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Profiling a group of companies
Definition
Profiling a group of companies consists of determining the structure of statistical observation of the group which seems best suited for monitoring of its economic activity in the ‘real’ sphere. It is a matter of defining intermediate statistical units, perhaps different from the group, which can act as “operational divisions” for the group, or sub-groups, or of ad hoc subdivisions defined in cooperation with the group. This operation, known as ‘profiling’, is useful for large groups present in several domains of activity. Units established through this process, limited to the French economic terrain in the case of multinational groups, are known as companies created through profiling, or (less correctly) profiled companies. They are companies in their own right.
Profiling operations on French business groups will be spread out over several years. Large groups will be profiled in close collaboration with the group’s management.
As a general rule, the observation structure decided upon will correspond to the main activities of the group, with a separate statistical unit for each major activity. These units will generally cover several companies within the group. The few experiments already conducted indicate that these units can bring together as many as several hundred companies.
A small group will be considered to represent a single company.
