect or incomplete. In addition, there may be incorrect or missing updates of the organization number and/or industry in the central business and enterprise register.

The statistics broken down to regional classification are encumbered with a certain amount of uncertainty, especially at a detailed level. This is due, among other things, to the fact that some joint-stock companies have undeclared industries. However, most enterprises with an unspecified industry are small with little or no turnover.

The fact that statistics for some industries can be strongly affected by a single company. For example, the accounting figures for arts, entertainment and recreation are strongly affected by the inclusion of Norsk Tipping Limited in this industry. Norsk Tipping accounts for a large proportion of the activity in the industry and has an accounting structure and profitability which are different from the rest of the industry. This also applies to statistics broken down by regional classifications such as counties.

From the financial year 2005 onwards, the statistics are based on a total count and thus avoid uncertainty associated with sampling errors for sample surveys.

For the years 1999-2004

Non-response in the sample is because the limited company is no longer in operation due to closure, merger or that the company has not prepared or delivered tax questionnaire on accounting for other reasons. The non-response rate is between 5 and 7 per cent. In those cases where one and the same company is included in both the statistics by direct obtainment of the tax questionnaire on accounting from the enterprise, and in the income survey for limited companies that obtains data from tax assessment authorities, the failure to supply information for one survey may be replaced by submissions to the other. When the tax accounting questionnaires are obtained from both the enterprise and tax authorities, it is mainly the questionnaire from the enterprise that is used.

All sample surveys are encumbered by uncertainty. In general, the fewer the observations the more uncertain the results. Groups based on relatively few observations will be very strongly influenced by extreme observations, i.e. observations that deviate greatly from the average. Extreme observations are therefore given a weight equal to 1, so that they only represent themselves in the material.

When drawing the sample, emphasis is placed on including the large joint-stock companies in the various industries in order to prepare reliable macro numbers. This is mirrored in the calculations of weights for the limited companies in the survey. The sample is nonetheless unevenly drawn, in that large joint-stock companies are overrepresented, and that the limited company must be included in the manufacturing statistics, structural statistics, income statistics for limited companies or reported electronically to the Directorate of Taxes in order to be included in the accounts statistics sample.

The quality of the register, which is the basis for drawing the sample and the data from administrative registers have an impact on the quality of the finished result. The sample selection is based on simple register information valid the year before the survey year. Both the administrative and statistical registers are updated continually, and will thus be changed during the production process.

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