National Accounts, Financial Accounts

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Government Finances, Economic Statistics.
Jesper Søgaard Dreesen
+45 51 64 92 61

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National Accounts, Financial Accounts 2024

Financial accounts are part of the national accounts system, which shows how the institutional sectors of the economy place / finance their net lending/net borrowing. Statistics Denmark published annual financial accounts for the first time in 2001, while the Danmarks Nationalbank (Danish Central Bank) published quarterly figures for the first time in 2004. From September 2020, the national and quarterly financial accounts of the national accounts is compiled in a collaboration between Danmarks Nationalbank and Statistics Denmark.

The financial accounts statistics have undergone a benchmark revision since the last publication. In this benchmark revision, the statistics have been revised back to 1995. The benchmark revision is a pan-European project that is carried out every 5 years. The purpose of the revision is to incorporate new knowledge and new methods and to ensure uniform calculation methods for all countries.

Statistical presentation

Financial accounts are part of the national accounts system and consist of coherent definitions and classifications that show how the institutional sectors of the economy place / finance their net lending / net borrowing and how the net financial net worth are placed in financial instruments. Financial accounts are a quarterly and annual statistics and consist of the financial transaction account, the revaluation account, the account for other volume changes and respectively the opening and closing balances. Contact information for Danmarks Nationalbank can be found in Comments.

The compilation of National Accounts in 2020 is affected by additional uncertainty in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is especially true in the first compilations where source material is scarce. As more information becomes available, the National Accounts will be updated. Read more (only available in Danish) at www.dst.dk/Nationalregnskab

Statistical processing

Data is collected continuously throughout the year from many different sources. Then the data is processed in relation to the conceptual apparatus of the national accounts, where it may be necessary to contact the specific source with clarifying questions for the data. There may be a need to calculate estimates for the data that are not available at the time of publication. Once all sources have been obtained, some balancing is carried out to ensure the internal consistency that underpins the national accounts.

Relevance

The purpose of these statistics is to shed light on the wealth and debt of companies and households as well as the overall financial stability of society. Financial accounts are relevant to anyone dealing with socio-economic issues. It ranges from Danmarks Nationalbank, financial institutions, the economic ministries, interest groups and financial analysts. The press is particularly interested in the figures for the household sector.

Accuracy and reliability

The ability of the national accounts' financial accounts to accurately describe the economic reality depends partly on the uncertainty associated with the sources and partly on the model assumptions on which the preparation is based. Some parts can be calculated more accurately than others, as there is better access to source data. The initial bids for a period's financial accounts will be more uncertain than the final version, which comes after two and a half years, as new sources are continuously revised when new sources become available.

Timeliness and punctuality

The first version of the quarterly financial accounts is published 90 days after the end of the quarter. In connection with the publication of the 4th quarter at the end of March, the first version of the annual financial accounts will also be published. The final quarterly and annual financial accounts are issued two and a half years after the census period. The national accounts are published in time.

Comparability

The national accounts' financial accounts are prepared in accordance with international guidelines and are thus comparable across countries. The current guidelines were implemented in 2014.

As of September 2020, there is full comparability between the quarterly and annual financial accounts from 2017 onwards.

Danmarks Nationalbank has quarterly figures dating back to 2005, while Statistics Denmark has annual figures dating back to 1995. For the period before 2017, however, the two statistics do not match, which can primarily be attributed to different sources or methodological choices.

Accessibility and clarity

The statistics are published in StatBank under the topic National accounts and public finances and in Danmarks Nationalbank's Statbank under the topic Financial accounts.