Annual corporate statistics and saving and capital formation estimates of the private corporate business sector

The Reserve Bank of India regularly conducts annual studies on joint stock companies to assess the financial performance of private corporate business sector in India. Saving and capital formation estimates are also prepared for the sector and forwarded to Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) every year for inclusion in the National Accounts Statistics. The sample used for either study or for the estimation purpose is largely governed by the availability of annual reports of the companies within stipulated time. This article explores the reliability and representativeness of (i) annual corporate statistics and (ii) saving and capital formation estimates for providing greater confidence in using the information. Samples have been drawn based on simple random sampling without replacement assuming all companies included in the study 'Finances of Public Limited Companies, 2007– 08′ as the sampling frame. It is observed that as the sample size increases corporate statistics becomes more representative and estimates also becomes more robust. It was empirically evident that a sample of relatively large size, say 2400 or more companies, reduces the variation in sample statistics to an acceptable level.