Statistics Canada OECD Workshop SME Data Collection Statistics Canada’s Experience Presented by: Terry Evers Director, Small Business and Special Surveys

Statistics Canada Opening Remarks l Work in Progress l Challenges l Budget and resources l Definition of SME l Information needs l Identifying / linking data sources l Standardizing definitions and concepts

Statistics Canada Introduction l Statistics Canada organization l What lead up to identifying the need for data on SMEs l Free Trade / Globalization / New economies (KBI) / Need for Innovation l Economy driven to large extent by SMEs l Need to know what impact SMEs are having on the Canadian economy

Statistics Canada Early Data on SMEs l Limited scope, specific objectives, partial picture of SMEs l Funded by Provincial Governments and Industry Canada

Statistics Canada Small Business Profiles l Coverage – Incorporated & non-incorporated businesses ($30,000 - $5M) l Data Source – Tax returns (CCRA) l T2 electronic / T1 paper tax return l Usage – Enables firms to compare themselves to typical firms in same industry, revenue size & province

Statistics Canada Small Business Profiles (Cont.) l Users – Industry Canada, Finance Canada, Provincial and Territorial Ministries of Finance, businesses and consultants l Data Availability – Bi-annual since 1993 l Limitations l Timeliness; T1 sample size; Industry level of outputs available

Statistics Canada Employment Dynamics l Coverage – All employer businesses l Data Source – Administrative Data (T4 slips) l Usage – Business entry and exit; job creation and loss by geographic area and industry

Statistics Canada Employment Dynamics (cont.) l Users – Industry Canada, Provincial and Territorial Governments l Data Availability – Annually since 1996 l Limitations l Latest data covers l Data is by establishment so hard to reconcile with labour statistics which is by enterprise

Statistics Canada Small Business Financing Supply Side Survey l Coverage – Enterprises »$5M in finance & leasing l Data Source – Administrative data from banks, finance companies, portfolio managers, venture capital companies, financial funds l Usage / Users – Discussed in T. Davis’s paper on Needs from a Canadian User Perspective

Statistics Canada Small Business Financing Supply Side Survey (cont.) l Availability – Reference year 2000 and 2001 l Limitations l Using authorization size as proxy for business size l Can’t relate outcomes to Demand Side which is based on business size (employment) l Excludes GBEs; not-for-profit orgs; angels; foreign suppliers

Statistics Canada Small Business Financing Demand Side Survey l Coverage – « 500 employees & « $50M revenue l Data Source – l National sample survey of businesses to determine nature and outcome of requests for financing l Follow-up survey of all businesses who indicated that they had requested financing (approx 25%) to determine sources and importance of financing l Usage / Users – Discussed in T. Davis’s paper on Needs from a Canadian User Perspective

Statistics Canada Small Business Financing Demand Side Survey (cont.) l Availability – Reference year 2000 and 2001 l Limitations l Sample sizes limits detail available on selected financing characteristics l No data on importance of financing to failed start-ups and failed businesses

Statistics Canada Next Steps l Inventory of data on SMEs at Statistics Canada l Reviewing direction and priorities for Small Business Financing Initiative – frequency and scope of surveys l Reviewing survey content l Obtaining business size on Supply Survey l Including attitude questions on Demand Survey

Statistics Canada Next Steps l Conduct more detailed investigations into other sources of financing (Angels, GBEs), Women Entrepreneurs, Importance of financing as it relates to business cycle (start-up, steady state, fast growth) l Historical analysis using 3 years of data available from the Demand and Supply Survey