The scope of the Financial Statement Analysis Working Group is common microeconomic research on specific topics of the economic and financial situation of non-financial entities in an international setting. Such research can include any field of financial statement analysis like profitability, equity endowment, liability structure or asset composition. Structural, cross-sectional and time-series analyses are mainly applied. When producing cross-country figures, the working group also investigates whether accounting or institutional characteristics can explain differences in the results.

Since its creation in 1993, the research of the Financial Statement Analysis Working Group (former Study Group) of the ECCBSO has been focused on the subject of profitability and capital structure of European corporations, the impact of the financial crisis on profitability and equity capitalization, and the study of accounts receivables and accounts payables, concentrating on determinants of these key balance sheet positions and explanations on observable differences between European countries. Research papers have been published, based on data sources containing financial statements of micro, small, medium-sized and large non-financial companies. The scope of these databases is usually far beyond what is available from public data sources.

A dashboard, the methodology, and all results and publications can be found on the Financial Statement Analysis Working Group dedicated website. 

Currently the Financial Statement Analysis Working Group is examining the profit margins, the financing costs, and the customer and supplier payment periods of non-financial corporations across European countries.

The group is composed by representatives from:

• Banque de France (chair)
• Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (vice-chair)
• Banca d’Italia
• Cerved Group spa
• Banco de España
• Banco de Portugal
• Bank of Greece
• National Bank of Poland
• Bank of Finland