Benson Sim United Nations Statistics Division Update on the Work of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts Task Force on Islamic finance Workshop on Islamic Finance in the National Accounts 31 October – 2 November 2018 Ankara, Turkey Benson Sim United Nations Statistics Division

Background Issues on the implementation of the 2008 SNA recommendations for Islamic finance were raised during several meetings in the Arab region organized by ESCWA At its 10th meeting, the Advisory Expert Group (AEG) on National Accounts agreed that further research on the statistical implications of Islamic finance in the national accounts is required and that practical guidance on the treatment of Islamic finance transactions needs to be developed An Intersecretariat Working Group on national accounts task force was created to address the statistical treatment of Islamic finance in the national accounts

Two working groups were formed to streamline the work: Background Two working groups were formed to streamline the work: Working group on sectorization and classification Addressing the issues related to the use of income statements and balance sheets, sectorization, classification and the recording of Islamic finance transactions Working group on data collection and coordination Coordinate the work of regional and international organizations on the collection of data on Islamic finance Draft recommendations on sectorization and classification have been developed and will be used as the basis for in-depth discussions over the next days

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