| Subject Area | Macroeconomic Policy and Data Transparency |
| Issuing Body | European Commission, IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank |
| Date of Issuance | April 2008 |
| Location | |
| Summary Description |
The international standard for preparing national accounts. |
| Detailed Description |
The System of National Accounts (SNA) is the internationally agreed standard set of recommendations on how to compile measures of economic activity in accordance with strict accounting conventions based on economic principles. The recommendations are expressed in terms of a set of concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that comprise the internationally agreed standard for measuring such items as gross domestic product (GDP), the most frequently quoted indicator of economic performance. The accounting framework of the SNA allows economic data to be compiled and presented in a format that is designed for purposes of economic analysis, decision-taking and policymaking. The accounts themselves present in a condensed way a great mass of detailed information, organized according to economic principles and perceptions, about the working of an economy. They provide a comprehensive and detailed record of the complex economic activities taking place within an economy and of the interaction between the different economic agents, and groups of agents that takes place on markets or elsewhere. |
| International Endorsement |
European Commission, IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank. |
| International Application | At least 33 and growing. Adopting the 2008 SNA for official national accounts is strongly encouraged by the authoring organizations of the standard, whose collective membership includes almost every country in the world. |
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Assessment Methodology
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| Description | Data Quality Assessment Framework. |
| Issuing Body | IMF |
| Date of Issuance | July 2003 |
| Location |