1 ISWGNA and AEG: Mandate and governance 7 th meeting of the Advisory Expert Group on national accounts Apr 2012, New York

2 Outline of Presentation  Introduction  Mandate  Governance arrangements for ISWGNA and AEG  United Nations Statistical Commission  ISWGNA  ISWGNA: Management Group  ISWGNA: National Accountants  Advisory Expert Group (AEG)  Projects, Technical Expert Groups and City Groups  Secretariat  Updating the System of National Accounts

3 ISWGNA Set up by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) to enhance cooperation among international organizations working in the same field. Five members since the early 1980s: – Eurostat, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations and World Bank Chair of the group rotates among the five organizations Secretariat is at the UNSD ISWGNA functions at two levels: “Management Group” and “National Accountants”

4 Mandate a) Provide strategic vision, direction and coordination for the methodological development and implementation of the SNA in national, regional and international statistical systems; b) Revise and update the SNA and develop supporting normative international statistical standards and other methodological documents on national accounts and supporting statistics; c) Promote the development of databases at international, regional and national level on national accounts statistics; d) Promote the implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics; and e) Promote the use of national accounts and supporting statistics in policy formulation.

5 Governance Arrangements ∙ UNSC – provides the mandate of the ISWGNA, endorses its works programme and monitors its work progress ∙ ISWGNA - carries out the mandate and reports progress on its programme of work to the UNSC ∙ Engages technical expert groups, city groups or other expert groups to carry out the work programme. ∙ Separate project management frameworks may be developed for large projects (eg. revision of SNA) ∙ ISWGNA: Management Group - ensures appropriate outputs and inputs for the work of the ISWGNA ∙ Managers also act within their own organizations to further the agreed goals and objectives of the ISWGNA.

6 Governance Arrangements ∙ ISWGNA: National Accountants – sponsors and facilitates the technical work of the work programme of the ISWGNA ∙ AEG - assists the ISWGNA in carrying out its work programme, resolves issues on the research agenda of the SNA and reviews documents and tools for the SNA implementation programme ∙ 15 members from national, regional and international statistical organizations (plus representatives from the 5 international organizations) with all regions of world represented ∙ Members invited with views toward particular areas of expertise ∙ Members act on personal basis rather than as representatives of their organization ∙ AEG and ISWGNA members are entitled to vote on issues where consensus cannot be found ∙ Chair of ISWGNA also serves as chair of AEG

7 AEG: Terms of Reference a)Evaluate and contribute to manuals and handbooks for guidance and training in the implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics b)Review and contribute to the methodological development of the SNA through research and assessing the appropriateness of proposals for clarification, interpretation and changes to the SNA; c)Review and contribute to the formulation of communication and dissemination strategies and of statistical responses on emerging policy issues based on the SNA d)Consider proposed international data collection activities in line with the normative standards and accompanying international recommendations in an efficient and cost-effective way

8 Governance Arrangements ∙ Projects, Technical Expert Groups, City Groups – may be convened to advance research on particular normative and methodological matters ∙ Limited life spans and with focus on particular issues ∙ Fall within scope of national accounts, but have their own mandates and governance structures ∙ ISWGNA will coordinate with these the groups to take account of their work in the work programme of the ISWGNA ∙ For large projects (eg. the revision of the SNA) it may be necessary to develop separate project management frameworks ∙ Secretariat - UNSD serves as the main source of logistical and administrative support to the work programme of the ISWGNA.

9 Governance Structure Report to Liaise with a Includes, for example, academia and line ministries. b Includes specific projects needing separate project management frameworks, (i.e. update of the 1993 SNA) c Includes expert groups to advance specific research on issues on the SNA research agenda d ISWGNA liaises and consults with these groups to coordinate outputs.

10 Research on the SNA ∙ Proposals for task forces or expert groups to conduct research submitted to ISWGNA ∙ ISWGNA assesses results per update procedures for the SNA established by the UNSC (1999) ∙ If changes are necessary ISWGNA presents changes to UNSC for adoption

11 Updating procedure for the SNA

12 Thank you

13 ISWGNA functions a)Promote adoption of best practices in implementation of the SNA; b)Foster coordination, monitoring and reporting on implementation of the SNA to ensure that all relevant entities have clear roles and that their actions are complementary and effective; c)Provide training and technical cooperation in implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics; d)Prepare manuals and handbooks for guidance and training in implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics; e)Foster methodological development of the SNA and supporting statistics; f)Encourage national support for the acquisition and maintenance of viable economic statistics and national accounts programmes and communicate the policy relevance of the SNA; g)Formulate statistical response on policy issues based on the SNA; h)Develop international data collection activities in line with the normative standards and accompany international recommendations in an efficient and cost-effective way.

14 ISWGNA: Management Group functions a)Set the strategic direction of the work programme of the ISWGNA (within the parameters set by the Statistical Commission), ensure appropriate input and outputs, and agree on desired outcomes b)Prepare the work programme of the ISWGNA and endeavour to support the thrust of those arrangements c)Monitor and implement the work programme of the ISWGNA d)Raise funds and monitor budgets to support the work programme of the ISWGNA e)Identify issues and risks for national accounts and supporting statistics for appropriate coordinated statistical response f)Report to the Statistical Commission and communicate with expert groups, as appropriate g)Liaise with national, regional and international stakeholders and users, to understand and manage their expectations and gain their support.

15 ISWGNA: National Accountants functions a)Promote adoption of best practices in implementation of the SNA, foster coordination, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the SNA to ensure that all relevant entities have clear roles and that their actions are complementary and effective b)Provide training and technical cooperation in implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics c)Prepare manuals and handbooks for guidance and training in the implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics d)Promote methodological development of the SNA through research and assess the appropriateness of proposals for clarification, interpretation and changes to the SNA e)Encourage national support for acquisition and maintenance of viable economic statistics and national accounts programmes f)Formulate a statistical response on policy issues based on the SNA g)Develop international data collection activities in line with the normative standards and accompany international recommendations in an efficient and cost-effective way.

16 Secretariat: Main Tasks a)Maintain the ISWGNA website; b)Prepare reports for the Statistical Commission; c)Communicate with the Statistical Commission, countries, regional and international agencies and bodies d)Provide logistical and other support to the ISWGNA and the AEG.