Quick answer
A transfer pricing benchmarking tool is a database of independent company financials used to find comparables and build an arm's length range. The most widely used professional tools are Moody's Orbis and TP Catalyst, which is built on Orbis for transfer pricing. A professional database gives the coverage, independence data and documented search trail an FTA review expects.
Key takeaways
- Benchmarking databases hold financials, ownership and activity data for millions of companies.
- Orbis is Moody's global company database; TP Catalyst adds transfer pricing workflows on top.
- The tool supports search, independence screening, review, range calculation and documentation.
- Free or manual searches usually fail on coverage, independence data and audit trail.
- SGA World runs benchmarking on Orbis and TP Catalyst in-house.
Table of contents
A transfer pricing benchmarking tool is the database of independent company financials used to find comparables and build an arm’s length range. The two most widely used by transfer pricing professionals are Moody’s Orbis and TP Catalyst. The tool largely decides how defensible a benchmarking study is: a manual or free search rarely stands up to an FTA review.
What Does a Benchmarking Database Do?
A benchmarking database holds the financial statements, ownership structures, industry codes and activity descriptions of millions of companies. It lets an analyst filter that universe down to a small set of independent companies that resemble the tested party, then extract the profit level indicators needed to build an interquartile range.
What Is Orbis?
Orbis, from Moody’s, is one of the largest global company databases, covering hundreds of millions of entities. For transfer pricing it provides the financial data, ownership information and industry classifications used to identify and screen comparables across regions, including the GCC and the wider Middle East.
What Is TP Catalyst?
TP Catalyst is built specifically for transfer pricing. It sits on Orbis data and adds benchmarking workflows: comparable searches, independence screening, interquartile range calculations and documentation output, designed around the OECD comparability framework.
How Is the Tool Used in a Study?
| Stage | What the database does |
|---|---|
| Automated search | Filters the universe by region, industry code and size |
| Independence screening | Removes companies with related-party shareholdings above a threshold |
| Qualitative review | Supports manual acceptance or rejection based on business descriptions |
| Range calculation | Computes the PLI results and the interquartile range, usually over several years |
| Documentation | Produces the search log, rejection matrix and final comparable set for the file |
Why Does the Database Matter?
Two analysts using different tools can reach different ranges for the same transaction. A professional database gives:
- broad coverage, including regional companies needed for the FTA’s search order;
- current financial data for several years;
- reliable ownership data to prove independence;
- a repeatable, documented search that the FTA can follow.
That is why a defensible study is built on a recognised platform rather than a spreadsheet of hand-picked companies. At SGA World we run benchmarking on Orbis and TP Catalyst as standard, for transaction studies and for KMP salary benchmarking.
Are Free Transfer Pricing Benchmarking Tools Enough?
Free or ad-hoc searches usually fail on the three things a reviewer checks first: coverage, independence data and documentation. They can be useful as a rough sense-check, but a study that supports a corporate tax position needs the depth and audit trail of a professional tool.
Expert tip: keep the full search log and rejection reasons with the study. If the FTA asks how the comparables were chosen, the log answers the question; a list of company names on its own does not.
Related guides: Transfer pricing benchmarking · Transfer pricing services · TNMM benchmark studies · Benchmarking tools and databases · How many comparables · Internal vs external comparables
Frequently Asked Questions
01.What is a transfer pricing benchmarking tool?
A database of independent company financials, such as Moody's Orbis or TP Catalyst, used to find comparables and build the arm's length range for a related-party transaction.
02.What is the difference between Orbis and TP Catalyst?
Orbis is the underlying global company database. TP Catalyst is a transfer pricing workflow built on Orbis that adds comparable searches, independence screening and interquartile range calculations.
03.Can I do a benchmarking study without a professional database?
You can attempt one, but free or manual searches usually lack the coverage, independence data and documented trail an FTA review expects, so the result is much less defensible.
04.Do UAE companies appear in benchmarking databases?
Some do, but published financial data for UAE private companies is limited, which is why searches often extend to the GCC, the Middle East and beyond, following the FTA's search order.
