An IMF Advanced Course on Institutional Sector Accounts

The institutional sector accounts represent a sequence of interconnected accounts that record all economic activity within a period, and stocks of assets and liabilities as at a given point. Economic agents are grouped together based on similar behavior and characteristics into institutional sectors. The accounts show the interactions between the sectors, within the sectors, and between the sectors and the rest of the world. These data therefore provide users with a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between the real and financial sectors, and the vulnerabilities that may reside in specific sectors that might spill over to other sectors. The international statistical community has placed increasing emphasis on the development of institutional sector accounts since the 2008 financial crisis to better monitor systemic risk.

The IMF Statistics Department delivered its Advanced Course on Institutional Sector Accounts at the JVI during January 15-26, 2024. The aim of the course was to provide participants with the necessary skills to compile or further enhance their country's institutional sector accounts. Thirty participants from eighteen countries attended the course.  

The course covered advanced methodological and practical issues related to the compilation of the accounts. The materials presented were based on the 2008 System of National Accounts and related handbooks on financial statistics and securities statistics. The lectures provided a thorough review of the methodological framework, concepts, and definitions relating to institutional sector accounts, examined potential data sources for the compilation of annual and quarterly accounts, and illustrated possible compilation techniques and procedures. The course also included sessions on fintech and cryptocurrencies and household distributional tables. Participants were placed into smaller groups for four workshop sessions on practical compilation issues. 

Participants were highly engaged during the lecture and workshop sessions. The discussions focused on practical issues that they face or are likely to face during compilation. They rated the course highly in both training and administrative elements. The written feedback was also very positive. Participants noted that the lecturers provided detailed explanations and answers to their questions and that the workshops were very useful in clarifying the issues presented in the lectures.

Thomas F. Alexander, Senior Economist, IMF Statistics Department