UNITED NATIONSECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFICSTATISTICAL INSTITUTE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (SIAP)

Webinar on 2008 SNA Implementation
22-23 February 2023
Concept NoteI.

Background

The System of National Accounts is a statistical framework that provides a comprehensive,
consistent and flexible set of macroeconomic accounts that can be used by governments,businesses, and international organizations for policy making, analysis and research purposes.
The SNA is intended for use by all countries, having been designed to accommodate theneeds of countries at different stages of economic development. It also provides anoverarching framework for standards in other domains of economic statistics, facilitating theintegration of these statistical systems to achieve consistency with the national accounts.

The 2008 SNA is an update of the earlier version 1993 SNA; does not recommend
fundamental or comprehensive changes; it is meant to be implemented in a flexible manner.
New features of the 2008 SNA include the treatment and classification of assets; the financial
sector; globalization and related issues; the general government and public sector; and theinformal sector.

Since 2009, ESCAP member countries have started implementing the 2008 SNA. Currently,
various countries are introducing various aspects of the 2008 SNA gradually. Major
challenges faced in the implementation could be listed as a) political support and commitment,b) data limitations, c) backcasting and d) communicating the 2008 SNA and technicalexpertise within statistical regions.

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These webinar series will focus on the current status of the implementation, challenges
affecting the implementation, country practices to these challenges and also discuss how
SNA 2025 would address these challenges.
II.

Target audience and learning outcomes

The target audience are statisticians with knowledge and experience in the collection,compilation and dissemination of national accounts statistics in Asia and the Pacific countries.
The main learning outcomes of the series of webinars are:
1. Introduce the current status of global and regional implementation of the 2008
SNA
2. Recognize the challenges in the implementation
3. Share country practices on the implementation
4. Increase knowledge on Towards the 2025 SNA

III.

Structure and dates of webinars

Two webinars will be organized in two consecutive days. Each webinar will last for twohours; it will begin with substantive presentations of the topics by experts followed bydiscussion sessions. The webinars will be conducted in English. Participants have an
opportunity to interact with the presenters orally.
Webinar 1 (22 February): The 2008 SNA Implementation

Presenter: SIAP, ESCAP Statistics Division (SD), ESCAP region NSOs representatives
Description: This session will focus the current status of the global and regional
implementation of the 2008 SNA and major challenges in the implementation
Time (UTC)
7:00-7:15
7:15-8:00
8:00-8:10
8:10-9:00

AgendaWelcome remarks (Organizers: SIAP and ESCAP SD)
Current status of the global and regional implementation of the 2008 SNA
and Q&A (Pinar Ucar, SIAP; Alick Nyasulu, ESCAP SD)
Stretch Break
Main challenges in implementation
Country experience (Türkiye)Country experience (Malaysia)
Q&A (Presenters, Pinar Ucar, SIAP; Alick Nyasulu, ESCAP SD)

Webinar 2 (23 February): Country practices
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Presenters: SIAP, ESCAP Statistics Division (SD), ESCAP region NSOs representatives
Description: This session will focus on the country experiences who have been
implemented 2008 SNA and the ones who are in the stage of implementing.
Time (UTC)
7:00-8:00

8:00-8:10
8:10-9:00

AgendaCountry Experience in Implementation (Singapore)Country Experience in Implementation (Indonesia)
Country experience in Implementation (Armenia)
Q&A (Presenters; Pinar Ucar, SIAP; Alick Nyasulu, ESCAP SD)
Stretch BreakHow would 2025 SNA address these challenges and Q&A(Alick Nyasulu, ESCAP SD)

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