The Data Standards Initiatives, the SDDS and the GDDS, have achieved the goals the Executive Board set in its Fifth Review of July 2003. The staff sees the next three years as a period of consolidating these gains by maintaining the credibility of the SDDS through improved monitoring of countries’ observance of its requirements, and further integrating both the SDDS and GDDS under the Fund’s Data Quality Program (DQP) by aligning their structure with the Fund’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF). The staff proposes to include no new data categories in the SDDS and GDDS. Instead, the staff proposes to deepen descriptive information on how countries cover oil and gas activities and products in selected existing data categories.

The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board regularly reviews progress and developments under the Data Standards Initiatives. The last review—Eighth Review—undertaken in February 2012 introduced the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) Plus. In light of the long experience under the Data Standards Initiatives established in the mid-1990s, this review takes a longer term retrospective on what has been achieved so far, and highlights some of the lessons learned. What is evident is the contrast between the progress of countries with more advanced dissemination practices (SDDS and SDDS Plus), and the slow pace of improvement under the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).

This paper reviews developments under the Fund's Data Standards Initiativ--the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS)--and their integration under the Data Quality Program. The paper discusses proposals for updating the SDDS and the GDDS to maintain their relevance and reflect evolving international best practice, and for follow-up on the data module of the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC). The paper also proposes the development of a Compendium on Good Statistical Practices.

This volume documents decisions, interpretations, and resolutions of the Executive Board and Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund, as well as documents relating to the United Nations and other international organizations.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the data standards initiatives to enhance member countries’ data transparency and to promote their development of sound statistical systems. The need for data standards was highlighted by the financial crises of the mid-1990s, in which information deficiencies were seen to play a role. Under the data standards initiatives, the IMF established the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) in 1996 to provide guidance to countries that have or seek access to capital markets to disseminate key data so that users in general, and financial market participants in particular, have adequate information to assess the economic situations of individual countries. The SDDS not only prescribes that subscribers disseminate certain data categories, but also prescribes that subscribers disseminate the relevant metadata to promote public knowledge and understanding of their compilation practices with respect to the required data categories. In 1997, the IMF introduced under the initiatives the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) to provide a framework for countries that aim to develop their statistical systems, within which they can work toward disseminating comprehensive and reliable data and, eventually, meet SDDS requirements. At the Eighth Review of the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives in February 2012, the IMF’s Executive Board approved the SDDS Plus as an upper tier of the Fund’s data standards initiatives. The SDDS Plus is open to all SDDS subscribers and is aimed at economies with systemically important financial sectors.

This Manual, which updates the first edition published in 1986, is a major advance in the standards for compilation and presentation of fiscal statistics. It is intended as a reference volume for compilers of government finance statistics, fiscal analysts, and other users of fiscal data. The Manual introduces accrual accounting, balance sheets, and complete coverage of government economic and financial activities. It covers concepts, definitions, classifications, and accounting rules, and provides a comprehensive framework for analysis, planning, and policy determination. To the extent possible, the Manual has been harmonized with the System of National Accounts 1993.

This volume documents decisions, interpretations, and resolutions of the Executive Board and Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund, as well as documents relating to the United Nations and other international organizations.