Suriname: Technical Assistance Report-National Accounts Statistics Mission

IMF Staff Country Reports, July 20, 2017

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Canonical URL: Suriname: Technical Assistance Report-National Accounts Statistics Mission

This Technical Assistance Report discusses measures required to improve the national accounts of Suriname, including consistency with the System of National Accounts 2008.
The General Bureau of Statistics (GBS) is expected to implement the recommendations of the IMF mission progressively over a five-year period.
Given the staff time wasted on data entry and potential transcription errors, the GBS should give high priority to requesting the Ministry of Finance to provide the Government accounts data in Excel format for 2015 onward.
With the support of the Finance Minister, the GBS also needs to implement a formal agreement with the Tax Department to share tax registration data, company income tax returns and sales tax returns.

National accounts require measures to ensure consistency with the System of National Accounts 2008.
Current data workflows involve significant staff time on manual data entry and carry risks of transcription errors.
Critical data-sharing gaps exist between the GBS, the Ministry of Finance, and the Tax Department that impede efficient compilation of national accounts.

Prioritize obtaining Government accounts data in Excel format for 2015 onward from the Ministry of Finance to reduce manual data entry and transcription errors.
Secure support from the Finance Minister to implement a formal agreement with the Tax Department to share:
- tax registration data,
- company income tax returns,
- sales tax returns.
Implement the IMF mission recommendations progressively over a five-year period.

Alignment target: System of National Accounts 2008.
Data coverage emphasis: Government accounts data from 2015 onward; tax registration data; company income tax returns; sales tax returns.