1 Review of compilation guidance 7th Meeting of the Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts April 2012, New York

2 Outline of Presentation I.Introduction II.Procedure for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes III.Publications by the ISWGNA members a)Completed b)In progress c)Planned IV.Issues for discussion

3 I. Introduction Development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes for the national accounts, and also recommendations for the compilation of basic economic statistics. The aim is to provide practical compilation guidance on basic economic, financial and environmental statistics as well as to address data quality and dissemination issues. They will help strengthen the statistical capacity for compiling national accounts. Responsibilities for the preparation of the publications are shared among the ISWGNA members.

4 II. Procedure for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes Important to coordinate on-going and future efforts. To support this objective, establishment of a procedure – Issues papers on plans for compilation guides, handbooks and guidance notes be prepared by the lead organization, forming the basis for coordination by the ISWGNA. – The ISWGNA will review the needs for developing manuals, handbooks and guidance notes in consultation with the AEG.

5 II. Procedure for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes Proposal: to follow a similar procedure as the treatment of the SNA research issues. Issues paper on a suggested topic to be submitted to the ISWGNA. The level of involvement by the ISWGNA and AEG will depend: a. Updates of previous publications and those that deal with issues beyond dispute (i.e. following the SNA exactly) are brought to the attention of the ISWGNA for information;

6 II. Procedure for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes b. For publications that deal with clarifications and interpretations of the SNA: Participation of a review or expert group in the development of the material is required. Interpretations and clarifications need to be resolved according to the update procedures of the SNA before it can be used in the publication Final draft to be circulated for global review for a period of 60 days before it is finalised for publication to ensure the transparency and the participation of the global statistical community. c. In all cases, the need and priority of the relevant guidance, including the level of cooperation and coordination, may be discussed in more detail.

7 III. Publications by the ISWGNA members The ISWGNA has made good progress in publishing handbooks. The publications developed by the ISWGNA are presented in three categories: (a) completed publications; (b) publications in progress; and (c) planned publications.

8 Completed publications (i)Deriving Capital Measures of Intellectual Property Products (OECD) (ii)Measuring Capital (second edition) (OECD) (iii)Essential SNA: Building the basics (Eurostat) (iv)Guide on Impact of Globalisation on National Accounts (UNECE) (v)Practical guide to seasonal adjustment (UNECE) (vi)International Recommendations for Industrial Statistics 2008 (IRIS 2008) (vii)International Recommendations for Distributive Trade Statistics 2008 (IRDTS 2008)

9 Publications in progress (i) Handbook on Financial Production, Flows and Stocks in the SNA (UN/ECB) - global review second half of 2012 The aim of the Handbook is to provide a comprehensive guide on the compilation of a full set of financial components in the sequence of integrated economic accounts for all subsectors of the financial corporations sector, as well as guidance on estimating the financial services produced by moneylenders in the households sector. (ii) The 2008 SNA – Concepts in Brief (World Bank) - expected spring/summer 2012 This publication is an abbreviated version of the full SNA leaving out aspects that may be less relevant to a small developing country, or, even if relevant, too resource intensive to attempt implementing.

10 Publications in progress (iii) The 2008 SNA – Compilation in Brief (World Bank) - expected spring/summer 2012 This publication gives indications on how to approach the task of implementing the SNA in a country where resources are strictly limited yet the demands for a comprehensive set of national accounts exist. (iv) Guidelines on Integrated Economic Statistics (UNSD) - expected end 2012 In recognition to the significance of an integrated approach for increasing the consistency and coherence of economic statistics to enhance the quality and analytical value of the information the statistics contain for short term, annual and benchmark economic statistics and macroeconomic statistics

11 (v) Guidance, best practices and harmonized principles to compile and report internationally comparable short-term statistics UNSC-coordinated statistical response to the economic and financial crisis through an ad hoc AEG on short-term economic statistics. 4 Handbooks - 1st draft end 2012; final for 2013 : - Handbook on Rapid estimates (Eurostat/ UN); - Handbook on Composite Indicators (Eurostat/UN); - Handbook on Tendency Surveys (UN/Eurostat); and - Guide on short-term economic indicators (UN/Eurostat) Publications in progress

12 Publications in progress (vi) (Revision to the) Methodological Guide for Developing Producer Price Indices for Services (OECD/Eurostat) Guidance for the development of producer price indices for all types of users; includes a number of additional activities/products not covered in the original Guide. Complements the PPI Manual. (vii) Residential Property Price Indices Handbook (Eurostat) Designed to provide practical guidance on the compilation of house price indices, both in developed and less developed countries, and to increase international comparability of residential property price indices.

13 Publications in progress (viii) International Recommendations for the Index of Industrial Production (Revised) (UNSD) This revision of the 1950 Index Numbers of Industrial Production manual provides guidance and describes new recommended methodological standards for the compilation of index numbers of industrial production. (ix) Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (update) (IMF) (x) Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (revision) (IMF) These 2 IMF Manuals will be updated in light of the 2008 SNA and the BPM6.

14 Planned publications (xi) Handbook on Input Output Compilation (UN) Revision to 1999 UNSD handbook (UNIO) with the purpose to (a) incorporate changes in the underlying international accounting standards and classifications, (b) extend the scope of UNIO, and (c) provide practical compilation guidance for countries. (xii) Handbook on Statistical Registers (UNECE) Aims to provide guidance on issues concerned with the creation and maintenance of a statistical business register, response burden, use of administrative data sources and the role of business registers in streamlining the statistical production that are relevant for developed as well as developing statistical systems. (xiii) Guide on Global Production (UNECE) Aims to provide guidance on the unresolved conceptual issues arising from the 2008 SNA and the BPM6 in relation to global production and to provide further guidance on implementation aspects of these new global standards.

15 Planned publications (xiv) Quarterly National Accounts Manual (IMF) - Expected end 2014 Update to the 2001 IMF Manual, to bring it in line with the 2008 SNA. It discusses data sources for the production, expenditure and the income approaches. It provides guidance and recommendations on statistical techniques such as benchmarking, seasonal adjustment and chain- linking. (xv) 2008 SNA in all UN language versions - Chinese and Russian versions available on the UNSD website. It is foreseen that these versions will be published in print later in Draft Spanish version available on the website of ECLAC, still being reviewed. - Draft Arabic version provided to UNSD; should soon be available on the UNSD website. - French version still under development.

16 IV. Issues for discussion The AEG is requested to: a)Provide guidance on the rules of procedure for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes; b)Express views on the publications in progress; c)Express views on the planned publications; and d)Propose other topics for the development of manuals, handbooks and guidance notes on national accounts and supporting economic statistics.

17 Thank you