The Census Bureau will continue work toward improving the response rate for the Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) and will provide a report on the efforts they have undertaken and their effects when it submits its next QFR ICR.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
10/31/2021
10/31/2021
10/31/2021
33,680
0
33,680
80,786
0
80,786
0
0
0
The QFR is the best source of timely financial data for gauging quarterly performance of the non-regulated, domestic corporate sector. Users include: Commerce Department (Gross Domestic Product), Federal Reserve Board (Flow of Funds), The Bureau of Land Management, and the Council of Economic Advisers. The data are collected from a sample of manufacturing, mining, trade, and selected service corporations.
The QFR plans to raise the certainty asset cutoff to limit the increasing sample size. In addition, QFR will remove the two smallest strata, 03 and 07, which means the survey will sample companies with assets of $5,000,000 and over instead of $250,000 and over. These changes are necessary because while the economy has continued to grow, the asset and receipt levels used to determine stratum classification have remained fixed. In addition, budget constraints have made the increasing number of companies difficult for staff to review. Implementing the Certainty Sample Improvement will also reduce respondent burden. Removing the smaller strata will reduce respondent burden as well and could improve the overall Unit Response Rate (URR) for QFR.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.