Frequently asked questions

WVB shows consolidated company account data when it is disclosed. WVB indicates this in the financial data header with a code.

This is common in particular with trust companies. They have no subsidiaries; merely the company itself. The financial accounts of such companies are considered fully consolidated, and flagged as report type C. In addition, we also have another flag in the Period Descriptor field, CONSOL = J to indicate that it is a single entity without any subsidiaries.

WVB carries both originally as-reported data and subsequent as-restated data in WVB Master Product only. Restated data is indicated by the code "CR" and the year of publication.

Companies often will re-classify items for presentation purposes from year to year. WVB will not modify the previous year’s records. If there are material changes to the previous year’s reported figures due to mergers, acquisitions, disposals or accounting changes, then WVB will add a new record to reflect these changes. Reclassified data is indicated by the code "CA" and the year of publication.

Yes. The Period Descriptor fields describe many of the valuation methods used by the company itself, as disclosed in the notes to the annual accounts.

WVB provides at least two company descriptions of activities in English: a short company description (generally not exceeding three lines) and a long company description (depending on the company-provided description and history). In addition, WVB provides generally a company description in the local language. The languages are French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic etc.

Yes. WVB has a dictionary that contains a translation of each financial data field in the database.

The preferred source is the company annual report activity description or the company website. In those cases where none is available from the company, the local WVB data staff creates it.

In addition to providing the company's business activities, WVB strives to capture the company's corporate developments such as history, listing, name change, merger & acquisitions, divestments, closure of business divisions, etc. WVB can also collect specific information such as chairman statements, directors, company future outlook and auditors report upon customer's request, if provided.

WVB carries SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes and the FTA (Financial Times Actuaries Codes) for each company. The assignment is determined by the contribution of the business segments to net sales. Company may have multiple codes each with an importance ranking attached. When a company changes industry activity, this will be indicated within the record with a "from date" and "to date". In addition, WVB developed its own Industrial Classification Codes with a similar structure as the SIC codes. These codes are used to classify the business segment result breakdown. Further, we have added classification of industry activities by NACE (from the French 'Nomenclature statistique des Activites economiques dans la Communaute Europeenne'-Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community), NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) and ISIC ( International Standard of Industrial Classification) as well as some country specific SIC codes such as UK SIC (UK Standard Industrial Classification).

Yes, for each company financial year. When the company provides it, a detailed breakdown is available based on Sales, Profit, Assets, Depreciation, Capital Expenditure, Research and Development and number of Employees, is collected. To provide a more accurate and timely addition to industrial activities, WVB maintain its own industrial classification codes.

Like for the in-depth industry classification, WVB collects a detailed breakdown based on Sales, Profit, Assets, Depreciation, Capital Expenditure, Research and Development and number of Employees. Companies may report based upon Sales Location and or Manufacturing Location. WVB collects both.
For banks, WVB collects an additional detailed breakdown for Net Interest Income and other significant items applicable for banks such as financial instruments and credit exposure, etc.

WVB maintains a table of Company Alias Names. Each company has two names: the Legal Name and the Product Name. The Legal Name is the complete legal name of the company (e.g., Banque Stellantis France SA; International Business Machines Corporation). The Product Name is a truncated name that allows a more logical alphabetical ranking (e.g., Banque Stellantis France; International Business Machines ). Each name has an Alias Name Type code. The table also provides other information, such as:

• • Alias Names (e.g., I.B.M.; I. B. M. IBM)
• • Company Local Registration Number
• Name used on the stock exchange if different from the Product Name
• • Ticker and the Stock Exchange it is listed on
• • Previous Legal Name

Each record shows an Effective from Date. When a name change takes place, the new Legal Name is created, and the Previous Legal Name label and the Effective Through Date are updated.

In addition to the two company names, the Legal Name and the Product Name, we will capture Native Name and sometimes, English Name. The English name is available for countries like Russia, Vietnam etc.

When there's a change in Industry, WVB will change a few sections in the database for example Industrial coding - SIC (Standard Industry Code), FTA (Financial Times Code), NACE, NAICS, and ISIC. WVB will also revise the company's business profile in Product Note 5.

In the case of spin-offs and IPO's, WVB creates a new company with a new WVB number. Out of the prospectus, all relevant and pertinent information will be entered into the database. The financial data header record will show the type of account it is, generally "PR" for pro-forma accounts. The parent company, if they so disclose, will have restated accounts generally reflecting these events and are entered into the database with the code "CR".

If there is indeed a material error in summation in the report, WVB statisticians act as follows:

• 1 .If an error is pointed out, corrections are made quickly as long as this is justified with the financial reports.
• 2 .Contact the respective companies' investor relations officer or chief financial officer for further clarification on the error found.
• 3 .Provide a supporting explanation for the balancing figure under Product Note 2 dated with the corresponding fiscal year.
• 4 .Once the company replies, correction is made and noted in the same note.

In rare cases when this happens, WVB verifies the duplicate entry by their accounts, ISIN codes, etc. The company with less financial years updated would be deactivated from the database whilst the company with more financial years updated would be maintained.