Administrative/clerical
This item refers to staff involved in office management, accounting, information technology or clerical functions which provide administrative support to the major activities of the consultant engineering business.
Average annual percentage change
A percentage change, p, from 1995-96 to 2001-02 is converted into an average annual change, a, as follows.
a = (1 + p)1/6 -1
The average annual percentage change is not an arithmetic average of the actual percentage changes from year to year. It is labelled the 'average' change because if any value increases by a% every year for six years, then at the end of the six years it will have grown by a total p%.
Bad and doubtful debts
Bad and doubtful debts is the amount of accounts receivable that are either written off, or estimated to be uncollectable during an accounting period, that are expenses in a period's profit calculations.
Building/structural
This income item refers to commercial and domestic construction (including high rise).
Building services
This item includes building services such as lifts, plumbing, air conditioning, security and wiring.
Casual employees
These are persons employed by the business who are not entitled to take paid holidays.
Communications and technology income
This item includes income generated from work in the areas of telecommunications, information technology and software development. It does not include income from the design or installation of electrical work, which is included under Electronic/power and Building services respectively.
Computer software expenses
Computer software expenses is the cost of computer software that has been fully charged to profit as an expense in the current accounting period.
Contract persons
These are persons paid for by the engineering business, for whom pay-as-you-go tax (PAYG) is not deducted.
Depreciation and amortisation
Financial charges made to the accounts to reflect that part of the value of the asset which may be regarded as having been used up in producing revenue in a particular accounting period. Depreciation generally refers to physical (tangible) non-current assets, and amortisation generally refers to intangible non-current assets.
Direct payments to contractors/subconsultants
This item includes payments to contractors and subconsultants to provide engineering services.
Drafting
To draw up engineering or architectural plans in the written form.
Electronic/power
Income from this item relates to industries which investigate and apply the movement of electrons in valves and semiconductors to produce power.
Employees
Employees are all persons who receive remuneration in any part of the reference period, excluding working proprietors and partners, external consultants and subcontractors. This item includes working directors, and other employees working for the business during the last pay period ending in June. Employees absent on paid or prepaid leave are included.
Employer contributions to superannuation funds
Employer contributions to superannuation funds are the cost of the employer's superannuation contributions during the reference period made on behalf of employees including salary sacrificed amounts.
Employment at end June
Employment represents all employees and working proprietors and partners on the payroll for the last pay period ending in June 2002. Employees absent on paid or prepaid leave are included. Non-salaried directors, subcontractors and persons solely paid by commission without a retainer are excluded.
Fringe benefits tax
Fringe benefits tax is payable by employers when certain benefits in excess of normal wages or salaries (e.g. free or discounted goods or services) are received by their employees (or associates of employees) in connection with their employment.
Full-time employees
This item refers to those who work 35 hours or more per week and are entitled to paid leave.
Income from engineering services
This includes income from the provision of consultant engineering services but excludes income from engineering services such as cadastral or other surveying, town planning or engineering construction.
Industrial/process engineering income
This item includes income generated from the planning, organising, supervision and management of the operations of industries to ensure economical, safe and effective use of materials, energy and people. It includes the responsibility for developing and implementing manufacturing processes and standards as well as ensuring efficiency and quality of product.
Industry value added
This item represents the value added to the economy by the industry. It is calculated as the sales of goods and services plus government subsidies and changes in levels of trading inventories, minus purchases of goods and selected expenses.
Insurance premiums
Expenses incurred by a business in respect of different types of insurance policies but excluding workers' compensation and compulsory third party motor vehicle insurance.
Interest expenses
Outflows of funds related to the cost of borrowing money. This item includes interest on bank loans, loans from partners, interest in respect of finance leases, interest equivalents such as hedging costs and expenses associated with discounted bills.
Interest income
This item includes income earned through the lending out funds owned by the entity, including interest received from bank accounts, loans and finance leases, and earnings on discounted bills.
Labour costs
This item includes staff-related costs such as wages and salaries, employer contributions to superannuation funds, workers' compensation costs, fringe benefits tax and payroll tax.
Land tax and rates
Land tax is an annual tax assessed to the owner of the land. Land rates are annual charges levied by local government for the provision of local government services. This is a combination of these two items.
Material handling
The handling of crude or raw matter for working upon or developing.
Mining
This income item refers to the action, process, or industry of extracting ores, etc., from mines.
Motor vehicle running expenses
Costs incurred using 'on-road' motor vehicles owned by the business for business purposes. These include parking fees, bridge or road tolls, fuel and oil expenses, repair and maintenance expenses, registration fees and compulsory third party insurance premiums.
Oil and gas
Oil relates to any of a large class of hydrocarbons or esters which are used for anointing, perfuming, lubricating, illuminating, heating, etc. Gas is a substance consisting of atoms or molecules which are sufficiently mobile for it to occupy the whole of the space in which it is contained.
Operating profit before tax (OPBT)
Operating profit before tax is a measure of profitability of a business during the reference period, taken before extraordinary items are brought into account and prior to the deduction of income tax and appropriations to owners (i.e. dividends paid, drawings). It is generally derived by subtracting total expenses from total income, and adding the difference between closing inventory and opening inventory for the period.
Operating profit margin
This represents the percentage of a business' sales of goods and services which becomes profit after all operating expenses have been deducted. It is derived by expressing total OPBT as a percentage of total sales of goods and services.
Other engineering services
This includes consultant engineering services not elsewhere classified such as hydraulic engineering, marine engineering, feasibility and planning studies and drawing office services.
Other operating expenses
This item includes payments for incentives, royalties, electricity costs, accounting fees, fringe benefits costs, license fees and advertising costs.
Payments to employment agencies for staff
These are payments made to an employment agency for the supply or recruitment of staff.
Payroll tax
This item is a tax levied by state and territory governments upon the amount of wages and salaries paid by a business.
Permanent part-time employees
This item refers to those who work less than 35 hours per week and are entitled to paid leave.
Project management
The overall planning and management activities of a large scale project in its entirety.
Quantity surveying
A branch of engineering related to the measurement of materials required for a project.
Telecommunications services expenses
This item includes all payments (of a non-capital nature) for telecommunication services which engage wire, cable or radio transmission. They include the cost of fixed and mobile telephone services, facsimile services, internet services and leased lines for computers.
Travelling, accommodation and entertainment expenses
Costs incurred for transportation or in providing accommodation to staff when business activities occur away from the normal place of business. Entertainment expenses are the costs incurred for the provision of entertainment activities, either for staff of the business or clients.
Urban development
This item includes development aspects such as traffic, transportation and water.
Wages and salaries
This item refers to the gross wages and salaries (including capitalised wages and salaries) of all employees of the business. The item includes severance, termination and redundancy payments, salaries and fees of directors and executives, retainers and commissions of persons who received a retainer, bonuses, and annual and other types of leave. Provision expenses for employee entitlements (e.g. provisions for annual leave and leave bonus, long service leave, sick leave, and severance, termination and redundancy payments) are also included. Payments related to consultants, subcontractors and persons paid solely by commission without a retainer are excluded.
Workers' compensation costs
This item refers to compulsory insurance cover taken out by all employers, except for self-insured workers, according to legislative schemes to cover employees suffering injury or disease in the course of or arising out of employment.
Working proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses
This includes working partners and proprietors of unincorporated businesses, and working principals or directors of incorporated businesses.
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