1st Meeting of the Working Party on International Trade in Goods and Trade in

Services Statistics - September 2008

Australia's experience (so far) in implementing BPM 6

Bernard WilliamsDirector

Balance of Payments and International Trade Statistics

ABS implementing BPM 6 and SNA 93 Rev. 1 for September quarter 2009considerable progress has been madea number of challenges remain

This presentation focusses on:processes usedissues faced

Overview

Organisational context

ABS releases Australia's key macro-economic statisticsnational accounts, balance of payments,

international investment position, financial accounts and government finance statistics

National and international accounts within the Macroeconomics and Integration Groupbut number of different sections

Organisational context (continued)

Source data for the accounts provided by:–areas within the Macroeconomics and Integration Group

–other areas of the ABS–a range of non-ABS sources

Organisational context (continued)

Source data for the accounts provided by:–areas within the Macroeconomics and Integration Group

–other areas of the ABS–a range of non-ABS sources

Main sources for Australia's BoP are:monthly merchandise trade statisticsquarterly Survey of International Trade in

Services.quarterly International Investment Survey

Principles

Standardsminimal departuresapplied consistentlyonly implemented after extensive consultation

and publicity

Principles

Standardsminimal departuresapplied consistentlyonly implemented after extensive consultation

and publicityTiming

implement changes to GDP at same time

Principles

Standardsminimal departuresapplied consistentlyonly implemented after extensive consultation

and publicityTiming

implement changes to GDP at same timeCoordination and consultation

central coordinationprovide clients with early adviceequal access to all clients

Governance

Overview by a high level internal ABS committee

Governance (continued)

Committee to oversee tactical aspects of the implementation:plan and coordinate ABS input to standardsforum for the discussion of key issuesensure appropriate consultation on key issuesfacilitate information sharingassess implications for ABS data collectionsplan and monitor progress on implementation

of new standards in macro-economic statistics and data collections

capturing outcomes to ensure successful and effective knowledge management

Phase 1 - Input to Development of International Standards2005 to 2007 - input to international standards

Five phase strategy

Five phase strategy (continued)

Phase 2 - Scopinginitial assessment of issuesstandard template developed

–the issue–lead area–stakeholders–relevant BPM 5 standard–current ABS practice–proposed BPM 6 standard–implications for ABS

Five phase strategy (continued)

Phase 3 Work Program Integration and Internal Communicationdetailed workplans preparedrecognise interdependencies between areas,

system redevelopment plans and other developments

Five phase strategy (continued)

Phase 4 External Communicationinformation paper releasedkey economic agencies contactedadditional information papers planned for 2009

Five phase strategy (continued)

Phase 5 Implementationby 2008-09 Annualsstill in progressdetailed work to modify or develop sources,

questionnaires, methods and outputsproducing necessary back series on the new

basisupdating reference material

Non essential development deferredAdditional development funding through the ABS internal budget

Additional funding received from the Australian government

Funding

Starting pointbasically fully implemented BPM 5foreshadowed some BPM 6 changes

Significant changes include:merchantinggoods for processinggreater detail for the international investment

positionchanged treatments to investment income

Implementing BPM 6

Trade in goodsprocedures for processing merchandise trade

datawill result in increased focus on certain series

For trade in services changes categorised underframesurvey designquestionnaire and explanatory notesmodelsother system changesoutput presentation

Implementing BPM 6 (continued)

Historical series revised to make the time series of estimates as continuous as possibleclassification changesnew seriesa standard approach to measuring shifts in the

level of series

Implementing BPM 6 (continued)

Generalstaffongoing statistical productionalignment with other significant changesfocus

Issues faced

Specific issues faced by the ABS included:2009 meant that not all decisions known earlyissues more complex than anticipatedcomplex relationship between commodity

classificationssize and complexity of the Survey of

International Investment

Issues faced (continued)

Challenges ahead

Other international standardsLead time required for compiling estimates on a new basis

Goods for processing

Challenges ahead (continued)

Goods for processingnegative service feesnot capturing goods exported from Australia

for processing and subsequent importationincomplete coveragepharmaceutical industry practices vary:

–actually taking ownership–no change of ownership occurring–consumed after processing

Customs based export and import documentation does not provide sufficient information

Conclusion

Plan on the basis of the entire set of macro-economic statistics rather than the separate components

Comprehensive change management processes established

Stakeholders both within and outside the ABS consulted

Establishing a set of principles provided a solid basis for decision making

Considerable challenge to keep data sources and models up-to-date