Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics

Directorate for National Accounts

Istat, Direzione Centrale per la Contabilita' Nazionale

Via Cesare Balbo 16 00184 - Roma - Italy

National accounts data concern all data produced and disseminated for an economy according to the definitions and guidelines of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

National accounts provide data for the total economy, but may include breakdowns of the total economy (into sectors, industries, products, regions, etc.). National accounts provide data for several domains:  annual and quarterly national accounts (main aggregates), sector accounts, financial accounts, supply and use and input-output tables, regional accounts and government finance statistics.

One of the main aggregates of national accounts is the change rate of the price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP), which indicates the economic development of a country of region and is also referred to as economic growth rate.

In Eurobase, countries' data are presented following the usual data structure.

At national level, data are available for :

- annual and quarterly national accounts

- annual and quarterly sector accounts

- annual financial accounts and balance sheets

- annual non-financial balance sheets

- supply and use and input-output tables

- annual and quarterly government finance statistics data: 'main aggregates', quarterly financial government accounts and government debt

- regional breakdowns of main national accounts variables and household accounts

- industry breakdowns of main national accounts variables

- industry by asset breakdowns (stocks and transactions)

- detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function

- pension entitlements in social insurance

In Italy, National Accounts data are organized for dissemination via the I.stat data warehouse in the following sections:

- annual national accounts (including industry breakdowns of main national accounts aggregates, industry by asset breakdowns (stocks and transactions) and Households final consumption expenditure by purpose)

- quarterly national accounts

- regional accounts (including household accounts by region)

- annual non-financial sector accounts (including annual non-financial balance sheets)

- quarterly sector accounts

- general government statistics data (including annual data, quarterly data, detailed data on taxes, social contributions and government expenditure by function)

- productivity measures

- environmental accounts (satellite)

- social protection accounts (satellite)

- agriculture, forestry and fishing accounts (satellite)

- Health care accounts (satellite)

Financial data for annual and quarterly sector accounts and data on quarterly financial government accounts and government debt are produced and disseminated by the Bank of Italy .

The ESA 2010 provides a methodology on common standards, definitions, internationally harmonised classifications and accounting rules that are used for compiling national accounts on comparable bases.

The ESA 2010 defines classifications to be used for: institutional sectors, transactions in products, transactions in non-financial non-produced assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, balancing and net worth items, balance sheet entries, non-financial assets, financial assets and liabilities.

In addition, for several breakdowns ESA 2010 makes use of other classifications: NACE Rev. 2 for economic activities, CPA 2014 for products by economic activities, COFOG for the functions of government, COICOP for individual consumption by purpose, COPNI for classification of the purposes of non-profit institutions serving households, NUTS 2013 for regional breakdowns.

A full overview of classifications is available in:

- ESA 2010 Chapter 23 Classifications

- Eurostat's RAMON classification database

National accounts describe the total economy of a country. All units that have their centre of predominant economic interest in the economic territory of that country are covered.

In addition, several breakdowns of the total are described. Two of the most important breakdowns are the breakdown by institutional sector and the breakdown by NACE Rev. 2 activity. Exhaustiveness is required for each of the breakdown items.

Concerning the institutional sector breakdown, ESA 2010 distinguishes five mutually exclusive domestic institutional sectors: (a) non-financial corporations; (b) financial corporations; (c) general government; (d) households; (e) non-profit institutions serving households. The five sectors together make up the total domestic economy. Each sector is also divided into subsectors.

Regarding the activity breakdown, ESA 2010 applies NACE Rev.2. Activities can be broken down into several levels of detail, for example into 3, 10, 21, 38, 64 or 88 activities. At the 'highest' level a breakdown into 3 categories is defined: (a) agriculture, forestry and fishing; (b) mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity gas steam and air conditioning supply, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, construction; (c) services.

In Italy Households sector distinguishes between households as consumer and as producer, data based on this distinction are disseminated at national level. Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies are excluded by both the economic activities and the products classifications.

All statistical concepts and definitions to be used in national accounts are described in Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation (link to blue book on ESA2010 methodology). The two main sets of tables concern: (a) the institutional sector accounts; (b) the input-output framework, and the accounts by industry.

The sector accounts provide, by institutional sector, a systematic description of the different stages of the economic process: production, generation of income, distribution of income, redistribution of income, use of income and financial and nonfinancial accumulation. The sector accounts also include balance sheets to describe the stocks of assets, liabilities and net worth at the beginning and the end of the accounting period. The variables/concepts described in the sector accounts include transactions in products, transactions in non-produced non-financial assets, distributive transactions, transactions in financial assets and liabilities, other changes in assets, non-financial and financial assets and liabilities.

The input-output framework, through the supply and use tables, sets out in more detail the production process (cost structure, income generated and employment) and the flows of goods and services (output, imports, exports, final consumption, intermediate consumption and capital formation by product group). These variables are broken down by industry (NACE Rev. 2) and product (CPA 2014).

ESA 2010 also encompasses concepts of population and employment. Such concepts are relevant for the sector accounts, the accounts by industry and the supply and use framework.

Regional accounts provide regional breakdowns for major aggregates such as gross value added by industry, gross fixed capital formation and household income. Regional breakdowns are based on the NUTS classification. National accounts concepts are also used for regional accounts.

In addition Annex A of the ESA 2010 Regulation addresses and defines numerous other concepts and definitions, such as the definition of: statistical units and their groupings, flows and stocks, accounting rules (valuation, time of recording, consolidation and netting).  The main features and principles for the compilation of national accounts can be found in Chapter 1.

Following the ESA 2010 guidelines, in national accounts two types of units and two corresponding ways of subdividing the economy are used: (a) institutional unit; (b) local kind-of-activity unit (local KAU). The first type is used for describing income, expenditure and financial flows as well as balance sheets. The second type of units is used for the description of production processes, for input-output analysis and for regional analysis.

An institutional unit is an economic entity characterised by decision-making autonomy in the exercise of its principal function. A resident unit is regarded as constituting an institutional unit in the economic territory where it has its centre of predominant economic interest if it has decision-making autonomy and either keeps a complete set of accounts, or is able to compile a complete set of accounts.

A local KAU groups all the parts of an institutional unit in its capacity as producer which are located in a single site or in closely located sites, and which contribute to the performance of an activity at the class level (four digits) of the NACE Rev. 2.

An institutional unit comprises one or more local KAUs; a local KAU belongs to one and only one institutional unit.

The national accounts population of a country consists of all resident statistical units (institutional units or local KAUs, see section 3.5). A unit is a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of predominant economic interest on the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (one year or more) in economic activities on this territory.

National accounts are exhaustive. This means that all resident statistical units are covered.

The reference area for national accounts is the total economy of a country. The total economy of a country can be broken down into regions. The NUTS classification provides a single, uniform breakdown of the economic territory of the Member States of the EU.

National accounts data are usually compiled for years and quarters.

In general, the ESA 2010 transmission programme requires data starting in 1995 (years) and 1995Q1 (quarters) but some series start later. If backwards data exist, they may have been compiled according to earlier versions of ESA and can present conceptual breaks with those compiled under ESA2010. 

The concept of 'base period' is not applied in national accounts. Instead, for some national accounts variables the concepts of previous year prices and chain-linked volumes are applied, as stipulated in Commission Decision 98/715/EC. Expressing variables at the prices of the previous year allows the calculation of volume indices between the current time period and the previous year. After a reference period is chosen as a benchmark, volume indices can be chain-linked and then applied to variables at current prices of the benchmark year. This generates volume estimates for any period of observation.

Italy currently uses 2010 as the reference year for the compilation of chain-linked volumes. The method to compile quarterly chain-linked volumes is the annual overlap method.

With the exception of some variables concerning population and labour that are usually expressed in number of persons, hours or jobs, the ESA 2010 system shows all flows and stocks in monetary terms: in euros or other national currency. Flows and stocks shall be measured according to their exchange value, i.e. the value at which flows and stocks are in fact, or could be, exchanged for cash. Market prices are, thus, the ESA's reference for valuation.

In addition to measurement in current (market) prices, some national accounts variables are also expressed in previous year's prices and chain-linked volumes, see section 3.9. Furthermore, it is possible to derive growth rates and indices, and various other measures '(e.g. percentages, per capita data, data expressed in purchasing power standards)' can be applied as well.

In Italy employment data are released also in Full Time Equivalent units.

The reference period to be used for presenting national accounts data is the calendar year for annual data and the quarter for quarterly data.

Two basic kinds of information are recorded: flows and stocks. Flows refer to actions and effects of events that take place within a given period of time (year or quarter), while stocks refer to positions at a point of time (usually the beginning or end of a year or quarter).

National accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) which was published in the Official Journal as Annex A of Regulation (EU) No 549/2013. The ESA 2010 transmission programme is covered in Annex B

The ESA 2010 has the form of a Regulation and it provides for:

• a methodology (Annex A) on common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules that shall be used for compiling accounts and tables on comparable bases (link to blue book on ESA 2010 methodology);
• a programme of data transmission (Annex B) setting out the time limits by which Member States shall transmit to Eurostat the accounts and tables (link to ESA 2010 transmission programme).

Temporary derogations to the data transmission requirements have been granted to Member States, up to 2020, by the Commission Implementing Decision 2014/403/EU of 26 June 2014 thus allowing national data to deviate temporarily from the ESA 2010 transmission requirements.

Some other legal acts with relevance for national accounts concern:

- Commission Decision 98/715 of 30 November 1998 and Commission Decision 2002/990 of 17 December 2002 on measurement of price and volumes in national accounts.

- Legal act on the excessive deficit procedure

Several separate acts, often regarding classifications such as: NACE Rev.2, CPA 2014, COFOG, COICOP, NUTS 2013.

On the Eurostat website, sections 'National accounts'  and 'Government finance and EDP', more legal acts relevant for national accounts can be found.

National accounts data are key datasets used and published by many international organisations to improve data consistency and exploit synergies for data collection and validation. An initiative to improve data sharing for National Accounts was launched in 2016 by the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (comprising representatives of the Bank for International Settlements, the European Central Bank, Eurostat, the IMF, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, and the World Bank) under the G20 Data Gap Initiative.

The Legislative Decree no. 322 of 6 September 1989 includes provisions on data sharing and coordination within SISTAN: according to the article no. 6 Statistical Offices, under the coordination of Istat, shall cooperate with other authorities for the execution of the surveys provided for in the National Statistical Programme.

Directives issued by COMSTAT have further strengthened these provisions. In addition, Istat has developed statistical information systems utilized throughout SISTAN for sharing data. Istat also cooperates closely with agencies that do not belong to SISTAN through specific data sharing protocols and agreements. According to the Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.and to the DPR no. 166 of 7 September 2010, Istat is part of the European Statistical System and coordinates and shares data with the Commission (Eurostat) and the others national statistical institutes and other national authorities responsible in each Member State for the development, production and dissemination of European Statistics.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. The European Statistics Code of Practice provides further conditions that have to be respected by statistical offices in regard to statistical confidentiality (Principle 5).

In Italy, according to the article n. 9 of the Legislative Decree n. 322 of 6 September 1989 data collected by statistical offices within the statistical surveys included in the National Statistical Programme may not be disclosed other than in aggregated form such that no reference to identifiable units can be extracted. Furthermore, they may be used only for statistical purposes. Data may not be communicated or disseminated neither to any external subject, public or private, nor to any department of the public administration other than in aggregate form and using modalities which prevent the identification of the units involved. The Code of Conduct annexed to the Legislative Decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003 (Personal Data Protection Code) provides special rules concerning the processing of personal data for statistical purposes within SISTAN (see section 6.1). In order to make statistical secrecy and protection of personal data effective, Istat is currently taking appropriate organisational, logistical, methodological and statistical measures in accordance with internationally established standards. In accordance with the Personal Data Protection Code, respondents are informed of their rights and obligations with regard to the provision of information, and they are assured that the information they provide will be used for statistical purposes only.

Further principles concerning the protection of the data confidentiality, are established by the Code of Professional Ethics and Good Conduct for the Treatment of personal data for statistical purposes and scientific research purposes performed within the framework of the National Statistical System (Legislative Decree no. 196, June 30, 2003). 

Institutional relations between Istat and the Bank of Italy are managed by a Coordination Committee, established within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding which regulates cooperation between the two Institutions in the field of research and exchange of statistical information. The Committee has defined a procedure for the bilateral exchange of micro-data in the cases provided for by Regulation (Ec) No 223/2009 of  the European Parliament and of the Council, art. 21 and of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, art. 8a. Arrangements for the exchange of data between Istat and the Bank of Italy for research purposes are being developed.

In a statistical sense, ‘confidential data’ means data which allow statistical units to be identified, either directly or indirectly, thereby disclosing individual information. To determine whether a statistical unit is identifiable, account shall be taken of all relevant means that might reasonably be used by a third party to identify the statistical unit. Although national accounts data are usually highly aggregated, there may be possible cases for detailed breakdowns of aggregates and/or small economies. In these cases measures should be taken in order not to disclose data of a separate statistical unit. Guidance on how to prevent disclosure can be found in the Handbook on Statistical Disclosure Control.

Istat has adopted a general security policy to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability (in tracked procedures) of all data processed within the Institute.

Good practice requires that new national accounts data and associated news releases are announced in a release calendar that is published well in advance of the respective releases.

In December of each year ISTAT publishes a press release calendar setting the release dates for the coming year. The calendar is distributed to the press and to the general public via the web site.

Release calendars should be easily available and accessible for users, e.g. by publication on the website of an NSI.

ISTAT posts the calendar on the website (https://www.istat.it/en/information-and-services/journalists/release-calendar). Not all the disseminations  are included in the press release calendar but all are included in the weekly update Calendario delle diffusioni e degli eventi (https://www.istat.it/it/informazioni-e-servizi/per-i-giornalisti/appuntamenti/calendario-diffusioni-ed-eventi).

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice (Principle 6 on impartiality and objectivity, Principle 13 on timeliness and punctuality and Principle 15 on accessibility and clarity), national accounts data that meet the quality standards, including relevant metadata, should be made available to users. Users should be informed when the data become available and how they can be accessed.

According to its mission, Istat disseminates statistical information in order to make it accessible and usable to everyone and to remove any barriers to the use of data. All data releases are posted on Istat website according to an annual release calendar (see Section 8.1). Time series are available on I.Stat database and, through thematic information systems, users can choose information according to their needs, building customised tables or downloading prepackaged datasets. Data are always accompanied by meta-information  concerning methodologies, classifications, definitions. Microdata files are released in compliance with the principle of statistical confidentiality and protection of personal data. Ebook, apps and infographics are also available on the web site; moreover main contents are disseminated through Istat Official Twitter account and other social networks. All Istat information are available free of charge and data are reusable referencing the source.

New quarterly national accounts data are published each quarter: 4 times per year. However, depending on circumstances and national practices, initially released quarterly national accounts data may be revised and disseminated again. Annual national accounts data are published at least once a year: when data for a new year are added. But, depending on country practices and revision policy, annual data can also be published more often, e.g. publication of a provisional estimate early in the calendar year and a revised one later in the calendar year.

Frequency for Italian National Accounts dissemination (see also Section 10.1 and 10.3) is the following: 

2 times per year: Annual National Accounts, Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, Balance sheet for Non-Financial Assets, General Government Accounts, Taxes and Social Contributions, Employment; 

2 times each quarter (Q+30 days (Preliminary)  and Q+ 60 days): Quarterly National Accounts; 

one time each quarter: Quarterly Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts, General Government Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts;

once a year: Regional Accounts, Disposable Income of Households in Italian Regions, Annual General Government Expenditure by Function, SUIOT.

The most important results of national accounts are issued in news releases. New key national accounts data may also be presented in press conferences or press briefings. The exact dates are pre-announced in release calendars (see section 8.1 above).

All Italian National Accounts press/news releases can be downloaded from https://www.istat.it/it/conti-nazionali. Short forms are available in english (https://www.istat.it/en/national-accounts).

Among the scheduled ones (included in the annual release calendar):

For Annual National Accounts and General Government data,  two press releases each year are made available: PIL e indebitamento AP (1st March - GDP and General Government Net Borrowing) and Conti economici nazionali (22 September - Annual National Accounts); 

Quarterly National Accounts data are disseminated via two news releases each quarter: Stima preliminare del PIL (Q+30 days - Preliminary GDP estimate) and Conti economici trimestrali (Q+ 60 days - Quarterly National Accounts);

Quarterly Non-Financial Sectoral Accounts are disseminated via one news releases each quarter : Conto trimestrale delle amministrazioni pubbliche, reddito e risparmio delle famiglie e profitti delle società (Q+90 - Quarterly Non-Financial Accounts For General Government, Households Income And Savings And Non-Financial Corporation Profit);

Annual accounts by institutional sector are dissemineted once per year in the press release Conti economici per settore istituzionale (Mid-April - Annual accounts by institutional sector)

A press release about Non observed economy is released each year Economia non osservata nei Conti nazionali (Mid-October - Non observed Economy in National Accounts)

Among not scheduled (but regular) releases:

Regional accounts are disseminated twice a year: Stima preliminare del PIL e dell'occupazione a livello territoriale (June - Italian version only) and Conti economici territoriali (December - Regional Accounts) 

Balance sheet for non financial assets are reported in a press release: La ricchezza non finanziaria in Italia (January - Non-financial Wealth in Italy)

In addition to news releases, national accounts data may be disseminated in other publications, such as statistical papers, yearbooks, internal and external articles. Usually this concerns publications in which more in-depth analysis is carried out.

All Istat' general publications (https://www.istat.it/en/analysis-and-products/publications), presenting analyses and data on the state of the country observed from multiple points of view, report and comment National Accounts data: Rapporto Annuale (May - Annual Report), Noi Italia (January - Noi Italia), Annuario Statistico italiano (November - only in Italian), Italia in Cifre (February - Italy in figures).    

In order to enable easy access to national accounts data, all validated national accounts data should be made available to users by publishing them in an online database.

The complete set of series is issued, at the same time of the press release, through the Istat data warehouse I.Stat in the section National Accounts.

Supply, Use, Input-output Tables and NAM (National Accounts Matrix) are disseminated as excel files.

Not applicable.

In addition to news releases and other publications (see sections 10.1 and 10.2), information on national accounts may be posted using social media.

Twitter account: @istat_it

Instagram: @istat_it

The general methodological framework for the compilation of national accounts in the EU is ESA 2010.

In addition, several handbooks have been developed to help compilers to produce national accounts data. Some of the most important methodological manuals are the Handbook on quarterly national accounts, Manual on regional accounts methods, Eurostat Manual of Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables, Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Also, guidance manuals on specific topics are available, e.g. compilation guide on land estimation, compilation guide on inventories, Manual on measuring Research and Development in ESA 2010.

The manuals above specifically apply to EU national accounts statistics. However, world-wide equivalents are often also available: SNA 2008, Quarterly National Accounts Manual, Handbook on Input-Output Table Compilation and Analysis, Government Finance Statistics Manual. 

All press releases have a part (in Italian) dedicated to methodology ( http://www.istat.it/it/conti-nazionali ). Transition of Annual National Account from ESA 95 to ESA 2010 has been presented in a dedicated page updated in 2014/2015 (Italian version: http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/110424 ; English version: http://www.istat.it/en/archive/110843) where methodological changes have been described. A presentation seminar of innovations introduced with ESA 2010 in all the domains of national accounts has been held in December 2014 (https://www.slideshare.net/slideistat/tag/sec-2010 ) Regional accounts methodological innovations in ESA 2010 have been presented in a seminar held in November 2016; materials in Italian are available at the page https://www.slideshare.net/slideistat/tag/sec2010 . Quarterly economic and sectoral accounts methodological innovations have been presented in a seminar held in April 2016; materials in Italian are available at the page https://www.slideshare.net/slideistat/tag/seminario-21aprile2016 . In September 2016 a seminar has been dedicated to recent innovations in measuring the non- observed economy; materials in Italian are available at the page https://www.slideshare.net/slideistat/tag/seminario-13-settembre-2016 . For financial accounts, a manual describing the main issues related to the compilation is available at the following link http://www.bancaditalia.it/statistiche/2016-conti-finanziari.pdf . At the moment only an Italian version is available, an English manual is in progress. 

The importance of national accounts requires that documentation should be available on the procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment. Examples of such documentation are national accounts quality reports, quality studies and reports on revision analysis.

As for all Istat statistical processes, National Accounts statistical processes quality documentation is available through the SIDI/SIQual system http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/lang.do?language=UK.

In addition, since June 2018 national quality report (whose structure is based on the ESS Standard SIMS 2.0) have been disseminated for several Istat statistical processes including some National Account processes, in Italian (https://www.istat.it/it/metodi-e-strumenti/strumenti-per-la-qualit%C3%A0/schede-standard-di-qualit%C3%A0)

National quality report for Italy has been compiled and submitted to Eurostat for Years 2016 and 2017.

Quality of national accounts data is assured by strict application of ESA 2010 concepts and by applying the guidelines of the ESS handbook for quality reports.

During the overall compilation process, national and regional accounts data undergo several kinds of quality checks, e.g. ex-ante (source statistics), ongoing (results), ex-post (methods used) and external checks (Eurostat, European or national Court of Auditors, IMF).

The Italian practices regarding quality assurance are described in a dedicated page of the Istat Site (https://www.istat.it/en/organisation-and-activity/quality-commitment).

In National accounts directorate, the Division "Treatment and verification of the quality of public finance data" provides analysis for the verification of the perimeter of General Government (S.13) and manages its ongoing updating. It defines and develops the procedures of processing and verification of the quality of basic data for the compilation of government finance statistics. It manages the activities for developing quality management procedures and robust accounting methods in the administrations that provide the sources of public finance.

Eurostat provides methodological validation of GNI data and EDP data. If the data are not methodologically correct Eurostat puts action points and gives reservations on data.

Valuation of quality for Italian National Accounts data are presented in the Eurostat assessment report released each year according to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 (Eurostat’s assessment of quality of national and regional accounts for the year 2016 available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statistical-reports/-/KS-FT-18-004). 

The internal quality control system is defined in accordance with the guidelines and indicators established at European level to ensure the quality of statistics, while applying the criteria set by the European Code of Practice. Istat established a centralized system for collecting information aimed at quality monitoring, called “Information system for documentation of surveys and quality control (SIDI-SIQUAL)”. SIDI-SIQUAL is a system designed in order to monitor the production process, considering all the dimensions of quality over time and across surveys. In this respect, the system simultaneously manages the metadata and the standard of quality indicators in an integrated way for all Istat surveys and some national accounts estimates. The information reported in the system represent a tool for the governance of statistical production but also a dissemination tool, providing information on the quality of statistics for internal and external users.

National accounts data provide key information for economic policy monitoring and decision making, for forecasting, for administrative purposes, for informing the general public about economic developments (directly or indirectly via news agencies), and as input for economic research.

At national level, ministries of finance and regional development, scientific and academic communities and economic researchers are usually the entities who most use national and regional accounts data. 

Also international Organizations (IMF, OECD, ILO, WB, BCE) use national accounts data.

ISTAT is constantly interested in understanding who the users of the statistics it produces are, what the information needs are, whether they match production and if the statistics produced satisfy users. To this aim, together with the analysis of user requests received through the Web Contact Center service, tools for direct consultation were developed, such as the annual online survey of customer satisfaction and indirect tools such as analysis of accesses and of users’ browsing paths on the web site . To complete the Istat strategy in addressind users, the Statistical Information Users Committee (Cuis) was set up in 2011, with the aim of assisting the Institute in the recognition of the demand for statistical information expressed by institutions, public and private sectors professional users and the society as a whole. The Commission currently includes about 50 members, representing associations, bodies and institutions that use official statistical information. It is responsible for evaluating the compliance of official data with users' needs and for reporting any information gaps, proposing solutions to fill them.

In the SISTAN System is established a quality group about "National Accounts and Prices". Representatives of Sistan and non-Sistan entities participate in the meetings. The group is in charge to analyze the demand and supply of statistical information for the National Statistical Programme.  

Statistics on access by subject to the Institute data warehouse are made available to producers. Meeting, task forces, expert and working groups represent occasions to collect the needs of Institutional users.

In most countries national accounts cover the domains national accounts main aggregates, government accounts, sector accounts regional accounts and supply and use tables. However, the content of the data on these domains as well as the (details of the) various breakdowns (by region, sector, industry, product, etc.) may deviate per country, depending on national needs and available sources.

The ESA 2010 transmission programme, consisting of 22 tables across all national accounts domains (see section10.3) defines the minimum national accounts data set that must be available in all Member States of the EU.

In 2017, the overall completeness of the Italian National Accounts data as required by the ESA 2010 Transmission Programme was very high.

In terms of mandatory data, Italy transmitted nearly complete datasets, except for two ESA 2010 tables. The breakdown of output in Table 8 was marginally incomplete (only 0.2% missing). The completeness rate of Table 29 was calculated to be 76.9%; this results from some pension regimes not being taken into account or included in other columns of the Table, and these regimes are marginal, covering less than 1% of the total workforce.

Direct assessment of accuracy (estimation of variance and bias components of MSE of estimates) is not applicable for NA data. Revision analysis can provide an assessment of data  reliability.

For Quarterly National Accounts and Quarterly Sectoral Accounts a section dedicated to the revisions is available at http://www.istat.it/en/economic-trends. For key indicators, this section contains, besides the dissemination of information about revisions, the classification of revisions.

For Annual National a section of the press release is dedicated to the explanation and analysis of revisions of main aggregates with respect to the previous release.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

National accounts data should become available to users as timely as possible, taking into account the frequency of the data (annual or quarterly), the character of the data (info on the structure of an economy or on conjuncture developments) and an adequate balance between accuracy and timeliness.

The ESA 2010 transmission programme defines the required timeliness for all national accounts tables. Quarterly tables should become available between 2 and 3 months after the quarter-end. The annual tables have to be transmitted between 2 months (main aggregates) and 36 months (supply and use tables) after the end of the reference year.

Good practice requires that the dates on which national accounts data become available are pre-announced and that the pre-announced publication dates are met.

National accounts data transmissions in the framework of the ESA 2010 transmission programme should be punctually delivered to Eurostat at the timeliness defined in the transmission programme (or before).

In 2017 Italy successfully transmitted most of the required data in a timely manner.

In 2017 all the releases of National Accounts data have been disseminated according to the timetable scheduled in advance.

The geographical comparability of national accounts in Member States of the EU is ensured by the application of common definitions of the European System of Accounts ESA 2010). Worldwide geographical comparison is also possible as most non-European countries apply the SNA 2008 guidelines, and SNA 2008 is consistent with ESA 2010.

As the data for all reference periods are compiled according to the requirements of the ESA 2010, national accounts data are fully comparable over time. Also, in the case of fundamental changes to methods or classifications, revisions of long time series are performed, usually going far back into the past.

Within the system of national accounts there is full consistency between the domains: annual and quarterly national accounts, government accounts, sector accounts, financial accounts, regional accounts, supply and use tables. However, in practice full consistency may not always be possible and temporary discrepancies might occur. They are usually the result of vintage differences.

Primary statistics like structural business statistics (SBS), short term statistics (STS) and labour force statistics (LFS) are widely used as input for national accounts. However, there is no full consistency between these statistical domains and national accounts. Main reasons are differences in concepts/definitions and in coverage. Balance of payments is also used as an important source for national accounts. The definitions and coverage of balance of payments, as defined in the BPM6 manual, are fully harmonised with those in ESA 2010. Therefore, balance of payments variables are in principle fully coherent with the corresponding national accounts variables.

In 2017, the coherence between the assessed annual and quarterly statistics submitted by Italy, according to the ESA2010 TP, was at the highest level.

The internal coherence of the assessed Italian data is high. Italian data are also largely coherent in terms of additivity.

Not available.

National accounts data are subject to continuous revisions as new input data become available. They are called routine revisions and entail regular revisions of country data and of the European aggregates, which are derived from the former.

More rarely, exceptional revisions (called benchmark revisions) will result from major changes in data sources, classifications or methodology. For example, when changing from ESA95 to ESA 2010, a benchmark revision occurred at country level and at euro area/EU data level.

Two Task Forces developed proposals for a more harmonised approach for benchmark and routine revisions. The one under the auspices of the Directors of Macroeconomic Statistics (DMES) dealt with benchmark revision policy, the other under the auspices of the Committee on Monetary, Financial, and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB) on the European Harmonised Revision Policy dealing with routine revisions. 

In Italy, all press releases have a part (in Italian) dedicated to methodology in which the revision policy is described (http://www.istat.it/it/conti-nazionali ). As described in section 13.1, a section of the press release is dedicated to the explanation and analysis of revisions of aggregates with respect to the previous release.

Regarding revision policy implementation, Italy is adherent to the amended harmonised European revision policy agreed by the CMFB in June 2017, with the exception of financial accounts (see below).

National accounts data are released twice a year, at the end of February and at the end of September. The September release takes into account statistical sources that become available after February. If no significant adjustment to year t-4 is deemed necessary, in the February release of year t a final estimate is published for year t-3, while a provisional estimate for year t-2 and a first estimate for year t-1 are compiled, both through a simplified approach based on quarterly estimates (QNA). Then, in the following September release data are revised for year t-2, drawing upon statistical sources that have become available and again for year t-1. The main sources of information are assessed every year. In particular, in September the estimates for year t-2 include final data from the system of structural business statistics Frame-SBS and draw  upon the maximum detail of statistical sources. It also includes in the accounts a sound measure of underreporting of value added, based on detailed firm-level data and on individual information concerning undeclared employment. 

In general, the September (of year t) release reffering to year t-2 data corresponds to the transition from the QNA-based simplified approach to the one based on very detailed statistical sources can cause a substantial impact on the estimates (GDP included). 

As regards General Government accounts, the revision approach for data issued in September is the following: the estimate for year t-3 is almost definitive, the one for year t-2 is semi-definitive since part of final sources are missing, and the one for year t-1 is provisional since it relies mainly on cash-based sources. With respect to the February release, this transmission benefits of a revised data source (the final State annual budget) that provides accrual information for the main sub-sector of Italian GG for year t-1.

The Bank of Italy (BoI) currently does not implement the CMFB revision policy in its compilation of the annual financial accounts. The principal data sources for the production of annual financial accounts are (1) BoP statistics, (2) Quarterly Financial Accounts for General Government - QFAGG, (3) Banking statistics and (4) administrative sources such as tax records and corporate balance sheet data from the Business Register. Revisions to Government data occur more frequently but any and all revisions are incorporated annually during the compilation phase of production. The nature and occurrence of routine revisions, along with any exceptional revisions (for example, as a result of methodological changes), are communicated to users normally with the publication of the data itself. Revisions are generally incorporated into the quarterly financial accounts as and when they occur or become available. For Financial accounts the most important revisions relating to the previous two years occur at the first compilation round after the BoI’s Annual Report; this round corresponds to the release of the first quarter (completed in June). Explanations relating to significant revisions are usually communicated to users at the time of publication.

While revisions should be seen as a process to progressively improve the quality of national accounts as e.g. better sources and/or methods become available, the availability of metadata on revisions is a key element for understanding  national accounts data and revisions between subsequent releases.

Therefore, information on the main reasons for revisions and their nature (new source data available, new methods, etc.) as well as possibly quantitative and qualitative assessment on the average size of revisions and their direction based on historical data is required.

Italy performed no major routine or benchmark revisions in 2017. 

National and regional accounts compilation builds up on statistics that are primarily collected for other purposes (primary statistics).

It relies on a variety of data sources, including administrative data: car and business registers, accounting statements, tax data, budgetary reports, population censuses, statistical surveys of businesses and households, statements of supervising institutions and branch organisations, annual and quarterly reports, trade statistics on goods and services, balance of payments information.

There is no single survey source for national accounts. Sources vary from country to country and provide statistical information on a large set of economic, social, financial and environmental phenomena, which may not be strictly related to national accounts.

National accounts are usually compiled on an annual or quarterly basis from other primary statistics. The frequency of data collection of primary statistics varies according to the nature of the data source. For example, business statistics are typically available on a monthly (and quarterly) basis. Some households' surveys are available on quarterly or annual frequency (sometimes even less frequent). Availability of administrative data varies from country to country. Population censuses are mostly collected every decade.

The frequency and timing of the compilation of national accounts are not necessary aligned with the frequency and timing of (all) primary statistics data collections.

The data collection is very country specific and also varies according to the nature of the data source, e.g. administrative data, tax and car registers, surveys, accounting statements.  Guidance can be found in the Handbook of Recommended Practices for Questionnaire Development and Testing Methods in the ESS. 

National accounts departments typically do not collect data themselves but receive them from other departments or institutions. Countries can provide a more detailed description of the channels by which external data are collected.

The ESS guidelines suggest that the methods used for data collection should be described. It can also be appropriate to complete the section with the following issues: (i) an NSI usually signs an agreement and technical protocol for cooperation with other institutions on what, when, how, etc. the data would be delivered; (ii) national accounts department also participates in the development of the questionnaires of statistical surveys of other departments.

The data used for the compilation of national accounts come from other Directorates of the Institute and other organizations or Institutions. The main interchange of data flows with external bodies and Institutions is regulated by negotiating Acts (framework agreements, conventions, research protocols and agreements) established with Istat or directly with the National Accounts Directorate. The Acts typically set up annexes or protocols defining activities to be performed, regulating data provision obligations and data quality standards; data transmission procedures and timing are defined.

Concerning the information and data flows internal to Istat, Service Level Agreements (SLA) regulate relations between the statistical production structures and directions that provide services (data capturing, methodological assistance, IT services, dissemination and communication). 

Data from administrative sources are collected and managed by the Central Directorate for the data collection. The data transmission, access to archives, the preservation of data and protection of privacy follow principles and rules defined in the “Document on the safety of data” updated and published annually by Istat . In addition, all information relating to sources, types of collected data, the processing and use of personal data for statistical treatments, are spelled out in the National Statistical Programme, which is the legislative measure that, according to the article 13 of Legislative Decree n. 322 of 1989 and subsequent amendments, establishes the statistical surveys of public interest entrusted to the National Statistical System.

Currently, the data flows requested by the Directorate of National Accounts to other Directorates are governed by a standardized procedure that defines technical details and timing of data delivery and identify persons authorized to statistical treatment. In particular, as regards administrative data, the programming of the provision of files and archives from the Institutions gathering them for administrative purposes is defined through Istat “Three-year Plan of Administrative Data”. Medium term planning is then implemented setting a yearly programme that defines the specific details and calendar of data delivery.

Data validation refers to any activity aimed at verifying that the value of a data item comes from a given set of acceptable values. It is a key task performed in all statistical domains and particularly important for national accounts, which is a key dataset for economic analysis and policy decisions.

In order to increase overall data quality and workflow efficiency, the European Statistical System (ESS) is moving towards more harmonisation of validation activities including the definition of common standards, tools and support for implementation (see ESS validation website). National accounts are a pilot in this area. An ESA 2010 Task Force on validation was established in 2015 to agree and document validation rules in an ESA 2010 validation handbook and progressively implement them in a pre-validation service for national accounts data.

In Italy, an important procedural device employed in the validation process is the system of storage and reporting of in progress results of the estimation round. Using a presentation system designed on purpose, that allows both cross tabulations and time series graphical inspection, the whole set of variables entering the supply and demand side of the accounts can be examined and cross checked with other aggregates of national accounts not included in the SUT framework. The system automatically presents comparisons of a rich set of variables, including labour input measures (employment and worked hours), compensation of employees, labour productivity measures, value added to output ratios, etc. In this way the internal coherence of the whole set of estimates is easily examined, in particular from the point of view of the evolution over time of characteristic parameters of the economic system.

For the validation of national accounts data disseminated, Italy applies minimum validation rules, some are internal to NA dissemination data warehouse and others agreed with Eurostat. Data transmitted to Eurostat are submitted to the validation system (CONVAL), this applies rules contained in the ESA 2010 validation handbook. Italy have partecipated to the TF on validation.

Data sources, methods and compilation techniques are country specific, but should be employed in such a way that the definitions and concepts in ESA 2010 are met. Many guidance documents on general and specific national accounts compilation issues are available. See for more details section 10.6.

In Italy, the estimates of GDP are compiled building on a system of statistical sources and administrative data adapted to match ESA definitions. In the current system the national accounts are estimated within an integrated SUT system whose discrepancies are analysed and corrected, until they are reduced to mere statistical discrepancies to process through mathematical balancing. The balancing system applies to the estimates produced by the supply and the demand side. In turn, the income approach cannot be estimated independently and the allocation of income is obtained in a second step when the national accounts by institutional sector are produced. As the estimation of the gross operating surplus/mixed income is derived as a difference between the final estimates of value added and the other distributed primary incomes, the resulting income shares are a very important indicator of the reliability and economic plausibility of value added estimates. As a rule, the estimation processes are performed at the highest possible level of disaggregation to ensure both a high degree of reliability of the estimates and an adequate detail to represent the sectors evolution. The methods applied in the compilation process provides comprehensive estimates of GDP, including the non-observed components of the economy.

National accounts datasets are generally consistent. Some inconsistencies exist between non-financial and financial accounts, to solve it a National WG Istat-Bank of Italy is working.

The objectives of seasonal adjustment are to identify and remove seasonal fluctuations and calendar effects which can mask short and long-term movements in a time series and impede a clear understanding of underlying phenomena. Seasonal adjustment is therefore a fundamental process in the interpretation of time series to inform policy making (ESS guidelines on seasonal adjustment, 2015 Edition, Annex, point 1).

For selected sub-annual national accounts data, such as notably the quarterly main aggregates, time series are usually not only published in their unadjusted form, but also with various types of adjustment (e.g. seasonal, calendar, trend-cycle).

According to the ESA transmission programme, quarterly data are to be provided in non-seasonally adjusted form, as well as in seasonally adjusted form (including calendar adjustments, where relevant) except for previous year’s prices.

The provision of quarterly data that only include calendar adjustments is voluntary.

For sector accounts, seasonal adjustment (including calendar adjustments, where relevant) is compulsory for a limited set of series.

For Quarterly National Accounts and Quarterly Sectoral Accounts, Italy is applies both calendar and seasonal type of adjustment according to an indirect method. Therefore top aggregates always match the sum of sub-components. The method in use is TRAMO-SEATS version 942 for Linux of September 2017 also used for treatment of any type of outliers (impulse, transitory changes, level shifts and ramp effects). The model is usually updated with the T+90 release of data of the second quarter. Calendar adjusted data are released, whereas trend-cycle are not.

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