Regional Arrangements 337
on behalf of the union should, over time, be neu-
tral on the member government revenue and
expense.^10 For example, if the member govern-
ment receives amounts from the regional orga-
nization to distribute on behalf of the union to
benefi ciaries, only transactions in fi nancial assets
and liabilities should be recorded in the member
government accounts. Th e national government
records the incurrence of a liability for amounts
received, classifi ed as other accounts payable
(3308) that are distributable to other economic
benefi ciaries. Th e actual distribution to the ulti-
mate benefi ciary reduces this account payable by
the government unit. For the benefi ciary, these
amounts should be recorded as the appropriate
category of revenue receivable—usually some
kind of transfer receivable such as grants (13),
subsidies (14411), or transfers not elsewhere clas-
sifi ed (144). Th e regional organization would re-
cord the amounts payable in the corresponding
categories of expense such as grants (26), subsidies
(25), or transfers not elsewhere classifi ed (282).- Amounts distributable by government, acting
as an agent for the union, may take the form of
reimbursements claimed by the fi nal benefi ciary.
Th ese claims are usually on the basis of docu-
ments evidencing spending by the benefi ciaries.
Any amounts distributed by government on the
basis of such claims by the benefi ciaries give rise
to a fi nancial claim of government on the regional
organization, notably other accounts receivable
(3208), while the regional organization incurs a
liability, other accounts payable (3308). Where the
member government is acting on behalf of non-
government units, it is possible that the member
government anticipates repayments from the
common union budget. Such anticipated repay-
ments are also recorded as transactions in fi nan-
cial assets and liabilities, notably other accounts
receivable/payable (3208/3308) between the gov-
ernment and the regional organization. - When governments’ claims on the regional orga-
nization for amounts reimbursed on the regional
organization’s behalf are not fully redeemed by
the regional organization, the member govern-
ment’s recording depends on the circumstances:
(^10) In some cases, by agreement, a part of the expense, in the
context of programs managed at the union level, may be fi nanced
by the member government; for this portion of the expense the
impact on the member government fi nances will not be neutral.
Th e member government could decide to cover
the expense made by fi nal benefi ciaries from
the member government budget sources. Th e
expense is recorded with a counterpart entry
in the reduction of the claims on the regional
organization. Such an expense should be clas-
sifi ed according to the economic nature of the
transfer—usually some type of transfer payable
such as grants (26), subsidies (25), or transfers not
elsewhere classifi ed (282). Th e time of recording
the expense is determined by the time of the gov-
ernment decision to cover the expense.
Th e regional organization could indicate that a
reimbursement by the member country should
not have been made. Th e member government
could recover the funds from the benefi ciaries,
or record the amount as expense of the member
country.
A5.31 Full coverage of data for an economic union
requires that these data include data from member
countries as well as from the union agencies. Further-
more, to consolidate the accounts of the union—that
is, eliminating all the fl ows and stock positions among
member countries and the union agencies—sectors
of the counterparties should be available for data on
transactions, stock positions, and other economic
fl ows. Compiling union accounts will allow an analy-
sis of the whole union’s fl ows and stock positions. Th is
will also allow monitoring of the contributions of in-
dividual members to the union and measure the im-
pact of the union on each member economy through
redistribution mechanisms.
Monetary and Currency Unions.
A5.32 A monetary union exists where there is the
presence of a single monetary policy among econo-
mies, established by an intergovernmental legal agree-
ment. In a monetary union, the decision-making
related to monetary policy is transferred to a central-
ized body. Th ere are diff erent models—for instance,
a single central bank for the whole union (possibly
having only branches in the national economies)^11
or a federal-like system where national central banks(^11) Th is arrangement is applied in the case of the West African Eco-
nomic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Economic and
Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). WAEMU
includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali,
Niger, Senegal, and Togo. CEMAC includes Cameroon, the Cen-
tral African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, and Gabon.