The new versions of the System of National Accounts (SNA) and Balance of Payments Manual (BPM) will become available in 2025, including new guidance in areas such as globalisation, digitalisation, evolving financial markets, informal economy, and well-being and sustainability. In the coming period, the focus will shift from the conceptual work to the implementation of the new guidance. This may be relatively straightforward in some areas, but far more challenging in others, particularly where it involves the exploration of new data sources and the development of new or refined methodology to ensure high-quality, comparable data across countries. Countries will have to carefully plan for their implementation, assessing the specific data needs and the resources required for implementing the various recommendations. This will need to be done in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders (including data providers, other statistical departments, as well as users) to ensure a smooth transition.

This session will focus on the implementation of the new guidance. It will provide an overview of the current state of play with regard to the SNA and BPM updates and will zoom in on countries’ plans to implement the new guidance. It will also present the launch of a new tool, i.e., the compilers’ hub, that will assist countries in their endeavours, including detailed guidance on various macroeconomic statistical topics and also providing a mechanism for compilers to exchange best practices and to raise any questions. Furthermore, the session will reflect on the development of a framework for future updates of macroeconomic and environmental accounting systems and manuals, benefiting from the experiences obtained in the current updates.