This survey contains the three variables to be necessarily supplied, as from 2011 concerning 2009, for France: the turnover, the staff, the number of subsidiaries, personnel costs and gross investment in tangible goods, by country of presence of subsidiaries and by business sector. It also integrates some additional variables.

All merchant activity sectors are concerned (excluded financial sector).  

The unit investigated is the "UCI", Ultimate Controlling Institutional unit. This unit defined by Eurostat orresponds to the unit which exercises control over the subsidiaries declared in the survey. This control is characterized by the power to appoint the managers of companies or business units in charge of operational activities. The UCI is also the unit which has the data of all the group's subsidiaries.