Compilation methodology

15.60    Most of the information obtained from the APRA collections and surveys is financial balance sheet information. It is used to estimate sectoral (and subsectoral) transactions and stocks of financial assets and liabilities by financial instrument and counterparty:

• The compilation methodology ensures that the most reliable estimates are used. As the APRA collections and surveys collect information from both parties to a financial transaction, a choice is often possible because the different data sources provide alternative or counterpart measures of the same item. For example, private non-financial corporation loans data collected from ADIs is used and not the estimates collected for private non-financial corporations from the ABS Survey of Financial Information.
• In many cases, financial transactions are derived by taking the difference between closing and opening levels of balance sheet items and, where possible, eliminating the component of the change caused by valuation effects such as exchange rate movements and changes in financial instrument prices. For example, the opening stock of securities denominated in foreign currencies (which is reported in Australian dollars) is first revalued using the exchange rates prevailing at the end of the period. The recalculated opening stock is subtracted from the reported closing stock to obtain an estimate of the value of transactions (in Australian dollars). The estimated value of transactions is then subtracted from the difference between the actual reported opening and closing stocks to obtain an estimate of the valuation effect.
• Some transactions are recorded using directly collected data. Most of the estimates of transactions involving non-residents are based on directly collected data from the Survey of International Investment.
• In some cases, it is possible to undertake validation for some estimates. After the initial estimates of stocks and transactions have been prepared, estimates of valuation changes are calculated as a residual. These estimates are then used to test the plausibility of the initial estimates of stocks and transactions and, if necessary, adjustments may be made to these initial estimates.
• The compilation methodology ensures that the best estimates for rest of the world assets and liabilities are used. A data confrontation process selects the best estimates amongst the ABS Survey of Financial Information (SFI); the APRA administered collections; and the ABS Survey of International Investment. Estimates for some sectors are derived from SFI and APRA data over the ABS’ Survey of International Investment, for example, pension funds and life insurance corporations. A balancing process is undertaken to ensure that the major aggregates (such as Australia's international investment position) and sub-aggregates derived in the ASNA are the same as is published in Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia.