List of Changes

PROPOSED CHANGES FOR THE 2010 BE-11 ANNUAL SURVEY
OF U.S. DIRECT INVESTMENT ABROAD

The proposed changes to the annual survey are mostly changes that would bring the BE-11 forms
and instructions into conformity with the 2009 BE-10, Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct
Investment Abroad. These changes include changes in survey form design and reporting
thresholds and changes in the data items collected. The proposed changes also include a change
in the reporting criteria for foreign affiliates that are owned between 10 and 20 percent by their
U.S. Parent (U.S. Reporter). The changes are discussed below.
1. Changes in survey form design and reporting criteria
A. Discontinue the use of separate forms for foreign affiliates that are owned by U.S.
Reporters that are banks—Annual survey Form BE-11B(FN) would be discontinued.
(Separate forms for banks were discontinued for the 2009 BE-10 benchmark survey.)
All foreign affiliates, regardless of industry, would be filed on one of the foreign
affiliate forms listed below:
1) Form BE-11B—report for majority-owned foreign affiliates with total assets,
sales or gross operating revenues, or net income greater than $60 million,
positive or negative (affiliates with assets, sales, or net income greater than
$300 million, positive or negative, would file additional items).
2) Form BE-11C—report for minority-owned foreign affiliates with total assets,
sales or gross operating revenues, or net income greater than $60 million,
positive or negative.
3) Form BE-11D—schedule for foreign affiliates established or acquired by the
U.S. Reporter during the current reporting year with total assets, sales or
gross operating revenues, or net income greater than or equal to $25 million,
positive or negative, but for which no one of these items is greater than $60
million, positive or negative.
4) Form BE-11E—report for foreign affiliates selected by DID to be reported on
this form in lieu of Form BE-11B.
B. Change the reporting requirements for foreign affiliates that are owned between 10
and 20 percent by their U.S. Parent (U.S. Reporter)—Direct investment is defined
using the ownership criteria of 10 percent by a single investor. For all direct
investment surveys except the BE-11 annual survey, the reporting criteria are
consistent with the definition of direct investment. Historically, for the BE-11 annual
survey, nonbank foreign affiliates owned between 10 and 20 percent have only been
required to be reported in the third year following a benchmark survey. DID
proposes to require these affiliates to be reported for all years. Although the U.S.
ownership percentages in these affiliates are low, some of the affiliates are very large
and have a sizable impact on the statistics. The ownership criteria used for reporting
on the BE-11 annual survey were set in conjunction with the first annual survey,
which was conducted for the year 1983. The reporting exception for affiliates owned
between 10 percent and 20 percent was primarily to reduce reporting burden of the

survey. Since the 1983 annual survey, DID has made considerable strides in
reducing the burden for all respondents. Thresholds for reporting have been raised
significantly and statistical sampling procedures have been introduced to further
reduce respondent burden. About 250 foreign affiliates fall in this ownership range;
of those, about 175 would be required to be reported.
C. Change the survey forms as follows:
1) Form BE-11A (report for U.S. Reporter) exemption level for reporting only
selected items would increase from $225 million to $300 million—In
addition to certain identification items, U.S. Reporters with total assets, sales
or gross operating revenues, and net income less than or equal to $300
million, positive or negative, would report only the following items on Form
BE-11A: total assets, total liabilities, sales or gross operating revenues, net
income (loss), number of employees, and exports and imports. Of the
roughly 1,800 U.S. Reporters that are expected to file Form BE-11A, DID
estimates 200 would be below and 1,600 would be above the $300 million
level.
2) Form BE-11B would replace the 2008 annual survey Forms BE-11B(LF),
BE-11B(SF), and 11B(FN) for reporting majority-owned foreign affiliates—
DID proposes a threshold of $60 million for reporting foreign affiliates on
Form BE-11B, unchanged from 2008. A complete Form BE-11B would be
required to be filed for majority-owned foreign affiliates with total assets,
sales or gross operating revenues, or net income greater than $300 million,
positive or negative. For majority-owned foreign affiliates with assets, sales,
and net income less than or equal to $300 million, fewer items would be
required to be reported. (For 2008, this threshold was $250 million.) Of the
roughly 15,500 majority-owned foreign affiliates that are expected to be
reported on Form BE-11B in the annual survey, DID estimates that 10,000
will be below and 5,500 will be above the $300 million level. (DID would
continue to use Form BE-11C for collecting data for minority-owned foreign
affiliates. DID proposes a threshold of $60 million for reporting on the BE11C form, the same threshold used for 2008. About 1,100 minority-owned
foreign affiliates are expected to be reported on Form BE-11C.)
3) Form BE-11D, a schedule type form, would replace the 2008 BE-11A
Supplement A schedule for reporting the small majority- and minority-owned
foreign affiliates that were established or acquired by the U.S. Reporter
during the current reporting year. The threshold for reporting would increase
from $10 million to $25 million. Based on recent annual survey data,
affiliates with assets, sales, and net income below $25 million comprised a
small percentage of the data for affiliates established or acquired during a
year.
4) Form BE-11E would replace Form BE-11B(EZ) to collect a few basic
indicators for non-sample affiliates, i.e., affiliates are selected to file this
abbreviated form in lieu of form BE-11B.

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2. Comparison of 2008 and 2010 reporting thresholds by form (thresholds are based on value of
assets, sales, and net income, positive and negative).
Form for
2008
BE-11A

BE-11B(LF)
BE-11B(SF)

BE-11B(FN)
BE-11C
BE-11A
Supplement A
BE-11B(EZ)

Reporting threshold
2008
U.S. reporters
non-bank
(abbreviated form for
reporters under $225 million)
U.S. Reporters
Bank
$225 million
majority-owned affiliates
$60 million
majority-owned affiliates

Form for
2010

Reporting threshold
2010

BE-11A

U.S. reporters
(abbreviated form for
reporters under $300
million)

affiliates of bank reporters

BE-11B/C/D

$60 million
minority-owned affiliates
$10 million
new minority-owned and
majority-owned affiliates
report for foreign affiliates
selected by BEA to be reported
on this form in lieu of Form
BE-11B(SF)

BE-11B

BE-11C
BE-11D
(schedule)
BE-11E

$60 million
majority-owned
affiliates
(additional items for
affiliates over $300
million)
form according to size of
affiliate
$60 million
minority-owned affiliates
$25 million
new minority-owned and
majority-owned affiliates
report for foreign affiliates
selected by BEA to be
reported on this form in
lieu of Form BE-11B

3. Changes in data collected
A. Modifications
1) Balance sheet items (Affiliate) - cash, other current assets, other noncurrent
assets, other current liabilities and long-term debt, other noncurrent liabilities
will no longer be collected as separate items
ƒ Inventories; current trade accounts and trade receivables; property, plant,
and equipment-gross; accumulated depreciation and depletion; equity
investment in other foreign affiliates; other assets; total assets; current
trade accounts and trade payables; other liabilities and total liabilities will
continue to be collected.
B. Deletions
1) Wholesale and retail trade items: cost of goods purchased for resale and
inventory of goods purchased for resale (U.S. Reporter, Affiliate)
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2) The breakdown of number of employees and employee compensation by
occupational classification (U.S. Reporter, Affiliate)
3) Composition of external finances (Affiliate)
C. Additions
1) Boxes for Ireland and Belgium in the ‘Country of location’ item (Affiliate)
2) Assets, liabilities, and interest receipts and payments related to banking
activities (U.S. Reporter)
3) Total liabilities for minority-owned affiliates (Affiliate)
4) For each Form BE-11B, a list of all foreign affiliates in which the reporting
foreign affiliate has a direct equity interest but which are not fully
consolidated (Affiliates with total assets, sales or gross operating revenues,
or net income greater than $300 million, positive or negative)
D. Other changes
1) Add a question requesting permission to communicate with the U.S. Reporter
by fax
2) Expand and clarify the instruction for ‘certain gains (losses)’ (U.S. Reporter,
Affiliate)
3) Change the instructions to reference the ‘Guide to Industry Classifications for
International Surveys, 2007’
4) Expand the instruction for partnerships in the Instruction Booklet

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