Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1    This chapter describes the nature, purpose and history of the Australian System of National Accounts (ASNA) as well as key improvements since the previous update in 2015. The ASNA is based on the 2008 edition of the System of National Accounts, which is the international standard. The 2008 SNA ensures consistency with related manuals including:

• Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 2006 (ANZSIC06)
• Australian Government Finance Statistics, Concepts, Sources and Methods 2015 (AGFS15)
• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 2013 (BPM6).

1.2    The balance of payments and government finance statistics are an integral part of the Australian National Accounts. Nonetheless, a description of concepts and data sources used for these statistics is included only for those aggregates that appear in the National Accounts. Refer to the information paper, Implementation of new international statistical standards in ABS National and International Accounts for a detailed discussion of the key improvements following the implementation of 2008 SNA into the ASNA.