Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

370 Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

the two datasets. In both datasets, the other changes

in volume of assets are recorded for each type of as-

sets and liabilities. In addition, the SNA also classifi es

these changes according to specifi c events that give

rise to the change in the volume of the assets or li-

abilities. Data are separately recorded for economic

appearance of assets (K1), economic disappearance of

nonproduced nonfi nancial assets (K2), catastrophic

losses (K3), uncompensated seizures (K4), other

changes in volume not elsewhere classifi ed (K5), and

changes in classifi cation (K6). Source data for record-

ing these events should therefore provide for identi-

fi cation of the relevant assets and liabilities, but also

identify the underlying event that caused the change

in the volume.

Th e revaluation account

A7.71 Th e revaluation account in the SNA records

the same holding gains or losses as those recorded

in GFS (GFS items 4***). Th e total value of nominal

holding gains for the general government or public

sector should therefore be the same in the two data-

sets. In addition, the SNA recommends that nominal

holding gains and losses be further subdivided be-

tween neutral and real holding gains and losses. GFS

do not make this distinction:

• Neutral holding gains and losses (B1031) over a
  period are the increase (decrease) in the value of
  an asset that would be required, in the absence
  of transactions and other changes in the volume
  of assets, to maintain command over the same
  amount of goods and services as at the beginning
  of the period. Th e value is obtained by applying,
  during the same periods of time, an index of the
  change in the general price level to the initial value
  of all assets or liabilities. Th e result of this opera-
  tion is called neutral holding gains and losses be-
  cause all assets and liabilities are revalued so as to
  preserve exactly their purchasing power.


• Real holding gains and losses (B1032) record the
  diff erence between nominal holding gains and
  losses and neutral holding gains and losses.

Th e balance sheet

A7.72 Th e opening and closing balance sheets for

the general government or public sector are concep-

tually the same in the SNA and GFS. Both datasets

display assets on the left -hand side, and liabilities and

net worth on the right-hand side. Th e changes in the

Balance Sheet in the SNA are the sum of the entries

in the four accumulation accounts corresponding to

the respective asset or liability. Similarly, in GFS the

changes in the Balance Sheet for each category of as-

sets and liabilities are equal to the sum of transactions,

holding gains and losses, and other changes in vol-

the Counterparty 7.9 Classifi cation of Financial Assets and Liabilities by Instrument and Residence of

two frameworks are fully consistent. However, at the

general government or public sector level the value of

A8.3 Classifi cations of Flows and Stock Positions in Assets and Liabilities

diff er due to the diff erent approach to consolidation

(see paragraph A7.11). In practice amounts recorded

as stock positions may also diff er in two cases:

• Liabilities in respect of employment-related pen-
  sion schemes may diff er, due to the option in the
  SNA to treat some employment-related liabilities
  in supplementary tables (see paragraph 5.95).


• Assets and liabilities subject to investment in-
  come disbursements may diff er in cases where
  these amounts are unknown to government, and
  therefore excluded from GFS, and would be cal-
  culated only in the context of the whole of the
  economy (see paragraph A7.43).^20

Comparison of the Analytical

Frameworks of GFS and the Balance

of Payments and the International

Investment Position

A7.73 Th e BPM6 serves as the standard frame-

work for statistics on the fl ows and stock positions

between an economy and the rest of the world. Since

the BPM6 is harmonized with the 2008 SNA, it is

also harmonized with the other macroeconomic da-

tasets, including GFS. Because of conceptual link-

ages, compilers of the international accounts and

GFS should consult to ensure the consistent appli-

cation of defi nitions of coverage and concepts, and

accounting rules.

A5.1 Regional Arrangements in the Harmonizing of GFS

Balance of Payments and the International

Investment Position

A7.74 Th e structure of the international statis-

tical framework is similar to the structure used in

the GFS framework, and comprises (i) the balance

(^20) Th e SNA also provides volume measures (including of govern-
ment components)—an important type of information for fi scal
analysis that makes the SNA complementary to GFS.