ISWGNA and AEG:
Mandate and governance
7th meeting of the
Advisory Expert Group
on national accounts
20-23 Apr 2012, New York
1
Outline of Presentation

Introduction

Mandate

Governance arrangements for ISWGNA and AEG
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United Nations Statistical Commission
ISWGNA
ISWGNA: Management Group
ISWGNA: National Accountants
Advisory Expert Group (AEG)
Projects, Technical Expert Groups and City Groups
Secretariat
Updating the System of National Accounts
2
ISWGNA
Set up by the United Nations Statistical Commission
(UNSC) to enhance cooperation among international
organizations working in the same field.
Five members since the early 1980s:


–



Eurostat, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United
Nations and World Bank
Chair of the group rotates among the five organizations
Secretariat is at the UNSD
ISWGNA functions at two levels: “Management Group”
and “National Accountants”
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Mandate
a)
Provide strategic vision, direction and coordination for the
methodological development and implementation of the SNA in
national, regional and international statistical systems;
b)
Revise and update the SNA and develop supporting normative
international statistical standards and other methodological documents
on national accounts and supporting statistics;
c)
Promote the development of databases at international, regional and
national level on national accounts statistics;
d)
Promote the implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics; and
e)
Promote the use of national accounts and supporting statistics in policy
formulation.
4
Governance Arrangements
∙
UNSC – provides the mandate of the ISWGNA, endorses its works
programme and monitors its work progress
∙
ISWGNA - carries out the mandate and reports progress on its
programme of work to the UNSC
∙
∙
∙
Engages technical expert groups, city groups or other expert groups
to carry out the work programme.
Separate project management frameworks may be developed for
large projects (eg. revision of SNA)
ISWGNA: Management Group - ensures appropriate outputs and
inputs for the work of the ISWGNA
∙
Managers also act within their own organizations to further the agreed
goals and objectives of the ISWGNA.
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Governance Arrangements
∙
ISWGNA: National Accountants – sponsors and facilitates the
technical work of the work programme of the ISWGNA
∙
AEG - assists the ISWGNA in carrying out its work programme,
resolves issues on the research agenda of the SNA and reviews
documents and tools for the SNA implementation programme
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∙
∙
∙
∙
15 members from national, regional and international statistical
organizations (plus representatives from the 5 international
organizations) with all regions of world represented
Members invited with views toward particular areas of expertise
Members act on personal basis rather than as representatives of their
organization
AEG and ISWGNA members are entitled to vote on issues where
consensus cannot be found
Chair of ISWGNA also serves as chair of AEG
6
AEG: Terms of Reference
a)
Evaluate and contribute to manuals and handbooks for guidance
and training in the implementation of the SNA and supporting
statistics
b)
Review and contribute to the methodological development of the
SNA through research and assessing the appropriateness of
proposals for clarification, interpretation and changes to the SNA;
c)
Review and contribute to the formulation of communication and
dissemination strategies and of statistical responses on emerging
policy issues based on the SNA
d)
Consider proposed international data collection activities in line
with the normative standards and accompanying international
recommendations in an efficient and cost-effective way
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Governance Arrangements
∙
Projects, Technical Expert Groups, City Groups – may be
convened to advance research on particular normative and
methodological matters
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
Limited life spans and with focus on particular issues
Fall within scope of national accounts, but have their own mandates
and governance structures
ISWGNA will coordinate with these the groups to take account of their
work in the work programme of the ISWGNA
For large projects (eg. the revision of the SNA) it may be necessary to
develop separate project management frameworks
Secretariat - UNSD serves as the main source of logistical and
administrative support to the work programme of the ISWGNA.
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Governance Structure
Report
to
Liaise
with
a
Includes, for example,
academia and line
ministries.
b
Includes specific
projects needing separate
project management
frameworks, (i.e. update
of the 1993 SNA)
c
Includes expert groups to
advance specific research
on issues on the SNA
research agenda
d
ISWGNA liaises and
consults with these groups
to coordinate outputs.
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Research on the SNA
∙
Proposals for task forces or expert groups to conduct
research submitted to ISWGNA
∙
ISWGNA assesses results per update procedures for
the SNA established by the UNSC (1999)
∙
If changes are necessary ISWGNA presents changes
to UNSC for adoption
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Updating procedure for the SNA
11
Thank you
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ISWGNA functions
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
Promote adoption of best practices in implementation of the SNA;
Foster coordination, monitoring and reporting on implementation of the
SNA to ensure that all relevant entities have clear roles and that their
actions are complementary and effective;
Provide training and technical cooperation in implementation of the SNA
and supporting statistics;
Prepare manuals and handbooks for guidance and training in
implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics;
Foster methodological development of the SNA and supporting statistics;
Encourage national support for the acquisition and maintenance of viable
economic statistics and national accounts programmes and communicate
the policy relevance of the SNA;
Formulate statistical response on policy issues based on the SNA;
Develop international data collection activities in line with the normative
standards and accompany international recommendations in an efficient
and cost-effective way.
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ISWGNA: Management Group functions
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Set the strategic direction of the work programme of the ISWGNA (within
the parameters set by the Statistical Commission), ensure appropriate
input and outputs, and agree on desired outcomes
Prepare the work programme of the ISWGNA and endeavour to support
the thrust of those arrangements
Monitor and implement the work programme of the ISWGNA
Raise funds and monitor budgets to support the work programme of the
ISWGNA
Identify issues and risks for national accounts and supporting statistics for
appropriate coordinated statistical response
Report to the Statistical Commission and communicate with expert
groups, as appropriate
Liaise with national, regional and international stakeholders and users, to
understand and manage their expectations and gain their support.
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ISWGNA: National Accountants functions
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Promote adoption of best practices in implementation of the SNA, foster
coordination, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the SNA
to ensure that all relevant entities have clear roles and that their actions
are complementary and effective
Provide training and technical cooperation in implementation of the SNA
and supporting statistics
Prepare manuals and handbooks for guidance and training in the
implementation of the SNA and supporting statistics
Promote methodological development of the SNA through research and
assess the appropriateness of proposals for clarification, interpretation
and changes to the SNA
Encourage national support for acquisition and maintenance of viable
economic statistics and national accounts programmes
Formulate a statistical response on policy issues based on the SNA
Develop international data collection activities in line with the normative
standards and accompany international recommendations in an efficient
and cost-effective way.
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Secretariat: Main Tasks
a) Maintain the ISWGNA website;
b) Prepare reports for the Statistical Commission;
c) Communicate with the Statistical Commission,
countries, regional and international agencies and
bodies
d) Provide logistical and other support to the ISWGNA
and the AEG.
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