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Concepts and definitions

Calculatory pay adjustment

Pay adjustments are used to estimate the effect of an entrepreneur's unpaid work input on the enterprise's profitability. The purpose of the pay adjustment is to provide a more accurate picture than before of profitability in the industries where the significance of unpaid work input by entrepreneurs themselves is considerable.

The pay adjustment is made by first specifying in detail the annual unpaid work input performed by the entrepreneur. Then the total amount of wages and salaries for the unpaid work input is estimated.

It should be noted that the pay adjustment is only a calculatory item hampering profitability. It differs from other profit and loss account items in that it is not an expense item or payment actually incurred. The pay adjustment is based on the idea that the business activity should produce for the entrepreneur at least reasonable earnings for the annual work input.

Investments in fixed assets

Investments in fixed assets comprise the acquisition and capital improvement of tangible fixed assets, of which the sales and transfers of fixed assets are deducted.

Tangible fixed assets include land and water areas, land and water constructions, buildings and constructions, machinery and equipment as well as other tangible fixed assets. Buildings and structures as well as land and water constructions are recorded as an investment during the statistical period when they are paid for. Other fixed assets are recorded as investments during the accounting period when they are transferred to the buyer's or recipient's use.

The concept of gross total increase of tangible fixed assets was in use until 1994. This concept and the current one are defined the same way.

Reference period

The reference period is the period for which data is collected. In structural statistics the reference period is the accounting period.

Statistical unit

A statistical unit is the basic statistical unit in statistics compilation, i.e. the unit from whom the data is collected. In structural business statistics a statistical unit is either an independent enterprise or an establishment of an enterprise.

Turnover

Turnover is deemed to comprise sales profits from the actual activity of a party with a legal obligation to keep books, after deduction of granted subsidies, value added tax and other taxes based directly on sales volume.

In addition to the sales adjustment items, income transfer and passage through items are deducted from sales. These are items belonging to another party with a legal obligation to keep books, which only technically go through the books of this other party obliged to keep books. Paid sales freight, commissions and credit losses are not deducted from turnover. The items included in turnover vary by industry. Turnover does, however, always include profits from current assets.

A construction developer's turnover is partially recorded twice, as turnover is deemed to include both the selling of buildings to housing companies and the selling of housing company shares to final buyers.