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COMPANY ORGANIZATION SURVEY
(also known as REPORT OF ORGANIZATION SURVEY)

PURPOSE

To obtain current organization and operating information on multi-establishment firms in order to maintain the Business Register (BR). The United States Code, Title 13, authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses.

COVERAGE

All multi-establishment companies with payroll, and their establishments, except companies engaged exclusively in agricultural production.

CONTENT

Companies identify establishments that have been sold, closed, continued, started, and acquired; report first quarter and annual payroll, and employment during the pay period that included March 12, for each establishment; indicate any large foreign equity positions; and indicate controlling interests held by other domestic or foreign-owned organizations.

FREQUENCY

Data collection begins in late December of the reference year and responses are due within 30 days. Reported data are for activities taking place during the reference year. Data has been collected annually since 1974. Survey coverage and content vary during the census-related 5-year program cycle.

METHODS

An annual mail-out/mail-back survey of some multi-establishment companies. Smaller companies are selected where separate administrative data indicate a probable organizational change, and by a probability sampling procedure. Both larger and smaller companies are identified from those maintained on the Business Register.

Data is collected from the Report of Organization Survey and the Annual Survey of Manufactures, and added to administrative records.

For years ending in 2 and 7 (census years), companies report only on basic company affiliation and operations of establishments not within scope of the economic censuses. For non-census years, all multi-establishment companies with 250 or more employees report survey information. For non-census years, smaller companies are divided into panels and may be selected to report information for one of the years. Smaller companies may be selected because an operating change is indicated or by a probability sampling procedure.

Company forms include a pre-printed list of establishments previously identified as owned by the company and space for the company to report additional establishments. Reports submitted by electronic methods have grown to cover some 40 percent of all surveyed establishments.

PRODUCTS

This survey is taken primarily to assure full coverage and high quality of other statistical programs, and does not routinely provide data products for public use. Survey results are available to the Census Bureau about 8 months after each reference year and are used throughout Census Bureau economic data program operations, as a major source of information for reports, and as a resource in responding to requests for a variety of special reports and reimbursable tabulations.

USES

The Bureau of the Census uses the data to maintain up-to-date company affiliation, location, and operating information for establishments of multi-establishment companies in the Business Register (BR). This information allows full coverage of multi-establishment companies which account for a disproportionately large share of business activity. The Business Register is integral to conducting, processing, and completing most Census Bureau surveys and censuses of U.S. business organizations.

The Census Bureau uses the survey data and other information contained in the BR (such as data for single-establishment companies) to produce annual County Business Patterns reports. These reports provide summary statistics by state, county, some ZIP Codes, and 6-digit NAICS, including number of establishments, payroll, and employment.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Provides the only direct source of information on changes in multi-establishment company organization and industry classification at the establishment level.