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The System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA) is the latest internationally agreed standard set of recommendations on how to compile measures of economic activity in accordance with strict accounting conventions based on economic principles. The recommendations are expressed in terms of a set of concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that comprise the internationally agreed standard for measuring such items as gross domestic product (GDP), the most frequently quoted indicator of economic performance. The accounting framework of the 2008 SNA allows economic data to be compiled and presented in a format that is designed for purposes of economic analysis, decision-taking and policymaking. The accounts themselves present in a condensed way a great mass of detailed information, organized according to economic principles and perceptions, about the working of an economy. They provide a comprehensive and detailed record of the complex economic activities taking place within an economy and of the interaction between the different economic agents, and groups of agents that takes place on markets or elsewhere. The 2008 SNA were collaboratively issued by the European Commission (EC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN), and World Bank.

International Endorsement : European Commission, IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank.

International Application : At least 33 and growing. Adopting the 2008 SNA for official national accounts is strongly encouraged by the authoring organizations of the standard, whose collective membership includes almost every country in the world.

Assessment Methodology  

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The May 2012 version of the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for national accounts statistics is an update of the July 2003 version of the DQAF that reflects experience and international statistical developments, particularly updated international methodological standards of the 2008 SNA. The generic DQAF May 2012 serves as an umbrella for seven dataset-specific frameworks.