The Balance Sheet Approach

The Balance Sheet is an approach originally designed by ORC that retains the expatriate in the home-country salary structure and provides allowances to enable the expatriate to maintain a standard of living broadly similar to that enjoyed at home. Download a sample balance sheet here.

The Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet Compensation Model

Base salary is analyzed into four main expenditure categories— income taxes, housing, goods and services, and reserve (pension contributions, savings and investments). The chart illustrates how these expenditures may be affected by an international assignment and how the employer maintains home-country purchasing power for the assignee.

Home-country salary shows the basic level of each category at home.
Assignment-location costs indicate that expenditures for income taxes, housing, and goods and services are typically higher abroad.
Assignment-location costs paid by employer and from salary demonstrates that expatriates pay the same amount as their domestic counterparts, with the employer making up the difference, as indicated by the shaded portion of each category.
Home-country equivalent purchasing power illustrates that expatriates have the same purchasing power as typical domestic peers, and may also receive incentives.

For further information, contact one of our worldwide offices or e-mail International Compensation Services.

Expatriate Services

Expatriate Programme Consulting

Expatriate Compensation Data

Balance Sheets

Business Travel

Car Reports and Norms

Hardship Factors

Housing

Location Evaluation Reports

Locations We Cover

National Expenditure Profiles

Net-to-Net Comparisons

For Missionaries and Nonprofits

Seminars

Publications

Expatriate Networks

Compensation Services

Expatriate

Global Local-National

Easy Data Access

Many ORC data services can be purchased and downloaded online through orc-ics.com when you become an international compensation data client. Take a tour of our client-dedicated website now.

Understanding the Balance Sheet

ORC offers an illustrated booklet, "Understanding the Balance Sheet Approach to Expatriate Compensation," that describes for expatriates the basic principles of our Balance Sheet methodology.