This course examines the conceptual and practical elements of compiling and disseminating fiscal statistics according to international standards, useful to assess the impact of government activities on a country’s economy and to facilitate international comparisons. This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, focuses on both the conceptual framework of government finance statistics (GFS) as presented in the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014, the update of the 2001 edition), and on practical aspects of data compilation.

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The basic concepts, definitions, accounting rules, classifications and presentation tables of the GFS framework are discussed. The compilation and dissemination of comprehensive and cross country comparable GFS are explained.

Finally, the course shows how to use GFS to evaluate the impact of government activities on a country's economy.

What you'll learn

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

• Explain the basic concepts, definitions, and accounting principles in the integrated GFS framework.

• Classify basic government flows and stock positions according to GFSM 2014.

• Apply the general principles to classify an entity in the public sector and in relevant subsectors, such as the general government and public corporations.

• Record the fiscal flows and stocks associated with the activities of public sector entities, following the GFSM 2014 guidelines and classifications.

• Explain how the main GFS aggregates and analytical balances are calculated, and what they show about the government’s impact on the economy.

• Develop a migration plan to adopt the GFSM 2014 methodology, and compile and disseminate GFS following international guidelines.

• Recognize the value of comprehensive, consistent, and internationally comparable GFS, and the use of the key GFS indicators in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of fiscal policy.