## cm1-alignment-framework-testing

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---

### Introduction: purpose, rationale, and scope
- Purpose:
  - Provide structured, systematic, and consistent methods to measure a country’s alignment to economic accounting statistical standards (EASSs) and to communicate that alignment.
- Rationale:
  - Degree of alignment with EASSs provides two signals to users: (1) information about the quality of cross-country comparisons, and (2) the extent to which major revisions should be expected in the future when an economy is not aligned with the EASSs.
  - Alignment information helps producers prioritize improvements and helps users make appropriate adjustments to achieve comparability.
- Recommended institutional placement:
  - The CMTT recommends inclusion of the guidance as part of a chapter titled "Economic statistics - Communication Practices and Recommendations" in the SNA, BPM, and GFSM.
- Relationship to existing frameworks:
  - The proposed frameworks draw heavily on IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), the UN’s Data Quality Assessment Framework, and the ISWGNA’s Minimum Required Data Set (MRDS).
  - The DQAF’s six elements of quality are referenced: (i) prerequisites Quality, (ii) Integrity, (iii) Methodology, (iv) Accuracy and reliability, (v) Serviceability, and (vi) Reliability.
- Practical scope:
  - Focus on a subset of EASS items that impact interpretation and assessment of levels and growth rates.
  - Alignment checklists developed (Annexes II–IV) are preliminary and require refinement through consultations.
- Intended use:
  - Stand-alone tools for national statistical authorities and international agencies to assess methodology and content; no changes proposed to SNA, BPM, or GFSM concepts.

### Alignment framework design and definitions
- High-level EASS components:
  - (1) concepts;
  - (2) accounting rules;
  - (3) methods;
  - (4) classification systems;
  - (5) tables/accounts.
- Definitions and roles:
  - Concepts — determine what gets measured (example: production as defined in 2008 SNA §1.40).
  - Accounting rules — guidelines for recording transactions and other economic flows (example: transactions are recorded “on an accrual basis throughout” (2008 SNA § 3.163)).
  - Methods — how compilers implement accounting rules or measure concepts (e.g., use of price indices versus observed balance sheet values for valuation).
  - Classifications — determine level of detail and aggregation approaches.
  - Sequence of accounts / specific tables — specify structure, terminology and minimum information to be provided.
- Benefits and limitations:
  - Frameworks improve cross-country comparability and signal possible future revisions, but they do not constitute a quality evaluation of source data.

### Dashboard approach and alignment coding
- Rationale for dashboard:
  - A single aggregate score risks disincentives and requires subjective weighting; a dashboard conveys degree of alignment across components.
- Alignment categories and exact implementation ranges:
  - Fully align with the recommendation — between 95-100 per cent of the recommendation are implemented
  - Highly align with the recommendation — between 75-95 per cent of the recommendation are implemented
  - Broadly align with the recommendation — between 50-75 per cent of the recommendation are implemented
  - Partially align with the recommendation — between 25-50 per cent of the recommendation are implemented
  - Do not align with the recommendation — between 0-25 per cent of the recommendation are implemented
  - The recommendation is Not Applicable — for issues of materiality or relevance the recommendation is not implemented; materiality steer would be less than 0.05 per cent (and/or a monetary equivalent) of GDP
- Example of range approach and subjectivity:
  - The “per cent aligned” notion accepts subjectivity and flexibility; compilers use knowledge of processes and assessment of economic activity to determine alignment (illustrative illegal activity example preserves a 95 per cent capture threshold).
- Recommended color coding:
  - Fully Aligned = Green
  - Highly Aligned = Light green
  - Broadly Aligned = Yellow
  - Partially Aligned = Light Yellow
  - Not Aligned = Red
  - Not Applicable = Black
- Presentation and maintenance:
  - Dashboard presented in digital format and included as part of sources and methods documentation.
  - Assessment can cover entire macroeconomic accounts program or individual accounts.
  - Compilers should assess, communicate broadly, and periodically update the assessment.

### Multi-level framework flexibility
- Levels proposed for varying detail and capacity:
  - L0, L1, L2 to provide flexibility for advanced and developing economies
  - L0 = minimum details required in line with the EASS
  - L1 = middle level for economies with well-developed statistical systems but not fully detailed
  - L2 = for economies able to provide all details required to show alignment to different EASS
- Purpose:
  - Enable different levels of alignment reporting to accommodate differences in national statistical systems and resource constraints.

### Structure and content: SNA Alignment Framework (Annex II) — selected items
- Metadata examples requested:
  - Is there a National Code of Practice? Y/N
  - Last benchmark year for GDP: Enter year
  - Latest period for which balanced SUTs are available? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N
- Five dimensions:
  - Concepts and definitions
  - Classifications used
  - Accounts/tables (timeliness, granularity, limitations)
  - Methods
  - Accounting rules
- Selected items by level (preserve labels and items):
  - Concepts and definitions (selected):
    - L0 Units of the economy include
    - L0 Domestic territory
    - L1 Free zones/bonded warehouses / factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control
    - L1 Informal economy
    - L1 Underground economy
    - L1 Illegal activities
    - L2 Imputed services (of owner-occupied dwellings)
    - L2 Research and development for market and own account
  - Accounting rules (selected):
    - L0 Valuation
    - L1 Output is valued at basic prices
    - L1 Output for own use is valued at equivalent market prices
    - L1 Total imports and exports are valued on an f.o.b. basis
    - L0 Time of Recording
    - L1 Transactions and flows are recorded on an accrual basis
    - L0 Grossing / Netting, Consolidation
    - L1 Transactions between establishments within the same enterprise are recorded on a gross basis
  - Methods (selected):
    - L0 Sub-annual series are seasonally adjusted
    - L0 Output and intermediate consumption are deflated by appropriate price indexes at basic prices or at producer prices consistently
    - L0 Volume indexes are chained-weighted
    - L0 ANA and QNA volume are chain-linked
  - Classification standards requested:
    - L0 International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)
    - L0 Central Product Classification (CPC)
    - L0 Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP)
    - L0 Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG)
  - Accounts / tables (timeliness, granularity, limitations) — selected:
    - L0 Annual value added by industry and GDP in current prices and in volume terms
    - L0 Annual GDP by expenditure in current prices and in volume terms
    - L1 Annual sequence of accounts for the total economy (until net lending / borrowing)
    - L0 Quarterly value added by industry and GDP in current prices and in volume terms
    - L2 Quarterly sequence of accounts for the total economy (until net lending / borrowing)
    - Recommended tables include L0 Annual Supply and Use tables, L1 Annual Input-Output tables, L2 Annual financial accounts for all institutional sectors
    - Desirable tables include L2 Annual social accounting matrices, L2 Quarterly Supply and Use tables, L2 Quarterly financial accounts for all sectors
    - Other items listed include L2 Capital stock, L2 Labour accounts, L2 Productivity tables (multi-factor, labour and capital), L2 Annual tourism accounts, environmental accounts and other socio-economic accounts

### BPM Alignment Framework (Annex III) — overview and selected expectations
- Scope:
  - Assess alignment to BPM6 across concepts, methods, accounting rules, classifications, and accounts/tables.
- Metadata prompts:
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N Insert link
  - Is the BoP revision policy consistent with the National Accounts revision policy? Y/N Insert link
- Alignment scale definitions (exact wording preserved):
  - "fully aligned with the recommendation" means between 95-100 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "Highly aligned with the recommendation" means between 75-95 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "broadly aligned with the recommendations" means between 50-75 per cent of the recommendations is implemented.
  - "partially aligned with the recommendation" means between 25-50 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "not aligned with the recommendation" means that between 0-25 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "the recommendation is not applicable" – meaning that for issues of materiality, the recommendation is not implemented.
- Concepts and definitions (selected checklist expectations):
  - Units of the economy include domestic territory, incorporated or unincorporated affiliates of non-resident companies, territorial enclaves in the rest of the world, free zones / bonded warehouses / factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control, workers who work part of the year in another country.
  - Residence, BoP coverage, functional categories, sectorization, and specifics on recording for items such as FDI, merchanting, R&D services, FISIM, migrants’ transfers, long-term construction projects, license fees for fishing and hunting, and financial instrument classifications.
- Accounting rules (selected):
  - Valuation expectations: market prices, monetary gold at market prices, total imports and exports on an f.o.b. basis, use of proxies or fair values where market prices unavailable, conversion of foreign currency transactions using mid-point exchange rates, adjustment for multiple official exchange rates.
  - Time of Recording: transactions recorded on an accrual basis and according to the change in ownership principle.
  - Grossing/Netting: current and capital account transactions on a gross basis; financial account transactions recorded on a net basis separately for assets and liabilities.
- Methods and classifications:
  - Methods implement accounting rules; examples include methods for investment income and identification of direct investment relationships.
  - BPM6 classifications referenced: Institutional Sectors (Table 4.2), financial assets/liabilities by instrument (Table 5.2), Classification of Services (Table 10.1).
- Accounts/tables (selected expected outputs):
  - Standard BOP components and IIP components (Appendix 9), reserve-related liabilities (Table A9-V), currency composition (Table A9-I), supplemental items including direct investment by instrument/maturity/sector, direct investment involving resident SPEs, real estate investment, pass-through funds, gross flows for financial account items, reconciliation table between merchandise source data and goods on a BOP basis (Table 10.2), and many IIP supplemental tables (e.g., remaining maturity split Table A9-IV, integrated IIP statements as in Table 7.1).

### GFS Alignment Framework (Annex IV) — selected items and structure
- Metadata and governance questions (select examples):
  - Do you publish annual GFS? Y/N; How soon after the end of the year are the data published? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you follow one of IMF’s data dissemination standards? Y/N; Of which standard are you a subscriber (SDDS+ / SDDS / e-GDDS)? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N; Is the GFS revision policy consistent with the National Accounts revision policy? Y/N
  - Do you have a published list of government and/or public sector units? Y/N; How frequently is the list updated? (select from dropdown)
- Coverage grid abbreviations and fields:
  - Abbreviations used: BCG, EBCG, CG, SSF, SG, LG, GG, NFPC, FPC, PS
  - Accounting basis codes: CA = Cash, AC = Accrual, PA = Partial Accrual*, A = Annual, Q = Quarterly, M = Monthly
  - “NP” = institutional sector not applicable to country; “NA” = institutional sector applicable but data are not compiled/published
- Concepts, accounting rules, and methods — alignment categories preserved (95-100, 75-95, 50-75, 25-50, 0-25, N/A)
- Selected concept examples (L0/L1 items):
  - Units of general government (L0 i) include central government budgetary units, territorial enclaves in the rest of the world, state and local government units, social security funds.
  - Additional units (L1): non-market NPIs controlled by government, non-financial corporations controlled by government that do not meet market producer criteria, financial corporations controlled by government that do not meet market producer criteria.
  - Revenue and expense inclusions and exclusions (selected L1 items): in-kind revenues included, transactions in debt forgiveness included, principal payments related to (policy) lending excluded, privatisation proceeds excluded (treated as disposals of equity).
- Accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation) — selected L1/L2 expectations:
  - Valuation: all stocks, transactions, and other economic flows recorded using a single unit of account; stocks of financial assets and liabilities valued at market prices; debt statistics produced at nominal value; transactions in non-financial produced fixed assets net of consumption of fixed capital.
  - Time of Recording: transactions and flows recorded on an accrual basis (L1); interest recorded as accruing continuously (L2); dividends recorded when corporation declares dividend payable (L2).
  - Consolidation: internal transactions within an institutional unit consolidated and not recorded (L1); transactions between units within a subsector consolidated and not recorded (L1).
- Methods (implementation choices) — selected L0 examples:
  - Taxes recorded using either the time-adjusted cash method or the assessment/declaration approach.
  - Employment-related pension liabilities calculated using an actuarial approach.
  - Dividend payments assessed using the “super-dividend test” and split accordingly.
  - Risk and reward assessment of PPPs conducted to determine public sector balance sheet treatment.
- Classifications & Accounts/Tables (presentation and reporting) — selected items:
  - Presentation items to assess: Statement of Operations Y/N; Expenditure by COFOG Y/N; Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash Y/N; Balance Sheet Y/N; Integrated Statement of Flows and Stock Positions Y/N; Gross Debt at Market, Nominal, and Face Value Y/N; Net Debt at Market, Nominal, and Face Value Y/N; Counterparty details by institutional sector Y/N.

### Consultation responses and proposed changes (summary of feedback)
- Participation and regional breakdown:
  - Total responses: sixty-nine (69) responses from fifty-five (55) economies.
  - Respondent composition: national accounts, balance of payments, and government finance statistics compilers.
  - Regional participation:
    - European economies: 35 percent
    - Western Hemisphere countries: 23 percent
    - Asia and Pacific countries: 17 percent
    - Middle East and Central Asia countries: 13 percent
    - Sub-Saharan Africa: 12 percent
- Overall support and feasibility:
  - Majority (70–80 percent) agreed with incorporating alignment frameworks in the next update of the SNA, BPM, and GFSM.
  - A slight majority agreed their office could update, maintain, and publish the framework regularly; approximately half indicated insufficient resources to regularly maintain the frameworks.
- Specific feedback points and suggested improvements:
  - Preference for less detail and combining some dimensions to make frameworks more concise.
  - Inclusion of options for national classification systems; allowance for marking elements as ‘not applicable’.
  - Requests for more explanatory notes and guidance to reduce subjectivity in judging dashboard elements and to ensure consistency of color ratings.
  - Suggestion to substitute “accounting rules” with “economic accounting rules” to avoid confusion.
  - Add metadata fields such as observation date and valuation of financial assets and liabilities.
  - Limit free-text options; provide more dropdowns or selectable responses to improve practicality.
- Dashboard and scoring:
  - Respondents generally agreed with dashboard presentation but were split on an overall score:
    - Some argued overall score not feasible given framework complexity.
    - Others favored a score as a useful snapshot.
  - Majority agreed dashboard updates should be ad-hoc, suggested once every 3–5 years to reflect updates.
- Willingness to pilot:
  - Twenty economies agreed to complete the alignment frameworks for their statistical programs.
  - Of those 20:
    - About 20 percent noted the framework was difficult to complete in practice.
    - The remaining 80 percent thought the alignment framework was fairly straightforward.
- Proposed changes to the Guidance Note:
  - Add explanatory notes and review elements in each dimension.
  - Clarify whether an overall “alignment score” should be used.
  - Provide guidelines on balancing alignment information with other metadata, especially for offices with limited resources.
  - Detail benefits of the alignment frameworks for users and propose recommendations for data exchange with other international agencies.

*Prepared by the Communication Task Team and presented at the IMF’s Balance of Payments Committee (BOPCOM) meeting on October 28, 2021; International Monetary Fund — Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMTT) guidance note; source: the consultation and Annexes II–V.*

### INTRODUCTION

### INTRODUCTION

### Purpose and Rationale
- The degree of alignment with economic accounting statistical standards (EASSs) provides two signals to users: (1) information about the quality of cross-country comparisons, and (2) the extent to which major revisions should be expected in the future when an economy is not aligned with the EASSs.
- Alignment information helps producers of statistics to identify areas for improvement, prioritize resources, and formulate strategic plans, and helps users make appropriate adjustments to achieve comparability.
- The CMTT recommends that the guidance be included as part of a chapter titled "Economic statistics - Communication Practices and Recommendations" in the SNA, BPM, and GFSM.

### Need for an Internationally Accepted Alignment Framework
- Current practice: alignment with EASSs is largely self-declared and arbitrary; each country declares whether it is compliant or non-compliant.
- With updates to the 2008 SNA and BPM6, there is an opportunity to adopt internationally accepted frameworks that provide structured, systematic, and consistent methods to measure a country’s alignment to EASSs.
- EU Member States, supported by statistical legislation, have high degrees of alignment with international statistical standards and EU adaptations, illustrating how institutional support increases alignment.

### Two-Part Guidance Note
- Part (i): three proposed frameworks for countries to assess alignment to concepts, methods, accounting rules, classifications, and accounts/tables associated with a given economic accounting statistical guidance (SNA, GFSM, BPM).
- Part (ii): a means to present and communicate alignment information to users in a standardized manner.
- The proposed frameworks draw heavily on existing assessment frameworks such as the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), the UN’s Data Quality Assessment Framework and the ISWGNA’s Minimum Required Data Set (MRDS).

### Existing Material and Focus
- Components are based primarily on the IMF’s DQAF and the United Nations National Accounts Questionnaire (UN-NAQ).
- The DQAF outlines six elements of quality: (i) prerequisites Quality, (ii) Integrity, (iii) Methodology, (iv) Accuracy and reliability, (v) Serviceability; and (vi) Reliability.
- The CMTT’s proposed framework centers primarily on the methodological soundness component and uses the NAQ approach for conceptual compliance and MRDS guidance.

### Recommended Approach to Use
- The proposed frameworks are stand-alone tools for national statistical authorities and international agencies to assess methodology underlying macroeconomic statistics and the content of these statistics.
- No change to the SNA, BPM, or GFSM is required; the frameworks would be included in a chapter of each standard and countries would be encouraged to use them and make results publicly available.

### Alignment Framework — Purpose and Structure
- Users require assurance that statistics compared across countries have been consistently compiled; major methodological differences must be signaled.
- Alignment recognizes that full compliance is unrealistic given varied economic structures, user needs, resources, statistical infrastructure, and source data.
- The alignment framework should be flexible, easy to implement, update and communicate.
- At a high level an EASS consists of:
  - (1) concepts;
  - (2) accounting rules;
  - (3) methods;
  - (4) classification systems;
  - (5) tables/accounts.

### Definitions and Roles of the Five Components
- Concepts: determine what gets measured (example: production as defined in 2008 SNA §1.40).
- Accounting rules: guidelines for recording transactions and other economic flows (example: transactions are recorded “on an accrual basis throughout” (2008 SNA § 3.163)).
- Methods: how compilers implement accounting rules or measure concepts (e.g., use of price indices versus observed balance sheet values for valuation).
- Classifications: determine the level of detail presented and aggregation approaches for users.
- Sequence of accounts / specific tables: specify the structure, terminology and minimum information to be provided to users.

### Practical Scope and Checklists
- Full listing of all items in an EASS is impractical; a subset focused on items that impact the interpretation and assessment of levels and growth rates is proposed.
- Alignment checklists have been developed and included in Annexes II, III and IV for the SNA, GFSM and BPM; these are preliminary and require refinement through consultations.
- Final checklists for inclusion in updated SNA, BPM and GFSM depend on decisions about concepts, accounting rules, methods, classifications, and accounts to be included in the updated EASSs.

### Benefits of the Alignment Framework
- The frameworks do not provide a quality evaluation of macroeconomic statistics (which would require rigorous investigation of source data), but they:
  - Improve cross-country comparability of SNA, GFS, and BPM estimates.
  - Signal the extent of possible future revisions to users.
  - Assist national statistical offices (NSOs) in planning and prioritizing resources.
- A survey by IMF staff showed that almost 64 percent of the 200 economies surveyed indicated that their national accounts statistics are aligned to the 2008 SNA or the ESA 2010.
- Without standardized alignment information, global or regional comparisons may be misleading due to methodological and coverage variations.
- Example scenario: a comprehensive revision that introduces conceptual and accounting changes resulting in a 20 per cent increase in the level of GDP. If a country demonstrates full alignment with current recommendations after revision, users will have some assurance that future changes will be small (though further methodological or source improvements may still occur).

### Communicating Alignment — Dashboard Approach
- A scoring system risks creating disincentives and requires subjective weighting; a dashboard approach is recommended instead.
- The dashboard should convey degree of alignment rather than a single aggregate score.
- For each item on the framework the compiling organization indicates one of:
  - a) Fully align with the recommendation – meaning that between 95-100 per cent of the recommendations are implemented.
  - b) Highly align with the recommendation- meaning that between 75-95 per cent of the recommendations are implemented.
  - c) Broadly align with the recommendation – meaning that between 50-75 per cent of the recommendations are implemented.
  - d) Partially align with the recommendation – meaning that between 25-50 per cent of the recommendations are implemented.
  - e) Do Not align with the recommendation – meaning between 0-25 per cent of the recommendations are implemented.
  - f) The recommendation is Not Applicable – meaning that for issues of materiality or relevance, the recommendation is not implemented. Materiality is subjective but a steer would be less than 0.05 per cent (and/or a monetary equivalent) of GDP.

*Prepared by the Communication Task Team and presented at the IMF’s Balance of Payments Committee (BOPCOM) meeting on October 28, 2021.*

### 23.       The introduction of the notion of “per cent aligned” does introduce some

### cm1-alignment-framework-testing - 23.       The introduction of the notion of “per cent aligned” does introduce some

### Notion of "per cent aligned" and range approach
- The introduction of the notion of “per cent aligned” accepts subjectivity and flexibility and therefore adopts a range approach.
- Rationale:
  - It is difficult to define (and impossible to measure) what would constitute being 100 per cent aligned to a concept, accounting rule, method etc.
  - Country compilers are proposed to use their knowledge of processes and an assessment of economic activity to determine alignment.
- Illustrative example:
  - If a country includes estimates of illegal drug production and illegal drug-trafficking but does not account for illegal tobacco smuggling, and illegal tobacco smuggling is at most five per cent of the value of drug production and drug trafficking, the compiler would indicate they fully align with the EASS since they are capturing approximately 95 per cent of illegal activity.
- Practical stance:
  - Some subjectivity is required, but the flexibility is intended to be necessary and informative without imposing excessive burden on compilers.

### Dashboard presentation and coding
- Recommendation on presentation:
  - The dashboard should be presented in digital format and included as part of the sources and methods documentation for a given EASS.
  - The assessment can cover an entire macroeconomic accounts program or individual accounts.
- Recommended color coding:
  - Fully Aligned = Green
  - Highly Aligned = Light green
  - Broadly Aligned = Yellow
  - Partially Aligned = Light Yellow
  - Not Aligned = Red
  - Not Applicable = Black
- Use cases:
  - Fully aligned, partially aligned and not aligned categories are appropriate for concepts, methods, and accounting rules.
  - For classifications, tables or accounts, timeliness (days released after the reference period) and granularity (number of detailed classes) should be used to quantify alignment.

### Practical aspects and communication (Section IV)
- Key recommendations to compilers:
  - Assess the alignment of their macroeconomic program to the relevant EASS.
  - Communicate assessment results broadly to both users and the international statistical community.
  - Periodically update the assessment to reflect the evolving state of macroeconomic accounts programs.

### Multi-level alignment framework and flexibility (Section IV continuation)
- Purpose:
  - Different levels of alignment accommodate differences across national statistical systems.
  - The alignment frameworks in Annexes II, III and IV provide varying levels of detail for economies to specify their alignment to the EASS.
- Levels proposed:
  - L0, L1, L2 — to provide flexibility for both advanced and developing economies.
  - L0 = minimum details required in line with the EASS.
  - L1 = middle level for economies with well-developed statistical systems but not fully detailed.
  - L2 = for economies able to provide all details required to show alignment to different EASS.

### Relationship to existing statistical standards (Section V)
- Scope of change:
  - The recommendation does not propose changes to the concepts of the EASS.
  - It defines a set of concepts, accounting rules, methods, classifications, and tables/accounts that constitute a given EASS, determined by deliberate assessment of components with significant impact on level or growth of macroeconomic statistics.
- Institutional recommendation:
  - The CMTT recommends inclusion of the proposals as part of a chapter titled “Economic statistics - Communication Practices and Recommendations” in the SNA, BPM, and GFS.
  - That proposed chapter should also include information from the CMTT GNs on Terminology (CM.2) and Taxonomy (CM.3).
  - Countries should be encouraged to use the framework and make results publicly available.

### Structure and content of the SNA Alignment Framework (Annex II)
- Purpose:
  - The questionnaire-style framework ensures structure in assessing quality, availability, alignment and comparability with the SNA, BPM and GFS.
- Metadata items requested (examples):
  - Is there a National Code of Practice? Y/N
  - Last benchmark year for GDP: Enter year
  - Latest period for which balanced SUTs are available? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N
- Alignment rating definitions (exact ranges preserved):
  - Fully align: between 95-100 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - Highly align: between 75-95 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - Broadly align: between 50-75 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - Partially align: between 25-50 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - Do not align: between 0-  25 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - Not applicable: for issues of materiality or user requirements the recommendation is not implemented
- Five dimensions of the alignment framework:
  - Concepts and definitions
  - Classifications used
  - Accounts/tables (timeliness, granularity, limitations)
  - Methods
  - Accounting rules
- Examples of items by level (preserve classification labels and items):
  - Concepts and definitions (selected items):
    - L0 Units of the economy include
    - L0 Domestic territory
    - L1 Free zones/bonded warehouses / factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control
    - L1 Informal economy
    - L1 Underground economy
    - L1 Illegal activities
    - L2 Imputed services (of owner-occupied dwellings)
    - L2 Research and development for market and own account
  - Accounting rules (selected items):
    - L0 Valuation
    - L1 Output is valued at basic prices
    - L1 Output for own use is valued at equivalent market prices
    - L1 Total imports and exports are valued on an f.o.b. basis
    - L0 Time of Recording
    - L1 Transactions and flows are recorded on an accrual basis
    - L0 Grossing / Netting, Consolidation
    - L1 Transactions between establishments within the same enterprise are recorded on a gross basis
  - Methods (selected items):
    - L0 Sub-annual series are seasonally adjusted
    - L0 Output and intermediate consumption are deflated by appropriate price indexes at basic prices or at producer prices consistently
    - L0 Volume indexes are chained-weighted
    - L0 ANA and QNA volume are chain-linked
  - Classification standards requested (examples):
    - L0 International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)
    - L0 Central Product Classification (CPC)
    - L0 Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP)
    - L0 Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG)
  - Accounts / tables (timeliness, granularity, limitations) — selected recommended and optional items:
    - L0 Annual value added by industry and GDP in current prices and in volume terms
    - L0 Annual GDP by expenditure in current prices and in volume terms
    - L1 Annual sequence of accounts for the total economy (until net lending / borrowing)
    - L0 Quarterly value added by industry and GDP in current prices and in volume terms
    - L2 Quarterly sequence of accounts for the total economy (until net lending / borrowing)
    - Recommended tables and accounts include L0 Annual Supply and Use tables, L1 Annual Input-Output tables, L2 Annual financial accounts for all institutional sectors
    - Desirable tables and accounts include L2 Annual social accounting matrices, L2 Quarterly Supply and Use tables, L2 Quarterly financial accounts for all sectors
    - Other items listed include L2 Capital stock, L2 Labour accounts, L2 Productivity tables (multi-factor, labour and capital), L2 Annual tourism accounts, environmental accounts and other socio-economic accounts

*International Monetary Fund — Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMTT) guidance note.*

### Annex III. Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM) Alignment Framework for Concepts, Meth

### Annex III. Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM) Alignment Framework for Concepts, Methods, Rules, Classification, Accounts and Tables

### Overview
- The Annex identifies key assessment questions related to: (i) key concepts; (ii) methods; (iii) accounting rules; (iv) classifications; and (v) accounts and tables against which alignment with the BPM can be assessed.
- The key concepts and definitions proposed are in line with the statistical best practices outlined in the BPM framework and are broadly based on the IMF DQAF Questionnaire.

### I. BPM Alignment Framework – Metadata
- Key assessment prompts:
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N Insert link:
  - Is the BoP revision policy consistent with the National Accounts revision policy? Y/N Insert link
  - If the answer to the above question is no, are there reasons why not?
- Other Documentation – useful links: placeholders for Topic Theme, Insert name, Insert link.

### II. BPM Alignment Framework – Concepts and Methods
- Alignment scale definitions:
  - "fully aligned with the recommendation" means between 95-100 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "Highly aligned with the recommendation" means between 75-95 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "broadly aligned with the recommendations" means between 50-75 per cent of the recommendations is implemented.
  - "partially aligned with the recommendation" means between 25-50 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "not aligned with the recommendation" means that between 0-25 per cent of the recommendation is implemented.
  - "the recommendation is not applicable" – meaning that for issues of materiality, the recommendation is not implemented.

- Concepts and definitions (selected checklist items and expectations):
  - Units of the economy include:
    - Domestic territory
    - Incorporated or unincorporated affiliates of non-resident companies
    - Territorial enclaves in the rest of the world
    - Free zones / bonded warehouses / factories operated by offshore enterprises under customs control
    - Workers who work part of the year in another country
  - Residence and special cases:
    - Residence of Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) is attributed to the economy in which they are located.
    - International organizations and supranational authorities are not considered residents of any national economy.
    - All units of general government (e.g. embassies, military bases) are considered to be resident in their own economy.
    - Subject to specific circumstances, an individual may cease being a resident of his country when he or she works continuously for one year or more in a foreign country.
  - Balance of payments (BoP) coverage:
    - Both foreign currency and domestic currency transactions with non-residents.
    - Both exchanges and unrequited transfers (transactions without a quid pro quo).
    - Examples of items to address: Goods for processing; Repairs on goods; Non-monetary gold; Shuttle trade; Smuggling; Purchase of computer software; Mineral exploration; E-commerce transactions; Leases and other transferable contracts.
    - Financial flows and instruments: Reinvested earnings; Inter-company lending; Portfolio investment of private sector; Trade credit; Short-term debt transactions; Debt arrears; Non-cash transactions.
  - International Investment Position (IIP) coverage:
    - All financial claims between resident institutional units and non-residents.
  - Structure, in terms of concepts and definitions:
    - Current, capital, and financial accounts of the BOP statement are defined according to BPM6.
    - Net lending / net borrowing recorded as the current and capital account balance is in principle equal to net lending / net borrowing recorded as the financial account balance.
    - Double-entry system is applied in constructing the BOP statement, and the net residual is embedded in the errors and omissions item; net errors and omissions are derived as net lending / net borrowing from the financial account minus the same item derived from the current and capital account.
    - A clear distinction is made between the income component and the goods and services components.
    - The BOP financial account provides for a separate recording of transactions in assets and transactions in liabilities.
    - Foreign direct investment is presented on a gross assets and liabilities basis.
    - Data on foreign direct investment on the directional basis (i.e. inward and outward direct investment) are also available.
    - Transactions in goods and services by government entities abroad are classified under the government services not-included-elsewhere component.
    - Manufacturing on physical inputs owned by nonresidents is recorded as a service.
    - Merchanting of goods is classified under goods trade, with both gross and net values shown; the net amounts are included in the goods exports aggregates.
    - Outright purchases and sales of the results of R&D (including patents and copyrights) are recorded under R&D services.
    - Charges for the use of the outcomes of R&D are classified as a service under charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.
    - Financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) are distinguished from investment income and classified under financial services.
    - All changes related to migrants’ transfers are excluded from the BOP; corrections in the form of other changes are made in the IIP for the relevant positions in assets and liabilities.
    - Long-term construction projects are classified under foreign direct investment.
    - License fees for fishing and hunting are included in the capital account.
    - Borrowing and lending - including debt securities and supplier’s credits - between direct investors and direct investment enterprises are classified under foreign direct investment, except where transactions/positions are between a selected category of affiliated financial intermediaries.
    - Loan transactions and positions of the banking sector are classified separately from currency and deposits transactions/positions of this sector; however, interbank loan positions are classified under deposits.
    - The short-term and long-term attribution of transactions and positions in the other investment component is made according to the original maturity of the financial instrument.
  - Functional categories:
    - Foreign direct investment transactions are defined as equity ownership representing 10 per cent or more of the voting power.
    - Reserve assets are defined considering the concept of monetary authorities’ effective control and availability for use.
  - Sectorization:
    - Government guaranteed external debt transactions are attributed to the institutional sector of the borrower.
    - Government-controlled enterprises that are public corporations are excluded from general government and are included as public enterprises in the appropriate nonfinancial or financial corporations sector.

### II. Accounting Rules
- Core accounting expectations and rules:
  - Valuation:
    - Market prices are used to value transactions and positions; for some positions, proxies are used.
    - Monetary gold is valued at market prices.
    - Financial instruments traded on a regular basis are valued by directly using the price quotations from markets.
    - Total imports and exports are valued on an f.o.b. basis.
    - Appropriate substitute measures are developed when no actual market prices are available, for example for:
      - Barter trade, transactions between affiliated enterprises, gifts or grants.
      - For financial instruments that are not or infrequently traded in financial markets a fair value is estimated that approximates market value.
      - Loans, deposits, and other accounts receivable/payable are recorded at nominal value.
    - When transaction estimates are derived from stock data, the value of the transaction excludes valuation and other changes.
    - Transactions in foreign currency are converted using the mid-point exchange rate prevailing in the market when they take place.
    - When transaction estimates are derived from stock data, an attempt is made to value the stock data in their original currencies, and then convert the change in original currency to domestic currency/unit of account at the average exchange rate for the applicable period.
    - Proper adjustments are made if a system of multiple official exchange rates exists.
  - Time of Recording:
    - Transactions are recorded on an accrual basis.
    - Transactions are recorded according to the change in ownership principle.
  - Grossing / Netting, Consolidation:
    - Current and capital account transactions are recorded on a gross basis while financial account transactions are recorded on a net basis, separately for the individual asset and liability components.

### III. Methods
- Methodological guidance and examples:
  - Methods implement accounting rules; compilers may adopt different measurement approaches while following the same rules.
  - Investment income:
    - Investment income is obtained directly (e.g. reported on a survey) or is estimated by multiplying outstanding stock of financial assets by a corresponding representative yield.
  - Direct investment relationships:
    - Direct investment relationships identified by applying the Foreign Direct Investment Relationship (FDIR) or similar methods.

### III. BPM Alignment Framework – Classification
- Classification systems and use:
  - BPM6 Classification of Institutional Sectors (Table 4.2).
  - Primary income, financial account, and IIP classified according to Functional Categories.
  - BPM6 classification of financial assets and liabilities by instrument (Table 5.2).
  - BPM6 Classification of Services (Table 10.1).
  - Provision for "Other Classifications" with placeholders for name, version, level of details, and purpose.

### IV. BPM Alignment Framework – Accounts/Tables
- Standard tables and supplemental items expected to be compiled and disseminated:
  - Balance of payments standard components and memorandum items (Appendix 9).
  - International investment position standard components and memorandum items (Appendix 9).
  - Reserve-related liabilities (Table A9-V).
  - Non-performing loans separately at fair value (para. 7.45-7.56).
  - Currency composition of assets and liabilities and institutional sector (Table A9-I).
  - Additional Supplemental Items for BOP, and IIP as applicable, including but not limited to:
    - Direct investment by instrument, maturity, and institutional sector (see para. 2.32, 2.34, and 14.59).
    - Direct investment involving resident SPEs (see para. 4.50 and 4.87).
    - Direct investment in the reporting economy and direct investment abroad (see Box 6.4).
    - Real estate investment (see para. 6.31).
    - Pass-through funds (see 6.33-6.34).
    - Data by kind of economic activity (industry) (see para. 6.50).
    - Mergers and acquisitions (see para. 8.18).
    - Data for money-issuing sector (see para. 4.72).
    - Financial account items for public corporations (see 4.108).
    - Data by partner economy (see para. 4-146-4.148).
    - Detail for investment income to match the IIP (see para. 7.13 and 11.6).
    - Gross flows for financial account items (see para. 8.9).
    - Reconciliation table between merchandise source data and goods on a balance of payments basis (see Table 10.2).
    - Gross insurance premiums earned and unadjusted insurance claims (see para. 10.112).
    - Transfers implied by loans at concessional interest (see para. 12.51).
    - Personal remittances (see para. 12.27(a)).
    - Total remittances (see para. 12.27(b)).
    - Total remittances and transfers to nonprofit institutions serving households (see para. 12.27(c)).
    - Insurance claims included in other capital transfers (see para. 13.24).
  - Additional Supplemental Items for IIP:
    - Currency composition of assets and liabilities and institutional sector (Tables A9-II and A9-III).
    - Foreign currency assets of monetary authorities: Foreign currency deposits with deposit-taking corporations resident in the reporting economy (see para. 6.65) and Foreign currency assets of monetary authorities: Foreign currency claims on neighbouring economies (see para. 6.73).
    - Foreign assets of special purpose government funds not included in reserve assets (see para. 6.93-6.98).
    - Pooled assets included in reserve assets (see para. 6.99-6.101).
    - Pledged assets excluded from reserve assets (see para. 6.107-6.109).
    - Debt securities at nominal values (see para. 7.30).
    - Remaining maturity split for debt liabilities (Table A9-IV) for each instrument and sector.
    - Integrated IIP statement with positions, transactions, and other changes in volume, exchange rate changes and other revaluations (as shown in Table 7.1) by asset and liability category; also changes in positions due to transactions by other parties (see para. 9.16).
    - Contingent assets / liabilities (see para. 5.10).

*Annex III. Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM) Alignment Framework for Concepts, Methods, Rules, Classification, Accounts and Tables.*

### Annex IV. Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Alignment Framework – Concepts, Accounting Rules, and Methods

### Annex IV. Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Alignment Framework – Concepts, Accounting Rules, and Methods

### I. Metadata: publication, dissemination, and governance
- Questions used to assess metadata availability and practices include:
  - Do you publish annual GFS? Y/N; Insert link
  - How soon after the end of the year are the data published? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you publish quarterly GFS? Y/N; Insert link
  - How soon after the end of the quarter are the data published? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you publish monthly GFS? Y/N; Insert link
  - How soon after the end of the month are the data published? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you follow one of IMF’s data dissemination standards? Y/N; Of which standard are you a subscriber (SDDS+ / SDDS / e-GDDS)? (select from dropdown)
  - Do you have a published revision policy? Y/N; Insert link
  - Is the GFS revision policy consistent with the National Accounts revision policy? Y/N; Insert link
  - Do you have a published list of government and/or public sector units? Y/N; Insert link
  - How frequently is the list updated? (select from dropdown)
  - Is the process of producing the list published? Y/N; Insert link
  - Are different GFS publications harmonized and consistent? Y/N
  - Are high frequency GFS consistent with annual GFS? Y/N (additional detail)
  - Are public sector debt statistics consistent with other GFS data? Y/N (additional detail)
  - Are the published GFS harmonized and coherent with National Accounts publications? Y/N (additional detail)
  - Are the published GFS harmonized and coherent with External Sector Statistics publications? Y/N (additional detail)

- Other Documentation: Topic Theme, Insert name, Insert link (placeholders for supplementary metadata links).

### II. Coverage (Institutional and Stock/Flow)
- Institutional sectors and coverage grid uses abbreviations:
  - BCG, EBCG, CG, SSF, SG, LG, GG, NFPC, FPC, PS
  - CA = Cash, AC = Accrual, PA = Partial Accrual*, A = Annual, Q = Quarterly, M = Monthly
  - (*Partial Accrual may indicate that either some items/interactions are recorded on a cash basis and others on an accrual basis; or that all items/interactions are neither recorded on a pure cash or a pure accrual basis.)
  - “NP” = institutional sector not applicable to country; “NA” = institutional sector applicable but data are not compiled/published.

- Coverage assessment fields include (for each sector): 
  - What is the accounting basis of the statistics (CA, AC, PA)?
  - Are the data consolidated (Y/N)?
  - What is the highest frequency of publication (A, Q, M)?
  - Coverage of: Revenue; Expenditure – economic classification; Expenditure – functional classification (COFOG); Transactions in financial assets and liabilities; Nonfinancial assets (stocks); Financial assets (stocks); Liabilities - including debt (stocks); Other economic flows; Contingent liabilities (stocks).

### III. Concepts, Accounting Rules, and Methods — degree of alignment
- Alignment categories and implementation thresholds used to indicate degree of alignment with GFSM 2014:
  - "fully aligned with the recommendation" means that between 95-100 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - "highly aligned with the recommendation" means between 75-95 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - "broadly aligned with the recommendations" means between 50-75 per cent of the recommendations is implemented
  - "partially aligned with the recommendation" means between 25-50 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - "not aligned with the recommendation" means that between 0-25 per cent of the recommendation is implemented
  - "not applicable" (N/A) means that for issues of materiality the recommendation is not implemented

- A. Concepts and definitions (examples and items to be assessed)
  - General approach: GFS concepts identify and define units, activities, interactions, and notions to be recognized and measured in GFS (examples: general government sector, debt liabilities).
  - L0/L1 itemization used to record specific components for assessment, examples include:
    - L0 i) Units of general government include: All central government budgetary units; Territorial enclaves in the rest of the world; All state government units; All local government units; All social security funds.
    - L1 Additional units: All non-market nonprofit institutions (NPIs) controlled by government units; All non-financial corporations controlled by government which do not meet the criteria to be market producers; All financial corporations controlled by government which do not meet the criteria to be market producers.
    - L0 ii) Public corporations include central bank and central supervisory authorities which are financial auxiliaries; all non-financial corporations controlled by government which are institutional units and meet the criteria to be market producers; all financial corporations controlled by government which are institutional units and meet the criteria to be market producers.
    - L0 iii) Revenue includes only those transactions which increase net worth; specific inclusions:
      - L1 In-kind revenues are included
      - L1 Transactions in debt forgiveness (to government) are included
      - L1 All social contributions are included without consolidation (treated as transactions between households and government)
      - L1 Only that portion of dividends which do not meet the “super-dividend test” (see GFSM 2014 paras. 5.115-6) are included
      - L1 Only taxes and social contributions where there is a realistic expectation of collection are included
      - L1 Principal payments related to (policy) lending are excluded
      - L1 Privatisation proceeds are excluded (and included instead as disposals of equity)
      - L1 Non-financial asset sale proceeds are excluded (and included as transactions in nonfinancial assets)
    - L0 iv) Expense includes only those transactions which decrease net worth; specific inclusions:
      - L1 In-kind expenses are included
      - L1 Consumption of fixed capital is included
      - L1 Compensation of employees includes all amounts payable to employees in the form of cash, goods, services, interest foregone (etc.) in return for work performed
      - L1 Compensation of employees includes imputed employers’ social contributions related to pension, and other social benefit, entitlements
      - L1 Subsidies only include transfers made to enterprises based on their production levels or quantities
      - L1 Capital injections are included where there is no effective financial claim or expectation of realistic return
      - L1 Transactions in debt forgiveness (by government) are included
      - L1 All capital transfers (external and domestic) are included
      - L1 Acquisitions of equity and (policy) lending are excluded
    - L0 v) Non-financial assets — transactions, flows, and stocks reported; inclusions:
      - L1 Buildings (government offices, army barracks, public monuments, schools, hospitals)
      - L1 Infrastructure (roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sewers, harbors, dams, power lines)
      - L1 Transport equipment (cars, trains, planes)
      - L1 ICT equipment (computer hardware, telecommunications equipment)
      - L1 Cultivated biological resources (trees, crops)
      - L1 Research and development products
      - L1 Mineral exploration and evaluation (whether successful or not)
      - L1 Weapons systems (warships, submarines, tanks, missile carriers and launchers, etc.)
      - L1 Inventories
      - L1 Natural resources (land, mineral and energy resources, radio spectrum)
      - L1 Contracts, leases and licenses (transferable permits to use natural resources or to undertake a specific activity)
    - L0 vi) Financial assets and liabilities — transactions, flows, and stocks reported; inclusions:
      - L1 Monetary gold (assets only)
      - L1 Special Drawing Rights
      - L1 Currency and deposits
      - L1 Debt securities
      - L1 Loans
      - L1 Equity
      - L1 Pension entitlements and/or Claims of pension funds on pension managers, for employment-related pensions (as applicable)
      - L1 Provisions for calls under standardized guarantee schemes
      - L1 Financial derivatives
      - L1 Other accounts receivable / payable

- B. Accounting Rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation)
  - Valuation rules and items for assessment:
    - L0 Valuation
    - L1 All stocks, transactions, and other economic flows are recorded using a single unit of account (usually the domestic currency)
    - L1 Stocks of financial assets and liabilities are valued at market prices
    - L1 Debt statistics are produced at nominal value
    - L1 Stocks of non-financial assets are valued at market prices
    - L1 Transactions in non-financial produced fixed assets are net of consumption of fixed capital
    - L1 Transactions in non-financial produced assets include costs of ownership transfer (fees, taxes, transport and installation charges)
    - L1 Costs of ownership transfer related to nonfinancial non-produced assets are included as non-financial produced (fixed) assets
    - L1 Transactions in foreign currency are converted using the mid-point exchange rate prevailing in the market when they take place
    - L1 Stocks in foreign currency are converted using the exchange rate prevailing in the market at the time of measurement
    - L1 Consumption of fixed capital, where reported, is valued at current replacement cost
  - Time of Recording:
    - L0 Time of Recording
    - L1 Transactions and flows are recorded on an accrual basis
    - L2 Interest is recorded as accruing continuously, over the period that the financial asset to which it relates exists
    - L2 Rent is recorded as accruing continuously, over the period of the resource lease
    - L2 Dividends are recorded when the corporation declares the dividend payable
    - L2 Fines and penalties are recorded when the recipient has an unconditional claim to the funds
    - L2 Transactions in non-financial assets are recorded when economic ownership of the assets changes
    - L2 Where there is a material difference between when goods are purchased and used, they are first recognized as inventories before being expensed
  - Consolidation:
    - L0 Consolidation
    - L1 Internal transactions within an institutional unit are consolidated and not recorded
    - L1 Transactions between units within a subsector are consolidated and not recorded in the GFS for that subsector
    - L1 Transactions between government (or public sector) sub-sectors are consolidated and not recorded in the GFS for the general government sector (or public sector)
    - L1 Internal stock positions within an institutional unit are consolidated and not recorded
    - L1 Stock positions between units within a sub-sector are consolidated and not recorded in the GFS for that subsector
    - L1 Stock positions between government (or public sector) subsectors are consolidated and not recorded in the GFS for the general government sector (or public sector)

- C. Methods (implementation choices and measurement techniques)
  - Methods are interpreted as ways accountants implement accounting rules or measure concepts; examples and required method treatments:
    - L0 Taxes are recorded using either the time-adjusted cash method or the assessment/declaration approach (see GFSM 2014 para. 3.80)
    - L0 Costs incurred in own-account capital formation are treated solely as transactions in nonfinancial assets and are excluded from expense
    - L0 Employment-related pension liabilities are calculated using an actuarial approach (and related property expenses, and employers’ social contributions within compensation of employees, imputed)
    - L0 Dividend payments are assessed using the “super-dividend test” and split between revenue/expense and transactions in financial assets/liabilities, as required
    - L0 Capital injections are assessed using the “capital injection decision tree” and split between expense/revenue and transactions in financial assets/liabilities, as required
    - L0 The nature of leases is carefully examined to distinguish operating leases from financial leases
    - L0 The risk and reward assessment of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) is conducted to determine whether or not the assets should be on the public sector balance sheet

### IV. Classifications & Accounts/Tables (presentation and reporting)
- Assessment grid items for presentation, timeliness, level of detail, and omissions:
  - Presentation: Accounts and Tables (includes classifications)
    - L0 Statement of Operations Y/N
      - L1 Revenue Y/N
      - L1 Expense Y/N
      - L1 Transactions in Nonfinancial Assets, Financial Assets, and Liabilities Y/N
    - L0 Expenditure by COFOG Y/N
      - including Cross-Classification of Expenditure by Function (COFOG) and Economic Classifications Y/N
    - L1 Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash Y/N
    - L1 Statement of Other Economic Flows Y/N
    - L1 Balance Sheet Y/N
    - L1 Integrated Statement of Flows and Stock Positions Y/N
    - L1 Statement of Total Changes in Net Worth Y/N
    - L1 Summary Statement of Explicit Contingent Liabilities and Net Implicit Obligations for Future Social Security Benefits Y/N
    - L1 Gross Debt at Market, Nominal, and Face Value Y/N
    - L1 Net Debt at Market, Nominal, and Face Value Y/N
    - L1 Counterparty of Transactions in Financial Assets and Liabilities by Institutional Sector Y/N
    - L1 Counterparty of Stocks in Financial Assets and Liabilities by Institutional Sector Y/N

### AEG and Committee outcomes and recommendations (meeting summaries)
- Annex V — Outcome of July 2021 AEG Discussion (summary of discussions and guidance requests):
  - Members welcomed progress of the CMTT and encouraged alignment with UN National Quality Assurance Framework, IMF’s Data Quality Assurance Framework (DQAF), and Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM).
  - Members emphasized flexibility for countries to mark elements as ‘not applicable’ where domestic circumstances or user needs warrant deviation.
  - On the dashboard/scoring approach:
    - Members recognized need for an overall assessment communicating degree of adoption of statistical recommendations.
    - Members were generally not in favour of using a ‘score’ to measure alignment to international standards (or to indicate quality).
    - Concerns were raised about subjectivity of the assessment and requests made for clarification on how the tool differs from or complements existing metadata sources.
  - The CMTT was asked to further refine the guidance note with a target for the next version to be ready by the end of September 2021; the guidance note was subsequently updated to reflect members' comments.

- Annex V — Outcomes of October and November 2021 BOPCOM and AEG Meetings (summary of discussions and suggestions):
  - Committee members fully supported moving the guidance note for global consultation and strongly supported the alignment frameworks and the dashboard approach.
  - Suggestions to improve the guidance note and communication of overall alignment included:
    - conduct pilot surveys on the proposed alignment frameworks among volunteering countries
    - include guidelines on balancing information on alignment with international standards and other metadata (particularly for statistical offices with limited resources)
    - provide further guidance on interpretation of the dashboard (example: clarification where one category appears both broadly aligned and not aligned)
    - finalize granularity of components after updated BPM6 recommendations and other Manuals are available
    - provide further guidance to reduce subjectivity when judging dashboard elements
    - link self-assessments to equivalent standard pages on IMF dissemination frameworks (e-GDDS, SDDS, SDDS+)
    - promote a central webpage analogous to the IMF Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) “National Summary Data Page”
  - Note: Some members observed that full alignment as per the dashboard may not always correspond to better quality; countries with partial alignment but better source data could otherwise be shown as inferior.

*Source: Annex IV, Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Alignment Framework – Concepts, Accounting Rules, and Methods.*

### 29.      The consultation received a total of sixty-nine ( 69) responses from fifty-five (55)

### cm1-alignment-framework-testing - Consultation responses and proposed changes

### Consultation participation and overall support
- The consultation received a total of sixty-nine (69) responses from fifty-five (55) economies.
- Respondents came from a mix of national accounts, balance of payments, and government finance statistics compilers.
- Regional participation:
  - European economies: 35 percent
  - Western Hemisphere countries: 23 percent
  - Asia and Pacific countries: 17 percent
  - Middle East and Central Asia countries: 13 percent
  - Sub-Saharan Africa: 12 percent
- Majority of the respondents (70–80 percent) agreed with incorporating a set of alignment frameworks in the next update of the SNA, BPM, and GFSM statistical standards.

### Agreement with framework components and requests for clarification
- A significant majority agreed with the concepts and definitions, accounting rules, classification systems, and presentation dimensions (and elements) of the three alignment frameworks.
- Specific requests and concerns:
  - Preference for less details (less elements in each dimension of the frameworks).
  - Inclusion of options for national classification systems (customized versions of international classifications).
  - Combining some dimensions to make the frameworks more concise (e.g., the accounting rules dimensions).
  - Need for further clarification on some framework elements.

### Dashboard presentation, objectivity, and publication detail
- Respondents generally agreed with the dashboard presentation of the alignment frameworks.
- Concerns and observations:
  - Reliance on statistical offices to be objective about the degree of alignment of their statistical programs.
  - Difficulty for compilers to judge elements that are not aligned with statistical standards when categories are expressed in percent.
  - The balance of payments framework is perceived as much more detailed than current balance of payments metadata surveys (particularly for the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook).
  - Appreciation for the ability to provide explanations for any deviation from the standards.
  - Requests for additional explanatory notes for the frameworks.
  - Suggestion to explain in the Guidance Note (GN) the level of detail that would be published to the public.

### Communication strategy and update periodicity
- Feedback on an overall message or score for an economy’s degree of alignment:
  - Respondents were split on the proposal to use an overall score.
    - Those that disagreed argued about feasibility of generating a meaningful overall assessment ‘score’ given the complexities of the frameworks.
    - Those in favor argued that a score would provide a snapshot of the overall level of alignment for an economy and would be worthwhile for users.
- Majority agreed that the dashboard should be updated on an ad-hoc basis (once every 3–5 years) to reflect updates to the relevant statistical programs.

### Feasibility of maintaining and publishing the frameworks
- A slight majority agreed that it would be feasible for their office to update, maintain, and publish the framework regularly.
  - Recognized initial upfront resource cost to complete the framework.
  - Subsequent updates expected to require less resources and therefore be feasible.
- Approximately half of respondents indicated their agencies do not have sufficient resources to regularly maintain the frameworks.
- Recommendations from respondents:
  - GN should provide specific guidelines on the periodicity of updating the frameworks.
  - GN should propose recommendations for data exchange with other international agencies that might collect similar information.
- Reference to existing quality assessment frameworks that the alignment frameworks build on, such as the IMF’s Data Quality assessment Framework (DQAF), United Nations National Accounts Questionnaire (UN-NAQ), and the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System.

### Willingness to complete and practical feedback on the framework
- Twenty economies (out of sixty-nine) agreed to complete the alignment frameworks for their respective statistical programs.
- Of the 20 respondents that agreed to complete the framework:
  - About 20 percent noted that, in practice, the framework was difficult to complete.
  - The remaining 80 percent thought that the alignment framework was fairly straightforward.
- Specific user feedback for improving practicality:
  - Elements related to statistical units were particularly difficult to understand and complete.
  - Limit free-text options and provide more dropdowns or selectable responses.
  - Provide more guidance/explanatory notes.
  - Substitute the term “accounting rules” with “economic accounting rules” to avoid confusion for macroeconomic compilers.
  - Provide additional guidance to ensure consistency of color ratings.
  - Add a field in the metadata section to indicate the observation date for which the information applies.
  - Add fields for valuation of financial assets and liabilities.

### Proposed changes to the Guidance Note (GN)
- Review completed frameworks and make adjustments/clarifications based on the feedback received, including:
  - Adding explanatory notes for the frameworks.
  - Reviewing the elements in each dimension of the framework.
  - Reviewing whether there needs to be an overall “alignment score” or message to communicate overall level of alignment.
- Include guidelines on appropriately balancing the provision of information on alignment with statistical standards and providing other metadata (specifically focusing on the statistical offices with limited resources).
- Add a section to the GN to detail the benefits of the alignment frameworks for users.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bpm6/approved-guidance-notes/cm1-alignment-framework-testing.pdf_