Annual Head Office Survey

Detailed information for 2012

This survey collects the financial and operating data needed to develop national and regional economic policies and programs.

Data release - March 31, 2014

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The objective of this survey is to collect financial data for Canadian head offices in order to produce statistics about this industry. A head office is an operating entity which provides support services (accounting, legal, management, payroll, etc.) to other operating entities within the same enterprise.

These data are primarily used by Statistics Canada in conjunction with other financial data in order to provide a complete portrait of the Canadian economy and its evolution over time. These data can also be used at an aggregate level by other users who are interested in the head office industry.

Statistical activity

The survey is administered as part of the Unified Enterprise Survey program (UES). The UES program has been designed to integrate, gradually over time, the approximately 200 separate business surveys into a single master survey program. The UES aims at collecting more industry and product detail at the provincial level than was previously possible while avoiding overlap between different survey questionnaires. The redesigned business survey questionnaires have a consistent look, structure and content. The unified approach makes reporting easier for firms operating in different industries because they can provide similar information for each branch operation. This way they avoid having to respond to questionnaires that differ for each industry in terms of format, wording and even concepts.

Reference period: The calendar year, or the 12-month fiscal period for which the final day occurs on or between April 1st of the reference year and March 31st of the following year.

Collection period: March through October

Subjects

• Business performance and ownership

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population consists of all establishments classified as a head office (according to the North American Industry Classification System - NAICS 551114) operating in Canada during the reference period.

This Canadian industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing general management and / or administrative support services to affiliated establishments.

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

This survey's questionnaire has been used for a number of years, with the majority of the content being stable during this period of time. The content has been tested with numerous respondents and has been approved by a wide range of groups, including the Questionnaire Design Research Centre (QDRC) of Statistics Canada.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2013-03-01 to 2013-10-31

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

Data are collected mainly using an electronic questionnaire, but the respondents have the possibility to respond by mail, telephone or to use other electronic methods.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Data are examined for inconsistencies and errors using automated edits coupled with analytical review. Where possible, data are verified using alternate sources.

Imputation

If a respondent does not respond in time for the current production cycle, the data are historically imputed if historical data are available. If they are not available, the data are imputed with the closest donor method.

Estimation

As the Annual Head Office Survey is a census, the data are aggregated based on the selected variables of interest.

Quality evaluation

Prior to dissemination, combined survey results are analyzed for overall quality; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for the largest companies), an assessment of the general economic conditions portrayed by the data, historic trends, and comparisons with other data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Data for release are verified in order to ensure that they do not contain any confidential information or information that may be used to identify the respondent. If necessary, data are aggregated and cells containing small numbers are suppressed.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data may be revised to include questionnaires which come in after the end of the production cycle or due to errors that have been detected either in the information collected from respondents or in the processing of these data. The revisions are reflected in the final version of the data produced one year after its initial production. These data are not seasonally adjusted.

Data accuracy

Data accuracy refers to how accurately the estimates from a survey represent the population for which the survey is designed. There are two major types of errors that can have an effect on the accuracy of a survey's results: sampling error and non-sampling error.

Sampling error can occur when the results of a survey are obtained from a sample of the population, rather than from the whole population. In the case of the Annual Head Office Survey, there is no sampling error, since this survey is a census of the whole population.

Non-sampling errors refer to those types of errors that result from the survey process. The only types of error which can potentially impact on the accuracy of the head office data are non-sampling errors. There are several potential sources of non-sampling errors and they are: coverage error; data response error, non-response error, and processing error.

Coverage errors which consist of omissions, erroneous inclusions, and duplications in the frame used to conduct a survey can impact on survey estimates. Data response errors may be due to questionnaire design, the characteristics of a question, the inability or unwillingness of the respondent to provide correct information, the misinterpretation of the questions or definitional problems. Processing errors can occur because of the way the data are captured, edited, or tabulated.

In the case of the Annual Head Office survey, several measures have been put in place with the goal of diminishing the potential sources of non-sampling error. To ensure that there are no coverage errors, the frame is evaluated to ensure that it represents the population of Head Offices. This evaluation is done by comparing the frame with outside information and by contacting respondents to determine the status of the operations, if necessary. Data response error is minimized and addressed through the care with which the questionnaire was conceived, the use of simple concepts and the verification of coherence. Processing errors are reduced through an exhaustive process of verification and validation of the data.