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Annual structural business statistics - Methodology

I. Basic definition of activities classified as Industry


The indicators are broken down according to the statistical Classification of Economic Activities (CZ-NACE), in force since 1 January 2008, which breaks the industry into four sections: Mining and quarrying, Manufacturing, Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, and Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, broken further down into 34 divisions.

More detailed information of the Classification of Economic Activities (CZ-NACE) can be found at: https://csu.gov.cz/classifications.

II. Data source

The basic reporting unit of statistics on industry is the enterprise – i.e. a legal person or a natural person with the status of an entrepreneur. The enterprises are divided into two groups, irrespective of their principal activity:

- natural persons in business under the Trade Act (and similar regulations);

- legal persons in business under the Commercial Act – i.e. trade companies and partnerships (which also include incorporated natural persons).

As these two groups use different accounting systems, as laid down in regulations, adjustments had to be made to their questionnaires accordingly.

Unincorporated natural persons have not been covered by any statistical survey since the year 2010. Results for these enterprises are based on administrative data resources (income tax, value added tax, data from the Czech Social Security Administration). Historical data until the year 2009 were based on the direct survey (the P 4-01 questionnaire).

Legal persons and incorporated natural persons (using double-entry accounting as stipulated by the law) are sent the P5-01 questionnaire.

Specimens of statistical forms are available at http://apl.czso.cz/pll/vykazy/pdf1

III. Population and sample selection, Methods of Imputations and Estimation


Reporting enterprises are taken from the Statistical Business Register on the basis of their principal (prevailing) economic activity. The sample consists of the sample part and exhaustive part. In general, the contents and purpose of statistical surveys, set of reporting units, type of statistical survey, periodicity and deadlines for data provision are regulated by the decree on the programme of statistical surveys for a given calendar year.

The sample is subdivided into three parts as follows:

1. The part of sample, which is surveyed in an exhaustive manner, i.e. active economic units featuring parameters compliant with exhaustive sampling automatically fall into those of having the reporting duty. These are the units, whose absence in the sample could reduce the data validity at the level of certain industry, institutional sector, or size group.

2. The part of 100% sample, which involves the sampling strata (simply a group of enterprises with the same economic activity and of the same size by the number of employees), whose presence in a large population is important in order to process imputations in a correct way and to obtain the form of final outcomes.

3. The part of the stratified random sample, which includes smaller size units, which do not meet the conditions of whole population or group exhaustive samples.

The comprehensive reform of statistical surveys, which also involved the transition from the classification of Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (OKEČ) to that of CZ-NACE, also brought changes to the system of imputations. The use of administrative data for making of total estimates has been significantly broadened. Since 2008 the imputation method instead the weighing method has been applied. That means each unit (with 20+ employees) or group of units (with 0-19 employees) is imputed the required data structure on the basis of the development in the same stratum and information from administrative data sources, according to predefined relations between indicators.

Within the framework of the annual survey P5-01 imputations are used in the following cases:

1. Total non-response. Data are imputed to units from the sample, which failed to return the questionnaire. The imputation is carried out using known administrative data or data from other statistical surveys.

2. Partial non-response. This case occurs when a reporting unit has completed a part of the questionnaire in high quality, but the rest must be imputed. Typical example of partial non-response in the case of the questionnaire P5-01 are some organizational units of foreign companies, which are able to report truthfully revenues and expenses achieved on the territory of the CR, but they are unable to distinguish the amount of assets/liabilities from the whole of their foreign mother company. Other reason for the use of the partial non-response method is the imputation of reporting units completing the version of the questionnaire P5-01 with simplified structure.

3. Estimations of non-sampled parts of population. These data are estimated by means of the development of units in the sample and information from administrative data sources.

IV. Methodology of indicators

The number of active enterprises is the number of enterprises, which were active at least for a part of the year. The given numbers of enterprises are numbers from the survey, grossed up to the basic population of enterprises. The basic population is generated from the Statistical Business Register.

The number of persons employed is the sum of registered number of employees (headcount), the number of working owners of companies and cooperating household members, for whom the work in the company is their main economic activity, and the number of persons working under various contracts for work.

The number of active entrepreneurs and cooperating household members in principal activity include active entrepreneurs and cooperating household members with self-employment as their principal activity.

The average registered number of employees (headcount) is calculated as the arithmetic average of the average number of employees in individual months. It covers all categories of permanent, seasonal, and temporary employees, who have contracts of employment with their employers.

The average monthly gross wage per employee includes all incomes from employment (direct wages and salaries, personal bonuses and other bonuses, company profit sharing, and wage compensations) charged to be paid to registered employees in compliance with regulations on wages and salaries.

Values of assets, liabilities and components thereof refer to end-of-calendar-year balances on balance sheets. For natural persons using single-entry accounting, they refer to the values of individual components of assets and liabilities as at the end of calendar year. The content of the indicators corresponds to the chart of accounts for entrepreneurs.

Net assets are the assets in the form of fixed, current and other assets as at the last day of the reference year. Net assets are equal to gross assets minus corrections, i.e. correcting sums and adjustments. Fixed assets are formed of the value of intangible, tangible and financial fixed assets. Current assets consist of inventories, long-term and short-term receivables and short-term financial assets and cash and bank accounts. Other assets are accruals and receivables for registered capital.

Inventories involve materials, work in progress or semi-finished products, finished products, animals and goods, excluding advance payments provided.

Liabilities shall mean equity capital, other resources, and other liabilities. Equity capital includes registered capital, own shares and own trade shares (-), capital funds (+/-), reserve funds, indivisible fund and other funds from profit, profit/loss from previous years (+/-), and profit/loss of the current accounting period (+/-). Other resources include reserves, long-term and short-term payables, bank loans and financial assistance. Other liabilities include accruals.

Equity capital includes registered capital, own shares and own trade shares (-), capital funds (+/-), reserve funds, indivisible fund and other funds from profit, profit/loss from previous years (+/-), and profit/loss of the current accounting period (+/-).

Not-own capital includes trade liabilities, received advances and liability estimates, debt securities, warrants and financial derivatives, borrowing and financial assistance received, settlement of grants and since 2016 also liabilities to credit institutions. In purpose of year on year comparability, the years 2010-2015 were retrospectively recalculated in the 2016 methodology.

Acquisition of intangible and tangible fixed assets is a sum of expenses outlaid by reporting units on the acquisition of fixed assets (by purchase, through own activity, by acquiring of the right to the result of own intellectual activity). Things become fixed assets when they are put in use. Putting in use implies the provision of all technical functions required for the use and the meeting of all obligations laid down by legal regulations such as building, environmental, fire, occupational safety, and sanitary ones. The indicator does not include free acquisition and includes fixed assets acquired under financial leasing.

Acquisition of intangible fixed assets includes acquisition costs, intangible results of R&D and similar activities, software expenses, and valuable rights (such as know-how, licenses, objects of industrial rights, and other results of intellectual activities). The indicator does not include intangible fixed assets acquired for free.

Acquisition of tangible fixed assets does not include free acquisition and includes tangible fixed assets acquired under financial leasing.

Net turnover include the sum of turnover (sales of own goods and services and sales of goods for resale), other operating revenues, revenues from long-term financial assets, revenues from other long-term financial assets, interest income and other finance revenues. Revenues of natural persons are obtained as the sum of revenues from sales of own goods, services, goods for resale, other revenues, and closing adjustments to revenues. In purpose of year on year comparability, the years 2010-2015 were retrospectively recalculated in the 2016 methodology.

Turnover is the sum of sales (revenues from sale) of own goods and services and sales of goods for resale.

Sales of own goods and services are revenues from sale of own tangible and intangible production to external users.

Sales of goods for resale are revenues from sale of goods for resale, i.e. products bought to be resold in an unchanged state.

Total expenses include purchases of goods for resale, comsumption of material and energy and services costs, change in internally produced inventory, capitalised output, personnel costs, value adjustments in the operating area, other operating expenses, costs spent for sold shares, costs related to other financial assets, value adjustments and reserves in the financial area, interest expenses, other finance cost, income tax and transfer of share on profit or loss to partners. For natural persons, total expenses are the sum of expenses on purchases of material, goods, wages and insurance premiums (social and health insurance), overheads, and closing adjustments to expenses. In purpose of year on year comparability, the years 2010-2015 were retrospectively recalculated in the 2016 methodology.

Personnel costs include all benefits of employees, persons working under various contracts for work, including income of partners and members of cooperatives from employment, remuneration to board members, and expenses on statutory and other social insurance. In the system of double-entry accounting, they are the difference between the turnovers of debit and credit sides of Account Group 52 - Personnel costs. They also include payments in kind, provided they are part of wages. In the single-entry accounting system, they are the sum of expenses on wages and social and health insurance payments.

Wages excl. other personnel expenses include all incomes from employment (direct wages and salaries, personal bonuses and other bonuses, company profit sharing, and wage compensations) charged to be paid to registered employees in compliance with relevant regulations on wages and salaries. They contain also salaries of associates and members of cooperatives provided that they have contract of employment with the company and are kept in the registered number of employees. They include also remunerations from distributable profit and funds generated from profit. They exclude payments resulting from various contracts for work and remuneration of board members – i.e. payments to persons not included in the average registered number of employees.

After tax profit/loss is the difference between net turnover and total expenses for the reference period. It is either positive (profit) or negative (loss).

Outputs incl. trade margin include sales of own goods and services, trade margin (the difference between revenues from the goods sold and costs of goods sold), change in inventories of own production, and capitalization of material, goods, services, and fixed assets.

Consumption of material and energy and services costs includes consumed purchases (the value of consumed material and energy) and services (external services, costs of representation, and low-value intangible property not considered by the accounting unit to be fixed assets).

Value added is the difference between outputs incl. trade margin and consumption of material and energy and services costs.

Trade margin is the difference between revenues from sale of goods for resale and expenses spent on goods sold (i.e. on purchases of goods resold in an unchanged state).

Value added per employee (in CZK thous.) is the ratio of the value added to the number of registered employees (FTE).

Return on assets, ROA, (%) is the ratio of after-tax profit/loss to assets in total.

Return on equity, ROE, (%) is the ratio of after-tax profit/loss to equity.

Return on sales, ROS, (%) is the ratio of after-tax profit/loss to the sum of revenues from sale of own goods, services, and goods for resale.

Return on costs (%) is the ratio of after-tax profit/loss to total costs (expenses).

Expense-to-revenue ratio (%) is the ratio of total costs (expenses) to net turnover.

Inventories turnover time (days) is the ratio of inventories (total stock) to average daily sales (total sales divided by 360). It shows the number of days for which the stock of inventories would be sufficient.

In compliance with an amendment of the Decree No 500/2002 Sb with effect from 1 January 2016, names of some indicators have been modified. The indicator of “consumption of material and energy and services costs” has the same content as the previous indicator of “production consumption”. The indicator of “financial assets and cash and bank accounts” has the same content as the previous indicator of “financial assets.”

V. Data revision policy

In August Y+1 y the first estimate of results of annual structural business statistics is compiled for the needs of the preliminary balance of annual national accounts. The estimate is based on incomplete administrative data available in that time and on received and processed statistical questionnaires till that time. Data are not released separately and serve exclusively for internal needs of the annual national accounts.

In October Y+1 y data are processed using also the second batch of administrative data and on received and processed statistical questionnaires till that time. The processing results are as preliminary data transmitted to Eurostat in accordance with requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics (recast). The CZSO transmits to Eurostat and publishes merely a very limited set of indicators.

In February Y+2y the last processing of the annual structural business statistics business is carried out using all available administrative data and processed questionnaires. Data from the processing are in June Y+2y, at the latest, transmitted to Eurostat in accordance with requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics (recast).

If needed occasional revision of annual data may be carried out in February Y+3y, at the latest.

VI. Comparability

Results of the annual survey may differ from results published from quarterly or monthly surveys. Monthly and quarterly data are published on days when enterprises have no precise figures for the reference periods available and therefore the figures are replaced by estimates and, moreover, all administrative data sources, that can be applied for imputations of annual data, are not available as well.

Year-on-year comparability of data is influenced by organizational changes, changes in principal activity, changes to legislation, changes to accounting procedures and, last but not least, by using new administrative data sources.

In 2005-2007 data were measured by the classification OKEC and a different methodology of imputations was applied for (no administrative data sources were used). Therefore data for aforementioned years were recalculated according to the classification CZ-NACE, yet for these reasons they are not comparable in full with data for following years in terms of methodology.

Due to an amendment of the Degree No 500/2002 Sb valid from 1 January 2016, some indicators were retrospectively recalculated for the period 2010-2015 in the methodology of 2016.

Structural statistics in the European Union are governed by the Regulation (EC) No 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics. The indicators published by the CZSO are internationally comparable in terms of methodology.

VIII. Types of released data

Annual statistics of industry are published:

1) e-publication Economic Results of the Industry of the CR (link to Economic Results of the Industry of the CR)
2) sent to Eurostat – Structural Business Statistics
3) in other documents on the Internet

IX. Additional methodological information and external links

Eurostat: Legislativa EU ke strukturálním statistikám (in English)
Eurostat: Metodika a klasifikace v SBS (in English)
Eurostat: Metadata (in English)


Contact: Mgr. Veronika Doležalová, tel. +420 274054286, e-mail: veronika.dolezalova@csu.gov.cz