Which industry report sections are most useful for auditors?
At a Glance
The At a Glance chapter provides a high-level overview of the industry and the key trends driving industry performance. The sections in this chapter are previews of more in-depth sections found throughout the report. Use this chapter to identify areas of interest in the industry then drill down deeper into the full section.
Performance
The Performance chapter helps you understand the industry's health and how it’s changing over time. It shows how industry operators are performing currently and how their performance may trend in the future.
Performance Snapshot
The Performance Snapshot tracks historical, current and forecast industry performance indicators. This information helps you contextualize your clients' financial performance within industry norms, identify anomalies and anticipate potential risks or opportunities. It is particularly valuable in assessing the sustainability of a client’s business model and ensuring their financial reporting aligns with industry averages.
Below the graph, you’ll also find a detailed analysis of what’s driving the industry’s performance.
Outlook
This section explores industry projections and trends for the next five years. This information gives you a clear picture of the health of your client's industry and offers insights into projected revenue changes and other shifts. By aligning valuation models with industry trends, you can ensure your assessments are forward-looking, credible and reflective of potential market dynamics.
Products and Markets
The Products and Markets chapter provides detailed insights into industry-specific products, services and market dynamics.
Products and Services
This section allows you to benchmark your client's product and service mix against industry averages. This can help you uncover the opportunities and risks associated with their offerings.
This section includes analyst insights into the trends driving the product and service segmentation so you can understand the market dynamics driving your client’s strategic decisions.
Major Markets
This section highlights the key markets that buy the industry’s products or use its services. This information helps you discover how well your client understands their key markets, how aligned they are with the industry’s primary markets and if there are any opportunities they can capitalize on.
Geographic Breakdown
The Geographic Breakdown chapter covers regional trends and business concentration, helping you understand the business landscape, find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
Business Locations
The interactive Business Concentration map shows the concentration of establishments, revenue, employment and wages by region.
Use the accompanying data table below the chart to sort and filter geographic data to find the most or least concentrated regions.
Subscribers to our US and Canada industry collections can click on a state or province in the map or data table to access our State and Provincial Reports. These reports give you a granular look into regional industry data, breaking down revenue, establishment, employment and wage figures at a county level and offering further insights into local industry operations.
Competitive Forces
This chapter follows Porter’s Five Forces framework and covers data and insights on what drives competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face.
These insights help auditors assess the operational risks and strategic positioning of businesses within an industry. This is critical for evaluating financial viability and compliance with regulations.
Financial Benchmarks
Financial ratios, available in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, are comparative measures used to assess the industry's financial health.
By benchmarking a client's financial data against industry standards, auditors can identify anomalies, assess financial stability and pinpoint areas requiring further investigation.
Cost Structure Benchmarks
This section breaks down the industry and sector’s average profit margin and operating costs. Hover over each section in the chart to see the percentage of revenue the segment accounts for. The chart also tracks the cost breakdown over the past ten years, so you can compare indicators like profit margins or wage costs over the period.
The analysis below the chart breaks down the trends and market dynamics driving industry spending. For example, the Coffee & Snack Shops industry’s average profit margin has declined over the past five years, due to factors like rising input costs and strong competition.
Financial Ratios
Available in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, Financial ratios are comparative measures used to assess the financial health of the industry.
By benchmarking a client's financial data against industry standards, auditors can identify anomalies, assess financial stability and pinpoint areas requiring further investigation.
Key Statistics
The Key Statistics chapter offers 20 years of historical data and five years of projections. This chapter summarizes the raw data behind the other chapters in the report.
To download the table as an Excel spreadsheet, click the download icon in the left-hand navigation menu, then click the Excel button.
Phil
Phil is our conversational, AI-driven research tool that combines the intelligence of large language models with the breadth of our data and analyst-written insights.
You can use Phil to access specific data points, financial benchmarks and risk insights that enhance the accuracy and depth of audits. Phil supports auditors by streamlining access to up-to-date market trends, regulatory compliance information, and performance comparisons, eliminating the need for time-intensive manual research.
By leveraging Phil’s advanced analytical capabilities, you can deliver precise, data-driven assessments and recommendations more efficiently, improving the overall quality and speed of audits.
Risk Ratings Reports
Risk Ratings Reports are a collection of reports that provide insight into the risks facing industries. These reports rate different structural, growth and sensitivity risk factors from 1-9, with 1 being the lowest risk and 9 the highest, and weigh them according to their influence on the industry.
Subscribers can quickly jump to Risk Ratings Reports through the “Related Industry Products” section of an industry report’s left-hand navigation menu.
Alt text: The Risk Rating Reports in the Related Industry Products section of an industry report’s left-hand navigation menu.
You can use the risk score categories to identify specific risk drivers affecting your client’s industry. For example, the Engineering Services in the US industry has a Medium-High Structural risk.
To investigate this further, you can visit the Structural Risk chapter to see a component-level breakdown of the structural risk score.
As you can see, the level of competition risk is significantly higher than the other components, bringing up the overall structural risk score.
US Segment Benchmarking
US Segment Benchmarking, accessible to subscribers in the “Related Industry Products” section of an industry report’s table of contents, breaks down our industry data by employee size segments so you can compare your client's performance to similar-sized operators.
For example, as of 2024, operators with 100-499 employees make up 62.42% of the Solar Power in the US industry’s revenue. If your client falls into this group, you can click the segment in the table below the chart for segment-specific benchmarking data.
For additional questions about how auditors can use IBISWorld, please contact your Client Relationship Manager. If you don’t have an IBISWorld account, please contact us to learn more about our membership options.