IMF | SARTTAC

Target Audience

Officials in the ministries of finance, central banks, or statistics bureaus of SARTTAC member countries, who would benefit from refreshing existing, knowledge of the concepts, principles, sources, and methods used to compile GFS and PSDS.

Qualifications

Participants are expected to possess a degree in accounting, economics, or a related field and/or have relevant work experience, engage in regular compilation or intensive use of GFS and/or PSDS, and have proficiency in Microsoft EXCEL and WORD.

Course Description

This course offers an opportunity to learn and discuss the concepts, principles, sources, methods, accounting rules, and the general framework that is used to compile GFS and PSDS. Participants will be invited to present on key aspects of compilation and dissemination of GFS/PSDS: (1) Coverage, institutional units, and sectorization; (2) chart of accounts; (3) compilation operating systems (IFMIS, SAP, EXCEL-based, and others) and consolidation; (4) presentation of GFS statements; and (5) other issues. The fundamental features of GFS and PSDS will be covered, but the emphasis will be on participants presenting and describing related operations in their country. Workshop discussions will be in the context of the international standards presented in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014) and the Public Sector Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users 2011 (PSDS Guide). Participants’ questions/concerns will be invited and entertained throughout.
 

Course Objectives

A primary objective of this course is to enable participants to deepen their knowledge concerning the GFS/PSDS compilation and dissemination processes in their country, and to peer-learn about similar processes in other countries. Through peer-exchanges, participants may gain insights on how they can improve/enhance GFS/PSDS compilation and dissemination processes in their country. Upon completion of the workshop, participants should be able to:

• Discuss the extent to which coverage, institutional units, and sectorization in their country aligns with, or diverges from, international standards.

• Discuss the extent to which their country’s chart of accounts conforms with, or diverges from, the international standard.

• Understand how their country’s compilation systems and consolidation processes differs from compilation systems and consolidation processes in other countries, and how their compilation systems and consolidation processes might be improved.

• Prepare a prototype press release for public dissemination of GFS/PSDS.

• Present a summary of the important strengths and weaknesses of their country’s GFS/PSDS compilation and dissemination processes that have been identified through the workshop.