What data will I need to have available?
The information that you will need to enter can be found in your Company's financial
statements or in your Tax Returns. In order to allow the process to go as quickly as
possible, please print and have these documents available before you begin.
Who is going to have access to my data?
Integra Information, Inc. is committed to keeping your personal and financial information
completely confidential. The information entered in this site will not be redistributed
for any reason. The data will only be used for the purpose of providing you the most
complete, informative reports possible.
How safe is this site and what level of security is in place?
This site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) data encryption to create a secure session. This
secure session will help ensure the safety and confidentiality of the data being
transmitted. SSL technology represents the strongest level of security measures that are
commonly available today. Integra Information, Inc. acknowledges the importance of
implementing state of the art security measures and will continue to utilize tools that
aid in keeping this site secure.
Where does the data come from?
Below is a partial list of information sources compiled and maintained by Integra
Information in their InfoBase.
Internal Revenue Service
IRS Corporate Source Book
Department of Labor
Dept. of Labor Monthly Consumer & Producer Price Index
Dept. of Labor Employment Hours, Wages Earnings Report
Bureau of Labor Statistics Input-Output Accounts
Department of Labor Employment and Wages (ES-202) Data Files
Bureau of Labor Statistics -- Domestic Industry OutputIntegra's Proprietary Databases
National Company Database of Financial Product Usage and Demand
Industry Geographic Analysis Database
Purchase Opportunity Profiles DatabaseIndustry Specific Databases
US Census of Agriculture
US Census of Construction
US Census of Manufacturing
US Census of Services
US Census of Wholesale
US Census of Retail
US Census of Transportation
US Census of Mineral Industries
U S Census Annual Retail Trade Survey
US Census Annual Service Survey
US Census Annual Benchmark Rpt. -- Wholesale Trade
Annual Survey of Manufacturers
County Business Patterns Establishment Employment and Payroll Data
Dept. of Commerce Regional Economic Info. System (REIS)
National Income & Product Accounts (NIPA)
Monthly M3 Shipments, Backlog, Inventory and Orders Reports
Bureau of Economic Analysis Input & Output Accounts
Bureau of Economic Analysis Gross Output by Detailed Industry
Dept. of Commerce Quarterly Financial Reports
Dept. of Commerce Monthly Retail Sales Report
Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production Index
Who is Integra Information and what is the Integra InfoBase?
Integra Information provides private industry information and decision support tools for
financial professionals including accountants, bankers, valuation specialists, M&A
professionals and business owners.
The Integra InfoBase is the largest and highest quality propriety data source on private businesses representing more than 3.5 million companies and over 900 industries. The InfoBase is compiled from over 31 separate proprietary and publicly available data sources which are rigorously maintained and updated.
You can contact Integra Information with any questions or comments at 800-780-2660 or email them at integra@integrainfo.com
Is My Firm Ready for Financial Benchmarking (Comparative Report)?
Benchmarking the financial results of your firm against companies like yours is an
important and valuable exercise. Our experience has shown that comparing your firm to its
industry norm will identify key differences that can help you improve the financial
performance and ultimately, the value of your business. Benchmarking becomes a way to
improve the right areas within your business.
Research has shown that the most important variables impacting the performance of a firm are:
It is quite obvious that economic forces can significantly impact the performance of virtually all firms. Perhaps as important is that even when the economic conditions are favorable, no firm can escape the fact that it operates within certain characteristic industry 'rules'. These include the amount of assets required to generate sales, the cost of borrowing to finance growth, the profit margins that can be generated and sustained over time, and the expenses associated with running a business successfully.
Firms that outperform their peers over time learn how to rewrite the rules. However, high performing companies often attract a response from competitors within their industry (or even from other industries). Because of this, the competitive advantage of a single firm is difficult to sustain and even high performing firms tend to eventually gravitate toward the industry norm. Ultimately, the opportunity to excel is directly related to the skill of management in regularly finding ways to outperform their industry peers. Perhaps even worse is when management doesn't respond to industry changes (remember the fate of the buggy-whip?). Accordingly, benchmarking the financial performance of your firm is a critical part of on-going process toward achieving and maintaining high performance.
What is the process for generating a Comparative Report?
How Is a Benchmark Report Calculated?
The Benchmark Report is generated based on the financial statement information you input.
Your financial information is then used to define the parameters of the peer group for
comparison (this information is also used in the valuation analysis). The comparative
analysis uses your company's current year revenue and "common-sizes" the
industry data to create the Peer Group. This means that your company's revenue and the
revenue shown for the Peer Group will be identical for the most recent year.
Once this starting point is determined, Integra Information's InfoBase is used to build your comparative analysis. The analysis uses financial data from similar companies within your industry that operate within your company's sales range. The averages are calculated from the companies represented in the Integra InfoBase.