Series details: CRDA/41

The record series was produced with the aim of generating and publishing regular, detailed analysis of published company accounts in Great Britain. The Business Statistics Office, who undertook this work for the Department of Trade and Industry, was also responsible for the production of Business Monitor periodicals. Business Monitor MA3: Company Finance was an annual HMSO periodical containing the analysed results of the industrial and commercial sectors covering up to 3,500 companies, including the top 2,000. Data from this dataset was used in the production of that periodical. The analysis could also be used to identify and monitor the progress of large companies, and give snapshots of merger and acquisition activity among GB companies; and make comparisons of accounting ratios.

According to Eurostat-affiliated information found on an online information group, "for about 35 years, the DTI and later the Central Statistical Office made systematic analyses of published UK company accounts and from time to time attempted to adjust the results for use in the national accounts. These attempts failed mainly because of the difficulty of reliably separating in the accounts domestic activities from foreign ones. The DTI/CSO Company Accounts Analysis was a notable example of using an administrative source as a possible substitute for a statistical source without posing any problems about disclosure or reporting burdens. However, the Analysis was discontinued in 1992." 1

The Company Accounts Analysis 1981-1985 was carried out by the Business Statistics Office, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry's Company Accounts Analysis Section.

The series is an analysis of companies in Great Britain and their accounts, prepared by the Business Statistics Office for analysis on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry. The information includes descriptive data on the company itself, and figures of detailed financial information taken from the balance sheet, income and appropriation account, and sources and uses of funds of the company.

The sample includes all industrial and commercial companies in Great Britain. The data relates to limited companies only and is based on the consolidated annual accounts of company groups and the accounts of independent companies registered in Great Britain. Great Britain subsidiaries of parent companies registered in Northern Ireland or overseas were also included.

The analysis excluded banking, insurance and other financial companies, charities, and companies registered abroad which maintained GB trading addresses.

No further accruals of Company Accounts Analysis datasets are expected.

The Company Accounts Analysis dataset and related dataset documentation are public records under the Public Records Acts, 1958 and 1967. The National Archives has assigned the dataset and documentation the class reference RG 80.

The Company Accounts Analysis dataset and related dataset documentation are open to the public.

The Company Accounts Analysis dataset and related dataset documentation are Crown Copyright. Copies may be made for private study and research purposes only.

The Company Accounts Analysis dataset is subject to registration under the Data Protection Act. Exemption from the Data Protection Act is claimed under Section 9 of the Statistics of Trade Act, cross-reference P016 and P068 under ONS’ group registration.

The language of the materials is English.

The UK Data Archive holds Company Accounts Analysis Data, 1977-1984, reference SN 2153; and Company Accounts Analysis Data, 1985-1990, reference SN 2365. NDAD research has confirmed that the 1977-1984 dataset is basically the same as the one held by NDAD; where there are corresponding records, they contain the same information apart from some anomalies which probably relate to changes in the coding systems used by ONS.

ICL Series 2900.

The application was run on ICL VME.

A processor controlled keying (PCK) data capture system was used to capture and validate the data in the dataset. It was edited and processed with COBOL software with specified parameters for certain fields.

The dataset comprises two tables: a Main data file, and a Derived Items table. The table Main data File was used to hold descriptive data on the company itself, while the Derived item table contains figures of detailed financial information taken from the balance sheet, income and appropriation account, and sources and uses of funds of the company.

Details of the content and transformation validation checks performed by NDAD staff on the Awards dataset are contained in the catalogues of individual datasets: see Links to dataset catalogues.

Dataset catalogues provide more detailed information about individual datasets, and are currently available for the following dataset(s):

1. Source: http://forum.europa.eu.int/irc/dsis/bmethods/info/data/new/adso/handbook_en/uk.html, consulted 20/08/2004