Benchmarking and key business figures are an integral part in corporate management. Balance sheet ratios offer appropriate approaches for identifying starting points for positioning and improving one’s own competitive position. The Austrian Institute for SME Research analyses the economic situation and development of all industries and sectors of the Austrian economy on the basis of comprehensive annual financial statement data.
The balance sheet database of the Austrian Institute for SME Research allows for intercompany comparisons by using key business figures. The database for the current analysis year 2019/20 includes around 85,000 anonymized annual financial statements (double-entry accounting) and around 26,530 income and expenditure statements for 2019.
Industry averages can be calculated for almost all sectors of the economy. In addition to standardized products, it is also possible to carry out specific special evaluations.
Within the framework of economic analyses, annual financial statement data from the balance sheet database of the Austrian Institute for SME Research is examined for industries, economic sectors or regions. In the analyses, for example, the asset structure, the quality of financing, the cost structure, as well as profitability and productivity of companies are examined.
Economic analyses have already been carried out for the following sectors (exemplary list): small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), trade and crafts, commerce, industry, transport, tourism, information and consulting, the metal industry, the automotive industry, printers, pharmacies, the food industry and the construction industry.
Arash Robubi
The Austrian Institute for SME Research has two Rating models:
The Industry Rating Model is an efficient tool for a future-oriented credit rating of numerous business sectors in Austria. The model considers all key areas of influence. It describes the creditworthiness of an industry and provides clear information considering the future probability of default (PD). Reports are available for 146 industries or industry groups.
The Company Rating Model by the Austrian Institute for SME Research is a rating tool that enables an objective estimation at the individual company level.
The trade calculator has been developed as a free online tool for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in trade, that allows companies to anonymously analyze their own annual financial statements simply and clearly and compare it with industry averages for SMEs. The evaluations can be used for internal company analyses, which are becoming increasingly important for corporate controlling. In addition, the results of the trade calculator can be used for the preparation for bank meetings. Since banks also work with current industry averages, a conscientious examination is indispensable in advance. The data source for the online tool is the balance sheet database of the Austrian Institute for SME Research, which contains 18,000 anonymized annual financial statements of retail companies (p.a.).
Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Wolfgang Ziniel
In this study, for the first time in Austria, a detailed analysis of balance sheet data was made for three important elements of the value chain: Food production excluding feed, restaurants and hotels, inns and guesthouses. The period covers the period up to 2019, thus reflecting the situation before the COVID 19 crisis.
In the period from 2019 to 2021, annual facts and figures on the situation and development in the food industry will be provided, with the data broken down by occupational groups. Both the latest available current figures and the development over time since 2010 are presented.
The Austrian Institute for SME Research has two Rating models
The balance sheet database of the Austrian Institute for SME Research allows for intercompany comparisons by using key business figures.
This analysis of the financing structure and income situation is based on about 8,000 balance sheets an 3,500 income statements of companies from the information and consulting sector.
