EKOMAR

The EKOMAR questionnaire has been designed to obtain more detailed data on the financial indicators of enterprises in order to assess Estonia's economic growth and prepare business overviews. The reference period for the EKOMAR questionnaire is a calendar year. In order to facilitate completion, the questionnaire is designed to be as similar as possible to the annual report.

The annual report (AR) filed with the Business Register is one of the most important datasets used in the production of statistics. On the basis of AR data, the EKOMAR questionnaire is prefilled in eSTAT to reduce the response burden placed on enterprises and to avoid repetitive data requests. Respondents only need to add information not requested or provided in the annual report. 

If an enterprise fails to file an annual report on time or at all, the EKOMAR questionnaire cannot be prefilled with AR data and the enterprise will have to submit more data with EKOMAR. The questionnaire is prefilled also based on an unauthenticated or unsigned annual report, provided that a final PDF of the annual report has been generated in the e-Business Register (i.e. the data have been verified and are free of errors) and the user has checked the box “I agree that the data will be forwarded to Statistics Estonia before the report is signed and approved for pre-filling in the statistical questionnaires”.

If an enterprise submitted the EKOMAR questionnaire also in the previous year, the column “At the end of the previous reference period” is prefilled in tables “Changes in fixed assets” and “Assets, liabilities and equity”. This column will be overwritten upon receipt of the AR data.

Collection of additional data for 2025

For 2025, Statistics Estonia will ask the enterprises included in the EKOMAR sample for additional data. The data are to be submitted in July 2026.

Important to note

• The changes concern Table 4.1 to be added to the EKOMAR questionnaire, in which enterprises will be requested to provide more detailed information  on the costs of raw materials, supplies, purchased goods and intermediate goods, as well as purchased works and services. 
• Agricultural enterprises are asked to provide additional information  only on the costs of fertilisers, plant protection products and animal feedingstuffs. 
• The additional data will be collected every five years. In the interim years, the required indicators are calculated on the basis of available data.

Why are additional data needed?

• The additional information is needed for updating indices and detailed data. This will ensure that Estonian national accounts statistics are comparable with those of other European Union Member States and consistent with the internationally accepted methodology developed by Eurostat.
• The data are required for the Estonian national accounts in order to compile a balance sheet of production and use of goods and services for each economic activity. This allows an analysis of the links between activities and shows the amount of inputs (e.g. materials, fuel, electricity, etc.) consumed per unit of output of an economic activity.
• The collection of detailed data makes it possible to comply with the methodology of the gross national income (European System of Accounts (ESA) and Gross National Income (GNI)). These data can be used to calculate, in sufficient detail, the intermediate consumption used for calculating the gross domestic product (GDP). The additional data are input for the supply and use tables. In these statistical activities, calculations are made at the level of products, services and economic activities, and detailed expenditure data are therefore essential.
• The data collected are also used in major revisions (i.e. methodological updates and data corrections), which are carried out every five years. Data are revised since 1995.

Why are additional data from agricultural enterprises needed?

• The additional information is needed for the calculation of agricultural producer price indices.
• Statistics Estonia uses agricultural producer price indices to compile the economic accounts for agriculture and the national accounts, incl. for the calculation of agricultural value added and GDP growth, and to calculate the volume index for wholesale trade of agricultural raw materials and live animals.
• Producer price indices are also used by
  • the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture to compile estimates for the economic accounts for agriculture;
  • the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development to formulate the European Union's agricultural and regional development policies and measures;
  • the European Commission's Joint Research Centre for studies on food markets and price volatility and to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture;
  • the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations of the European Union (COPA) and the General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union (COGECA) to develop the best production, marketing and risk management strategies. 

Useful tips to facilitate the submission of the EKOMAR questionnaire

Using the annual economic data questionnaire EKOMAR, Statistics Estonia prepares business overviews and assesses economic growth. The questionnaire is the basis for the most extensive and important statistical activity involving annual data.

We would like to offer a few tips to help you fill in the questionnaire.

1. What is the easiest way to complete the questionnaire?

   It is easier to fill in the questionnaire if annual report (AR) data have already been submitted. AR data are used to partially prefill EKOMAR, reducing the response burden.

   The elements listed in the annual report taxonomy regulation can be used for prefilling. Indicators created by the enterprise, which are not included in the taxonomy regulation, cannot be used.

2. How quickly do Business Register data appear in the EKOMAR questionnaire?

   The prefilling data usually reach the EKOMAR questionnaire within one working day, however, during the peak period for the submission of annual reports, the time between receipt of data and prefilling may be longer.
   The prerequisite for prefilling the EKOMAR questionnaire is that the annual report has been signed and is visible in the Business Register.

   Only questionnaires with the status “Not started” or “Cancelled” in eSTAT are prefilled.

   Every workday morning, an e-mail notification of the prefilling is sent to the enterprises whose EKOMAR questionnaire was prefilled with AR data on the previous working day.

3.   What should I do if I have started filling in the questionnaire but want to use prefilling?
   
   The questionnaire already started must first be cancelled in eSTAT. To do this, click on the gear icon on the top right corner in the questionnaire, select “Cancel questionnaire”, and start again after the AR data have been added.
4. Where can I find more information about the tables and variables?
   
   For further information on tables and variables, click on a table’s title.
   
   Example: EMPLOYMENT, HOURS WORKED.
5. How to choose the right income statement scheme for submitting data?
   
   There are two income statement schemes used in the EKOMAR questionnaire, similarly to the annual report. Only one of them, i.e. the same scheme as in the annual report (either scheme 1 or 2), must be chosen. Please note that cost indicators are entered as positive numbers in the income statement.
6. What does the ∑ symbol mean?
   
   The auxiliary rows or columns marked with ∑ contain calculated values which are displayed after saving the questionnaire. These fields are grey and help to correct potential errors.
7. In the absence of values, it is not necessary to enter zero (0) in the fields.
8. How can I check if the information was entered correctly?
   
   At the completion of each table, the data must be saved (click “Save”). In order to check a table, click “Validate table” on the right side above the table. This makes it easier to correct errors in the particular table. When clicking “Check”, the entire questionnaire is checked and the errors in all the tables and between tables are displayed simultaneously. We recommend clicking this button once all the tables have been filled in and validated one by one.

9. What do the dots in front of some table rows mean?  

   These indicate subdivisions.
   
   Example: There are multi-level subdivisions under turnover: firstly, how much of the turnover came from sales to non-residents and, in turn, how much of this came from sales to European Union member states.
    

   TURNOVER	C_010_1
   .. total sales to non-residents	C_011_1
   .... to European Union member states (except Estonia)	C_012_1

10. In the fixed assets table 6.2., some of the column headings are preceded by the word ‘including’.
    
    Example: Machinery and equipment is broken down into three categories: how much of it is transport equipment, computers and computer systems, and other machinery and equipment.

    Machinery and equipment

    including transport equipment

    including computers and computer systems

    including other machinery and equipment

     

11. Where should data on land and construction works be reported?

    According to their intended use, land and construction works are to be included either in the property, plant and equipment or the investment properties table.

    The table for property, plant and equipment includes land and construction works (and related rights) used by an enterprise in its economic activities, such as the manufacture of products, provision of services, etc. The table of investment properties includes land and construction works held first and foremost to earn rentals or for capital appreciation or both rather than for the use in the production of goods and services.

    For an explanation and examples of how to account for property, plant and equipment or investment property, see the Accounting Standards Board's guideline “Investment Property” (ASBG 6).