Statistical reports

What it means

Statistical reports are forms that selected companies and organisations must send to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. They contain data on, for example, sales, headcount, wages, investment, prices, foreign trade or energy, and are filed monthly, quarterly or annually.

Not every business has the duty. The Office selects reporting units by size, by sector under SK NACE and by other criteria so that the survey covers the economy representatively. It usually sends the company a notice stating which reports to file and by when.

The reports feed official statistics such as economic growth, inflation or the average wage. These are then used by the state in policymaking, by banks in their analyses and by companies to benchmark against competitors or plan pay.

How it works in practice

Reports are filed electronically through the Office's portal and require data from the accounts and payroll. In practice an accounting firm often prepares them, so the contract should state who is responsible for filing and how notices from the Office are passed on.

Annual reports overlap in content with the financial statements but are not identical. Some data must be broken down in more detail, such as sales by activity or investment by type of asset, which is worth considering when setting up analytical accounts.

Deadlines are stated on the forms and in the Office's notice. It is advisable to put them in the same calendar as tax filing deadlines so they are not forgotten among many other duties, especially the monthly reports.

What to watch out for

The Office may impose a fine for failing to file a report or for submitting false data. It usually asks the company to remedy the failure first, but repeated neglect can become costly. The duty lasts until the Office removes the company from its sample.

Data in the reports are protected as confidential and the Office publishes them only in aggregated form from which no individual company can be identified. Fear of disclosing sensitive figures is therefore no reason not to file, nor is the fact that similar data has already gone to the tax office.