Canceled: Introduction to Classification of Functions of Government for Government Finance Statistics (GFS)

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Canonical URL: Canceled: Introduction to Classification of Functions of Government for Government Finance Statistics (GFS)

Target Audience:
- Participants involved in the compilation of financial reporting expenditure data and government finance statistics.
- The course values the participation of more candidates with practical experience.
Qualifications:
- No specific academic qualifications required but anticipated that applicants will be educated to degree level.
Pre-requisites:
- Candidates must have relevant current and practical experience related to GFS to be considered for invitation.

Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) is a classification defined by the United Nations Statistics Division and adapted to the IMF government finance statistics (GFS) reporting framework.
COFOG enables trends in government expenditure by function (e.g., defense or education) or policy purposes to be examined over time.
The value of this is that expenditure by functions of government of different countries can be compared.
The course explains how the ten functions of government as described in the GFSM 2014 are classified, how to categorize expenditure data to generate a functional split, and how it should reconcile with the economic classification of expenditure data used in the GFS.

Participants will become familiar with the ten functions of government:
- General public services
- Defense
- Public order and safety
- Economic affairs
- Environmental protection
- Housing and community amenities
- Health
- Recreation, culture and religion
- Education
- Social protection.
Participants will be able to correctly attribute expenditure to the appropriate functional category.
Participants will feel confident to take back what they have learnt to their own teams and spread the understanding of COFOG.
Participants will be able to put into practice what they have learnt to improve the quality and analytical usefulness of COFOG data in Bangladesh.

Participants should feel comfortable to present and discuss relevant data of their own country.
Practical exercises with participants working in random groups will feature throughout the course, enabling them to appropriately categorize expenditure data to the correct functional categories.