MERIKE PÕLDSAAR merike.poldsaar@stat.ee Workshop

1. Annual Bookkeeping Report as the primary administrative source for the production of SBS: current experiences MERIKE PÕLDSAAR merike.poldsaar@stat.ee Workshop EFFICIENT WAYS OF STATISTICAL DATA COLLECTION FROM ENTERPRISES 22-23 March 2012 Luxembourg

2. Annual Bookkeeping Report electronically (1) • Annual bookkeeping report — the primary administrative source for annual business statistics. • According to the Estonian Commercial Code all Estonian enterprises (excluding sole proprietors) are obliged to submit their annual bookkeeping reports to the Commercial Register 6 month after the end of accounting year. • Starting from January 1, 2010 commercial undertakings, non-profit associations and foundations are obligated to provide their annual bookkeeping reports only electronically. • Project “Aruandluskorralduse lihtsustamine” (“Simplification of reporting arrangement”). • The government working group — cooperation of various institutions (since Oct. 2008): Ministry of Justice, Centre of Registers and Information Systems, Board of Auditors, Ministry of Finance, Statistics Estonia, Bank of Estonia, Tax and Customs Board, Board of Auditors, Estonian Accounting Standard Board, Chamber of Commerce, etc 22-23.03.2012

3. Annual Bookkeeping Report electronically (2) The working group defined activities: • To create form for annual bookkeeping report which enables to submit main annual bookkeeping reports and noteselectronically; • To create the list of variables needed for statistical data production to avoid double data collection; • To unify concepts i.e to create integratedtaxonomy • To create the common environment for data submitting The XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) was chosen as data transmitting standard. 22-23.03.2012

4. Annual Bookkeeping Report electronically (3) The project organisation • come to an agreement on elements oftaxonomy • definitions of variables • come to an agreement on administration of the taxonomy system • define the needs to change legal acts • to inform the data providers about the changes in data submission • description of the task for the technical application — web solution • realization of the task 22-23.03.2012

5. GAAP taxonomy • Government of Estonia approved the first Estonian GAAP taxonomy forms for profit-oriented entities and non-profit associations and foundations on 17.12.2009. • The third taxonomy approved on 08.12.2011 includes also forms for • companies compiling consolidating annual report • companies compiling liquidation and closing reports • companies whose main activity is to provide financial services • Since 01.01.2010 the submission of annual reports in XBRL is mandatory • Exceptions to the requirement: • Companies using IFRS • Companies with state ownership, who report to Ministry of Finance • Branches of foreign companies registered in Estonia 22-23.03.2012

6. Taxonomy elements • Elements in taxonomy could be divided • Main reports (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, equity statement) — mandatory, • Notes— materiality principle (may be ignored if no effect) • Taxonomy elements described in regulation • Possibility to add elements — free text (not usable for statistical data production) • Not enough to produce statistical data! 22-23.03.2012

7. Main obstacles (1) • Materiality principle: financial statements shall set out all material information which affects the financial position, economic performance and cash flows of the accounting entity. Information in financial statements is considered material if failure to disclose the information could influence the business decisions made by the users of the statements on the basis thereof. Immaterial items may be accounted for and recorded in the financial statements using a simplified method. • Other problems: • Accounting year could be different from calendar year • Consolidated reports 22-23.03.2012

8. Main obstacles (2) • Amended Bookkeeping Law (01.01.2010) • Article 141 “Taxonomy of the annual bookkeeping report” (unofficial translation): • State or local government institution or other public law functions executing institution cannot require from accounting entity submission of taxonomy data what accounting entity has according to the law submitted to the Commercial Register for publishing with annual report. • Exceptions • The deadline is before the deadline of annual report • The period is different (calendar year≠ accounting year) • Different definitions are used • 2 year transition period for Statistics Estonia 22-23.03.2012

9. Web solution • Annual bookkeeping reports to be submitted either by filling in the set forms or by uploading an XBRL instance file • Signed digitally (ID-card) • Generation of PDF report (can be signed digitally) • Starting from May 2010 Statistics Estonia started to receive annual bookkeeping reports data in XBRL format via X-road (an environment that would facilitate making queries to different main state databases in Estonia). • To avoid double data collection, it was decided to pre-fill statistical questionnaires with the data from annual bookkeeping reports in eSTAT (Statistics Estonia electronic data collection system). 22-23.03.2012

10. EUROSTAT grant 2009 MEETS projects on Modernisation of Business Statistics “Use of administrative data for business statistics” The goals of the project • to harmonize statistical surveys using information from annual bookkeeping reports to facilitate the data transmission from administrative data sources, • to create the correspondence tables to transmit data from administrative data files to statistical data files as the XBRL uses the specific coding system of variables, • to create rules, formulas and tables to calculate statistical variables using information from annual bookkeeping reports as bookkeeping variables are not always directly usable. 22-23.03.2012

11. Harmonization of statistical surveys using information from annual bookkeeping reports • It was important to simplify the use of data from annual bookkeeping reports and make easily understandable for data providers which data from annual bookkeeping reports are used in prefilled statistical questionnaires. • It was taken into account that unification leads to • change of the codes of variables, • change of the data checks in questionnaire instructions, • changes in data production software (input, transfer, production and output software). • At the same time unification • facilitates the creation of correspondence tables, • simplifies the preparatory work for the data publishing, • help in the creation of the universal data production software (technical development is in the phase of creation). 22-23.03.2012

12. New correspondence tables (1) • The new correspondence tables had to be created to transmit data from administrative data files to statistical data files as the XBRL uses the specific coding system of elements. • The identification elements (ID-elements) in taxonomy are often very long and textual. 22-23.03.2012

13. New correspondence tables (2) • New codes are limited to 10 symbols, convenient for the SBS data production • Main reports — 735 statistical codes • Notes — 3272 statistical codes • Example: Income statement (extract) 22-23.03.2012

14. New formulas and rules to calculate statistical variables • Additional correspondence rules and formulas to use information from notes were created 22-23.03.2012

15. eSTAT 22-23.03.2012 • The data collection channel for economic entities (enterprises, state and local government agencies, non-profit organisations, sole proprietors) for submission of data to Statistics Estonia • eSTAT was launched in February 2006 • eSTAT is developing into a communication environment functioning between enterprises and Statistics Estonia • Authorized entry to eSTAT • by ID-card, Mobile-ID; • via Internet bank (Swedbank; SEB; Sampo, Nordea) • Sending out paper questionnaires was stopped in 2008

16. Received reports of economic entities by channel, Jan 2008–Dec 2011 22-23.03.2012

17. eSTAT functionalities(for external users) 22-23.03.2012 • to view the list of statistical reports, which the particular enterprise has to present to Statistics Estonia during the current year • to view deadlines for presenting these statistical reports • to order reminders, which notify by e-mail about upcoming deadlines • to fill in statistical reports, i.e. to fill in cells at the website • to run controls, i.e. to check whether the statistical report is compiled as required • to correct statistical reports • to submit statistical reports to Statistics Estonia • to look at all earlier statistical reports submitted to Statistics Estonia by a respondent concerned • to administer users, i.e. to create, change and cancel rights and access • etc

18. Data collection using prefilled questionnaires • The eSTAT was improved for the year 2012 i.e. for the reference year 2011 data collection. • Statistical questionnaires in eSTAT are prefilled using administrative data. • Statistics Estonia downloads annual bookkeeping reports (ADAM) • every night — at the moment, several times per day — high season). • The administrative data are converted into the statistical format by a new transformation system (VAIS). • The information from annual reports is preloaded to eSTAT • every morning at 8 o’clock — at the moment, several times per day — high season). • Data provider has to fill in only the gaps i.e information not available from annual bookkeeping report. 22-23.03.2012

19. eSTAT. SBS survey EKOMAR: Income statement (1) prefilled (yellow cells) added or changed by data provider does not exist (=0) 22-23.03.2012

20. eSTAT. SBS survey EKOMAR: Income statement (2) prefilled (yellow cells) autosum added or changed by data provider does not exist (=0) 22-23.03.2012

21. eSTAT. SBS survey EKOMAR: Income statement (3) • Data providers are informed about the data source and the transformation made • Example: personnel costs = data from annual bookkeeping report “Income statement” or from note “Personnel costs” or by summing up from three notes (costs and expenses) admin variables used in calculation of statistical variables data source download time 22-23.03.2012

22. Summary • Annual bookkeeping reports’ data (XBRL) transmitted from administrative source to Statistics Estonia immediately. • Preparatory work for the use of administrative data is laborious. • Statistical questionnaires in eSTAT are prefilled using administrative data. • The information from annual reports are preloaded and data provider has to fill in only the gaps — information not available from annual bookkeeping report. • The double data collection is avoided and the response burden of enterprises will be diminished. 22-23.03.2012

23. Thank you! 01.01.2006