Integrated frameworks for economic accounting standards

The origins of national accounting can be traced back to the 17th century. However, modern national accounts have largely developed since the late 1940s, although some initial forays commenced a couple of decades earlier. The three most important standards for the economic accounts are those for the "family of macro-economic accounting" - national accounts themselves, the balance of payments and government finance. They were initially established separately from each other, although the nature of the subject matter meant that there was a significant degree of overlap in the concepts described. However, harmonising these three standards took some time to achieve and some minor consistency issues still exist. The origins of national accounting have been described in detail by Bos (2017). Details about the development of international statistical standards for national accounts (System of National Accounts, or SNA), balance of payments (Balance of Payments Manual, or BPM) and government finance statistics (Government Finance Statistics Manual, or GFSM) are provided in this article. It also looks at the extent to which the SNA (particularly the 1993 and 2008 versions) provides the detailed data required to analyse current economic developments using the outcomes of two high-level enquiries as evidence of the suitability of the SNA as an international statistical framework. The SNA has evolved since its beginnings in the mid-20th century, with successive versions refining the concepts underlying the accounts while simultaneously updating the system to take into account new economic developments (for example, more complex financial derivatives). Items are added to the SNA research agenda as they emerge to ensure the SNA maintains its relevance. For example, in the past decade the importance of globalisation has increased as has its complexity, while rapid advances in technology have also brought "digitalisation" into the national accounts research agenda. Finally, the efforts that have been put into harmonising the SNA, BPM and GFSM have been very successful with consistency being achieved in the latest versions apart from some subtle differences in wording that could lead to inconsistent interpretations, particularly with regard to some financial sector issues. Is it now time to integrate these three important international statistical standards into a single over-arching standard for economic accounts?