Chapter 16 The other changes in the volume of assets account

16.1    In the ASNA, accumulation entries for revaluations and other changes in the volume of assets are recorded in the balance sheets, reconciling these entries with the opening balance sheet; transactions during the accounting period; and the closing balance sheet. That is, they are not presented as separate accounts but integrated with the opening and closing balance sheets as well as the capital and financial accounts to obtain net worth.

16.2    These accounts record the changes in the values of assets and liabilities that result from flows that are not transactions. These are referred to as other flows. They record significant changes in the value and composition of items between the opening and closing balance sheets due to factors other than transactions (the 2008 SNA defines a transaction as “an economic flow that is an exchange of value between institutional units by mutual agreement”).

16.3    Other flows (revaluations and other volume changes) are useful for analysing changes in wealth not explained by transactions in assets or liabilities. An example of such analysis from the ASNA is Table 12. Analytical measures of national income, saving and wealth. This table includes changes in wealth due to asset prices and other gains/losses; an example being changes in wealth resulting from discoveries of natural resources, or destruction of property by natural disasters.