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Business Register

Background and OverviewMarietha Gouws

Executive Manager: Business Register

Seminar on Developing a programme for the implementation of the

2008 SNA and supporting statistics

17-19 October 2012Pretoria, South Africa

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Outline

Background

Objectives of the division

Divisional organogram

Summary of the maintenance process

Internal Stakeholders

Divisional component activities

• Business Register Statistics

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Background Pre 1999 the organisation had a Business Address Register (BAR)

In 1999 a decision based on international best practise and recommendations from ABS was made to use administrative sources in order to create a new Business Sampling Frame (BSF)

Agreements for administrative data were made with the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), Department of Labour (DoL) and South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Current challenges faced:

• Resource constrains: led to infrequent updating of information and therefore not reflecting the situation on the ground accurately

• Lack of single business number/ unique identifier: extremely difficult to match the various administrative databases

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Background By matching the various ‘tax types” of the same business into a

cluster we ensure that only businesses that matched are created in the Integrated Business Register (IBR)

The information on the IBR is then used to create an administrative sourced BSF system and a derived statistical sourced BSF that will serve as a sampling frame for economic series

Maintenance rules were designed to meet resource constrains

Rules work for most of the businesses on the BSF

However, businesses with many locations and different activities are the exceptions to the rules

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Objectives of the division

The first objective of the Business Register otherwise referred to as

the Business Sampling Frame (BSF) is to serve as a common

sampling frame for all survey areas involved in the production of

economic statistics.

Secondly the BSF can serve as a source for register-based

statistics.

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Divisional organogram

Summary:

3 components

73 staff members

1 x Executive Manager 1 x Personal Assistant

2 x Office Support

4 x Senior Business Register Analyst

12 x ABRA

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA (VAT & SAF investigations)

1 x ManagerLarge Business

Unit

1 x ManagerOperations and

Maintenance

1 x ManagerQuality

Improvement Unit

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA

(Classification)

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA (Profiling)

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA

(Development)

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA (QIS

investigations)

3 x Senior Business Register Analyst

12 x JBRAs

2 x Senior Business Register Analyst

1 x JBRA11 x ABRAs

2 x Principal Survey Statistician 2 x Survey

Statisticians

4 x Survey Statisticians

1 x Senior Business Register Analyst

4 x ABRQAs

1 x Deputy Manager: BRA (Analysis)

2 x Senior Business Register Analysts

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Administrative sources

Source Information

South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Income Tax (IT),

Value Added Tax (VAT),

Payroll taxes:

- Pay-as-you-earn (PAYE);

- Skills development level (SDL);

- Unemployment insurance fund (UIF)

Department of Trade and Industry (the dti)

Companies and intellectual property Commission (CIPC)

- Register of companies

Department of Labour (DoL)

Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

Registration data; Transaction data

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Business Register characteristics

Comprehensiveness in coverage,

Sufficiently classified per industry, and

Usability of contact details.

In addition, such a register must be regularly maintained so that new units are detected and added, while dead units are removed.

The accuracy of a business register, as a foundation of economic statistics, allows results of surveys to mirror economic reality on the ground as much as possible.

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Classifications

SIC Description of the SIC

1 Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing

2 Mining and Quarrying

3 Manufacturing

4 Electricity, gas and water supply

5 Construction

6 Trade Industries (61-Wholesale ,62 – Retail, 63 – Motor, 64 - Hotels and restaurants)

7 Transport, Storage and Communication

8 Financial intermediation

9 Community, social and personal services

Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (SIC)

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Classifications

Code Description

S.1 Total economy

S.11 Non-financial corporations

S.12 Financial corporations

S.13 General government

S.14 Households

S.15 Non-profit institutions serving households

S.2 Rest of the world

Classification of institutional sectors

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Statistical Unit Structure

1. Enterprise (EN) unit - a legal unit or combination of legal units that carry out production activities.

2. Kind-of-Activity (KAU) unit - is an enterprise unit or a part of an enterprise unit involved in one or predominantly one kind of activity on a 5-digit SIC level. Kind-of-activity unit is dependant on activity for its survival.

3. Geographical (GEO) unit – is an enterprise unit or part of an enterprise unit involved in one or predominantly one kind of activity on a 5-digit SIC level at or from one location. At least one person must be permanently employed at that location. A geographic unit is dependent on activity, location and employment for its survival

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Size measures - required for stratification during sampling

• Enterprise turnover

• Number of employees

• Hectares of land - agriculture

• Salary/wages

• Number of rooms - hotels

Classifications – required for sampling

• Industry – economic activity

• Ownership type

• Institutional

Enterprise characteristics

BR quality concerns

Current BR maintenance processes

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Green cross – birthed

No cross – activated/reactivated

Blue cross – deactivated

Red cross – ceased

Life Cycle status identification

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Summary of the maintenance process

the dtiCIPC

monthly

IBRquarterly

BSF

1st Q Snapshot and Frame

May

2nd Q Snapshot and Frame

Aug

3rd Q Snapshot and Frame

Nov

4th Q Snapshot and Frame (Final)

Feb

daily Profiling Investigations

VAT Investigations

SAF Investigations

QIS Investigations

Automatic Updates

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Maintenance sources

Automatic updates

Manual updates

(VAT investigation list)

Value Added Tax (VAT)

Other

Profiling

Survey area feedback

Annual improvement survey

Complex business

All economic surveys

Business Register

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Internal stakeholders

Monthly Quarterly Annual/periodic

Manufacturing (production & sales)

Quarterly Financial Statistics (QFS)

Annual Financial statistics (AFS)

Various trade sales (wholesale, retail & motor trade)

Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES)

Large sample surveys

Electricity generated

Food & beverages

Tourism & accommodation

Land transport

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Business Register

Operations and Maintenance

(Investigate VAT and Survey Area Feedback (SAF) queries)

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This component is responsible for:

Confirming that VAT investigations are dealt with preferably before

quarterly common frames are produced for the survey areas

Ensuring accurate economic data is reported for large businesses

Ensuring queries from survey areas are investigated

Operations and Maintenance

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Business Register

Large Business Unit

(Profiling of large and complex businesses)

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This component is responsible for:

Confirming the Enterprise Group structures as quickly as possible and preferably before quarterly common frames are produced for the survey areas

Ensuring accurate economic data is reported for large businesses and to personally manage Stats SA’s contact with businesses where necessary

Large Business Unit

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Profiling overview Profiling is ongoing and schedules are revised annually to detect

major structural changes within the Enterprise Groups (EGs)

The scope of investigations include only South African registered companies

The turnaround time to complete a profile depends on the: • Complexity of the EG

• Location of the accounting records (centralised/ decentralised)

• Respondents’ co-operation

Current turnaround time to complete a profile is:• 3 to 6 months for less complex EGs

• 7 months to 1 year for medium complex EGs

• More than a year for very complex EGs

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Profiling Planning: Priority Setting

Queries from survey areas

Profiles started but not completed in previous year

Enterprise Groups identified by Business Register components

Enterprise Groups not profiled for 2 years or more (Re-Profiles)

New Enterprise Groups identified from business publications

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Business Register

Quality Improvement Unit:QIS

(Maintain large business information on the BSF)

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Quality Improvement Survey (QIS), 2012

Purpose of the survey is to improve the quality of the BSF

The main aim of sample design is to address the known deficiencies

• Sample specifications are used to give structure to the design (Sample size = 4 165 live (‘acti’, ‘birt’ & ‘reac’) ENs

• 2 000 ENs classified with SIC=09000 – LBU additional scope

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Business Register

Quality Improvement Unit: Development

(Development and implementation of guidelines,

procedures and training programmes)

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This component is responsible for:

Snapshot- and Frame creation

Design, Development and Collection of the Quality Improvement

Survey (QIS)

Updating documents originated from the BR division

Implementing the Units Model

Coordinating BR information sessions to internal stakeholders

Development

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Legal Entities

Legal Structure

ITs

VAT-Rs

PAYEs

UIFs

SDLs

Clusters

ENs

KAUs

GEOs

VAT-Bs

SamplingUnits

Observational Units

Reporting Arrangements

Administrative Data Processing Profiling Sampling Survey

Administrative Data

Operating Structure

Standard Statistical

Units

Organisational Data

Operating Entities

Units Model Structure

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Statistical Unit Structure

Enterprise (EN) unit - a legal unit or combination of legal units that carry out production activities.

Kind-of-Activity (KAU) unit - is an enterprise unit or a part of an enterprise unit involved in one or predominantly one kind of activity on a 5-digit SIC level. 

Geographical (GEO) unit – is an enterprise unit or part of an enterprise unit involved in one or predominantly one kind of activity on a 5-digit SIC level at or from one location.

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Snapshot and Frame creation process

Source: May 2012 snapshot

SQ

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BSF IBR Administrative Files (IT, VAT, PAYE, UIF, SDL, etc) and IBR Linkage Table

SNAPSHOT 3 483 615 ENs

(every EN record on BSF)

VAT (updates)IT (updates)

ENs

ENs with indicatorsVAT/PAYE/UIF/SDL

ENs

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Clusters with IT/ VAT and active PAYE/ UIF / SDL

COMMON MAIN FRAME 1 450 988 ENs

(“Live”)

COMMON FINANCIAL SAMPLING FRAME

493 881 ENs

(IT+VAT or VAT only)

ENs

LINKAGES EN-IT, EN-VAT, IT/VAT-VAT/PAYE/UIF/SDL

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Frame creation

Common Main Frame (43% of BSF)

1.499 million ‘Live’ enterprises (life cycle code is birthed, activated or reactivated)

Manufacturing8%

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

7%

Construction5%

Not classified9%

O ther10%

Wholesale- and Retail Trade Sales and O ther

Trade Sales 14%

Financial Intermediation,

Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services

30%Unclassified

(SIC=09000) 17%

2010 2011

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Industry distribution on the BSF

Source: May 2012 snapshot

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Quality Improvement Unit: Analysis

(Comprehensive analysis on all enterprises on the BSF)

Business Register

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To monitor the quality of the BSF

To track changes and reasons for changes to the BSF

To ensure that recommendations are implemented correctly

Reasons for analysis of the BSF

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Detailed classification status by size group (1)

SIC Description of the SIC

Percentage of industries classified on a 4- and 5-digit level on the common frame

Size group 1

Size group 2

Size group 3

Size group 4

Turnover value not available

1 Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing 90 77 72 77 5

2 Mining and Quarrying 99 95 75 26 7

3 Manufacturing 99 97 91 54 6

4 Electricity, gas and water supply 100 100 100 100 29

5 Construction 100 99 98 88 17

6 Trade Industries (61-Wholesale ,62 – Retail, 63 – Motor, 64 - Hotels and restaurants)

99 99 93 72 8

7 Transport, Storage and Communication 99 96 89 57 9

8 Financial intermediation 98 97 93 66 9

9 Community, social and personal services 99 97 91 66 6

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Thank you