Glossary – S

Canadian System of National Accounts glossary – S
Term Definition
Salaried employee Any employee whose basic remuneration is a fixed amount based on weekly, monthly, or annual rates.

See also: About the government finance statistical program
 
Reference: Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Sources and Methods, Catalogue no. 15-547

Source: Financial Management System, Catalogue no. 68F0023

French: Employés salariés
Sales of goods and services Receipts derived from the sale of goods or the provision of services offered for sale in the course of operations. Receipts from charitable gaming, rental income and sales to government are included in this item.
 
Sampling errors Sampling errors occur because observations are made only on a sample rather than on the entire population. Estimates based on a sample differ from the figures that would have been obtained if a complete census of the population had been taken using the same questionnaires, instructions, interviewers and processing techniques. The difference between an estimate calculated by a sample and the result which would have been achieved with a census is called the sampling error.
 
Satellite Account An accounting system that follows the basic principles of the System of National Accounts (SNA) but also expands the analytical capacity for selected areas of economic or social concern, without overburdening or disrupting the central system. Satellite accounts are linked to the central framework of the national accounts and through them to the main body of integrated economic statistics.

See also: About the tourism account
 
Saving The part of disposable income (adjusted for the change in pension entitlements) that is not spent on final consumption goods and services. It may be positive or negative depending on whether disposable income exceeds final consumption expenditure, or vice versa. Assuming that saving is positive (and in the absence of capital transfers), the unspent income must be used to acquire assets (possibly only an increase in cash) or reduce liabilities. If saving is negative, some financial or non-financial assets must have been liquidated, (including a rundown of cash) or some liabilities increased.
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 9.28

French: Épargne
Saving rate The ratio between net saving of the household sector and personal disposable income, expressed in percentage.
 
Seasonal adjustment The process of removing systematic movements from economic time series which are repetitive, relatively stable over several years and which are related to the particular seasons of the year.
 
Seasonally adjusted at annual rates Seasonally adjusted data are sometimes expressed at annual rates, their level having been raised to that of their annual values. This is achieved by multiplying each observation by the frequency of the data. For instance, each seasonally adjusted observation of a monthly series is multiplied by 12; for quarterly data, the factor is 4. Data expressed at annual rates are useful for comparing the sub-annual levels with the yearly ones.
 
Secondary activity An activity carried out within a single producer unit in addition to the principal activity and whose output, like that of the principal activity, must be suitable for delivery outside the producer unit. The value-added of a secondary activity must be less than that of the principal activity. The output of the secondary activity is a secondary product. Most producer units produce at least some secondary products.

See also: Production, Output
 
Component of: Economic activity

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 5.9

French: Activité secondaire
Secondary distribution of income account This account covers redistribution of income through current transfers other than social transfers in kind made to households by government and non-profit institutions serving households.

See also: Sequence of accounts
 
Component of: Sequence of accounts

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 2.95, 2.97

French: Compte de distribution secondaire du revenu
Secondary income An entry in the balance of payments' current account containing only current transfers.
 
Component of: Income

Composed of: Private transfers, Government transfers

Reference: Canada's balance of payments, data quality, concepts and definitions, Catalogue no. 67-001

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 26.66

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Revenu secondaire
Secondary market Established security exchanges or over-the-counter markets where purchases and sales of outstanding securities take place among investors.
 
Sector accounts The quarterly national accounts include the generation of income account, current and capital accounts, financial account and balance sheet account. These accounts are recorded for the five resident sectors of the economy: households; non-profit institutions serving households; corporations (with financial and non-financial corporations as sub-sectors); general governments (with federal, provincial and territorial, local, and Aboriginal governments as sub-sectors); and non-residents. The financial account and balance sheet account also include a large amount of sub-sector detail for the financial corporations sector.

See also: Institutional sectors, Income and Expenditure Accounts, Capital and financial accounts
 
Sectors of the economy A group of resident institutional units that have similar objectives. There are six sectors: households sector, the non-profit institutions serving households sector, the financial corporations sector, non-financial corporations sector, the general governments sector, and the non-residents sector.

See also: Institutional Sectors; Classification of Institutional Units by Sectors
 
Source: Canada's System of national economic accounts: An overview

Notes: Prior to the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision, the economy was divided into four sectors: the persons and unincorporated businesses sector, the corporate sector, the government sector, and the non-resident sector.

French: Secteurs de l'économie
Securities Financial instruments that are marketable, such as publicly traded stocks, bonds, money market securities and other financial instruments. Securities are part of direct and portfolio investment in the Balance of Payments or International Investment Position, depending upon the direct or portfolio relationship of the issuer and the holder.
 
Securitization Securitization occurs when a unit, named the originator, conveys the ownership rights over financial assets or non-financial assets or the right to receive specific future flows, to another unit, named the securitization unit. In return, the securitization unit pays an amount to the originator from its own source of financing. The securitization unit is often a special purpose entity. The securitization unit obtains its own financing by issuing securities using the assets or rights to future flows transferred by the originator as collateral. Government units have made widespread use of this source of finance.
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 22.131

French: Titrisation
Segregated fund A type of annuity that is similar to a mutual fund. It is a product offered only by insurance companies.

See also: Classification of Institutional Units by Sectors
 
Self-employment jobs Includes working-owners of unincorporated enterprises, and members of their households who work without a wage or salary (i.e., unpaid family workers).

See also: Job
 
Semi-durable goods Consumer goods which can be used on multiple occasions and have an expected lifetime of one year or somewhat more, such as clothing, footwear and linens.
 
Sequence of accounts The sequence of accounts show how economic activity generates income, distributes income and accumulates capital during an accounting period. The sequence of accounts can be applied to a sector, a geographical region or to the economy as a whole. It begins by showing economic flows and ends by showing the resulting stocks. Each account shows the availability of resources, the use of resources and a balancing item if resources differ from uses.

See also: Account
 
Services The result of a production activity that changes the conditions of the consuming units, or facilitates the exchange of products or financial assets.
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 6.17

French: Services
Shares A type of financial asset giving its owner a claim on the assets of the issuing corporation. Shares may also give shareholders specific rights, such as voting rights for the election of directors at company annual meetings. A corporation may issue different types of shares such as common shares, preferred shares, retractable shares, etc., each carrying a different set of rights. Shares may be held privately or listed. Listed shares are equity securities listed on an exchange. Unlisted shares are equity securities not listed on an exchange. Investment fund shares have a specialized role in financial intermediation as a kind of collective investment in other assets, so they are identified separately in the accounts. Money market fund shares are a specialized type of investment fund shares.
 
Component of: Equity, Financial assets

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 11.86, 11.87

French: Actions
Shares, stocks See shares.
 
Shipments of goods of own manufacture These manufacturing activity figures represent the value of shipments of goods produced by the reporting establishment on its own account, except shipments to warehouses that are part of the same accounting entity and goods on consignment. In addition to normal sales, these figures include transfers to other establishments in the same company, shipments from warehouses that are part of the same establishment, sales of goods shipped earlier on consignment, all shipments for which an export permit is prepared, revenue for custom and repair work done, charges for installation where they are part of sales, and the capitalized value of any goods manufactured by this establishment that have been built for subsequent rental. For manufacturers who receive payments for partially completed products, the value of shipments of goods of own manufacture is modified to include progress payments.
 
Shipment of goods purchased for resale Value of shipments of goods purchased and resold in the same condition. Also included is the value of goods purchased in bulk which remain unchanged when resold, except for cutting and packaging.
 
Short-term paper Marketable financial instrument comprising Government of Canada short-term paper and other short-term paper.
 
Sinking fund A fund established for the redemption of bonds and debentures.
 
Social assistance Current transfers received by households from government units or non-profit institutions serving households to meet the same needs as social insurance benefits but which are not made under a social insurance scheme requiring participation, usually by means of social contributions. Social assistance is distinguished from social security in that eligibility to receive social assistance benefits is not dependent on having elected to participate. Usually all members of resident households are entitled to apply for social assistance but the conditions under which it is granted are often restrictive. Frequently there is an assessment of available income.

See also: Social transfers in kind
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 8.8, 8.92

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Assistance sociale
Social benefits Current transfers received by households intended to provide for the needs that arise from certain events or circumstances, for example, sickness, unemployment, retirement, housing, education or family circumstances. Social benefits may be provided under social insurance schemes or by social assistance. Social benefits may be paid under three different sorts of institutional arrangements. They may be paid by government as either social assistance or social security or they may be paid by other employment related social insurance schemes.

See also: Institutional sectors
 
Component of: Current transfers

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 8.17, 94, 17.79, 18.81, 17.84

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Prestations sociales
Social contributions Actual or imputed receipts either from employers on behalf of their employees, self-employed or non-employed persons on their own behalf that secure entitlement to social benefits for the contributors, their dependents or their survivors. The contributions may be compulsory or voluntary.

See also: Institutional sectors
 
Component of: Current transfers

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 8.16

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Cotisations sociales
Social insurance benefits Social insurance benefits are the benefits paid by social insurance schemes.
 
Source: Government Finance Statistics, 2001

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision

French: Prestations d'assurance sociale
Social insurance contribution The amount payable to a social insurance scheme in order for a designated beneficiary to be entitled to receive the social benefits covered by the scheme.
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 17.89

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Cotisation d'assurance sociale
Social insurance scheme Schemes in which social contributions are paid by employees or others, or by employers on behalf of their employees, in order to secure entitlement to social insurance benefits, in the current or subsequent periods, for the employees or other contributors, their dependants or survivors. The social benefits payable by social insurance schemes are of two kinds, pensions and other benefits such as medical, education, housing or unemployment benefits. Pensions are always paid in cash; non-pension benefits may be payable in cash or in kind. Two main types of social insurance schemes may be distinguished. The first consists of social security schemes covering the entire community, or large sections of the community, that are imposed, controlled and financed by government units. Pensions payable under these schemes may or may not be related to levels of salary of the beneficiary or history of employment. Non pension benefits are less frequently linked to salary levels. The second type consists of other employment-related schemes. These schemes derive from an employer-employee relationship in the provision of pension entitlement that is part of the conditions of employment and where responsibility for the provision of benefits does not devolve to general government under social security provisions. A social insurance plan is an insurance scheme where the following two conditions are satisfied: a) the benefits received are conditional on participation in the scheme and constitute social benefits as defined in the System of National Accounts; and b) at least one of the three conditions following is met: participation in the scheme is obligatory either by law or under the terms and conditions of employment of an employee, or group of employees; the scheme is a collective one operated for the benefit of a designated group of workers, whether employed or non-employed, participation being restricted to members of that group; and an employer makes a contribution (actual or imputed) to the scheme on behalf of an employee, whether or not the employee also makes a contribution.

See also: Guide to the public sector of Canada, Catalogue no 12-589
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 8.6, 8.7, 8.65

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Régime d'assurance sociale
Social security A social insurance scheme operated by general government. In order to receive social security benefits, an individual must participate in a social security scheme.

See also: Social assistance, Social transfers in kind
 
Component of: Social insurance

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 17.82

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Sécurité sociale
Social security fund At all levels of government, social security funds are social insurance schemes covering the community as a whole. These schemes may be either funded or unfunded. Schemes established by government units to cover their own employees only are not counted as social security schemes in the general government sector. For example, the financial assets of pension funds for government employees are not included as financial assets of the government sector, but rather belong in the insurance industry.
 
Reference: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Economic Outlook: Sources and Methods

French: Fonds de sécurité sociale
Social security scheme Social security schemes are schemes imposed and controlled by government units for the purpose of providing social benefits to members of the community as a whole, or of particular sections of the community. When social security schemes are separately organized from the other activities of government units and hold their assets and liabilities separately from the latter and engage in financial transactions on their own account, they qualify as institutional units that are described as social security funds.

See also: Social security fund, Social assistance
 
Component of: General government

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 4.125

French: Régime de sécurité sociale
Social transfers in kind Social security benefits payable in kind and social assistance benefits payable in kind. In addition to health and education services provided by general government, such services may also be provided to individuals by non-profit institutions serving households. These also are treated as social transfers in kind and not as part of social insurance schemes.

See also: Social security fund, Social assistance
 
Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 8.9, 17.85

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Transfert social en espèces
Software Programs, procedures and data associated with the operation of a computer system.
 
Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development glossary of statistical terms

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision

French: Logiciels
Sparkling wines Wines containing more than 7% absolute alcohol by volume in which gas pressure in terms of atmosphere exceeds 2 at a temperature of 10°C. The term "absolute atmosphere" means the gauge pressure plus one.
 
Special drawing rights International reserve assets created by the International Monetary Fund and allocated to its members to supplement existing reserve assets. The Special Drawing Rights Department manages reserve assets by allocating Special Drawing Rights among member countries and certain international agencies (collectively known as the participants). The allocation is recorded in the Canadian System of National Accounts as the incurrence of a liability in the other investment category of the international accounts.

See also: Debt
 
Component of: Debt securities, Financial assets

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 11.47

French: Droits de tirage spéciaux
Special purpose entity These entities are usually established in countries other than those in which the parent companies are resident, and are engaged primarily in international transactions. They are defined according to either their structure (for example, holding company) or their purpose (for example, sales and administration). In the Balance of Payments Accounts, these entities are treated as direct investment enterprises, assuming they meet the 10 percent ownership criterion.
 
Standard Industrial Classification An earlier system for classifying all establishments in the economy to the most appropriate industries on the basis of their principal activity. Discontinued in the Canadian System of National Accounts in 2001 with the introduction of the North American Industry Classification System.
 
Statistical discrepancy National accounting macroeconomic aggregates, such as gross domestic product and net lending, can often be calculated in two or more ways. In principle, all the measures of an aggregate are equal. In practice, differences invariably arise due to imperfections in basic statistics and estimation techniques. This difference is called a statistical discrepancy and serves as the balancing item between two theoretically equal aggregates. It can be recorded as is, like the discrepancy between the Current and Capital Accounts and the Financial Account in the Balance of Payments. Alternatively, it can be divided in two, with one half being subtracted from the higher estimate and the other, added to the lower one, such as the discrepancy between income-based and expenditure-based gross domestic product.
 
Statistical error In a statistical sense, "error" is used to denote the difference between an occurring (or calculated) value and its true (or expected) value.
 
Statistical unit A unit designated to measure and analyze the activity of an economic entity for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada enumerates the constituents of an economic entity according to each constituent's ability to report certain types of financial and employment information. There are four distinct categories in this hierarchy, namely: the enterprise, company, establishment, and location.
 
Stocks A position in, or holding of, assets and liabilities at a point in time. The Canadian System of National Accounts records stocks in the Balance Sheet Accounts, compiled in respect to the beginning and end of the accounting period. Stocks are connected with flows—they result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and are changed by transactions and other flows in the period. They result from a continuum of entries and withdrawals, with some changes in volume or in value occurring during the time a given asset or liability is held. Stocks measure economic value at a point in time. Flows measure changes in economic value over a period of time.
 
Component of: Financial assets

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 3.4

French: Stocks
Stratification A process of subdividing the population into relatively homogeneous groups called strata. Stratified sampling consists of independently selecting samples from each of these strata. The main advantage of stratified sampling is the increased reliability of the estimators of the characteristic under study.
 
Streamflow The flow rate, or discharge, of water in a water course. Streamflow is generated from a combination of baseflow and run-off.
 
Source: Human activity and the environment, 2010, Catalogue no. 16-201

French: Écoulement fluvial
Strip bonds or zero-coupon bonds See stripped securities.
 
Stripped securities Securities that have been transformed from a principal amount with coupon payments into a series of zero-coupon bonds, with a range of maturities matching the coupon payment date(s) and the redemption date of the principal amount(s).
 
Component of: Financial assets, Liabilities

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 11.69

Notes: Introduced with the Canadian System of National Accounts 2012 historical revision.

French: Titres démembrés
Stumpage value The value of timber in dollars per tree or per hectare, standing in the forest or when the forest is cleared, for timber production.
 
Sub-sector A group of institutional units that are all members of the same sector.

See also: Institutional sectors
 
Source: Public Sector Statistics, Catalogue no. 68-213

French: Sous-secteur
Subsidiary Business entity which has more than 50% of the ordinary shares or voting power (for an incorporated enterprise) or the equivalent (for an unincorporated enterprise) owned by another business entity.

See also: About the balance of payments; Canada's System of national economic accounts: an overview
 
Subsidies Current unrequited payments that government units, including non-resident government units, make to enterprises on the basis of the levels of their production activities or the quantities or values of the goods or services that they produce, sell or import. They are receivable by resident producers or importers. In the case of resident producers they may be designed to influence their levels of production, the prices at which their outputs are sold or the remuneration of the institutional units engaged in production. Subsidies have the same impact as negative taxes on production in so far as their impact on the operating surplus is in the opposite direction to that of taxes on production. Subsidies are not payable to final consumers; current transfers that governments make directly to households as consumers are treated as social benefits. Subsidies do not include grants that governments make to enterprises in order to finance their capital formation, or to compensate them for damage to their capital assets, such grants being treated as capital transfers. Included are transfers to public corporations and other enterprises that are intended to compensate for operating losses.

See also: Institutional sectors, Financial Management System, Catalogue no. 68F0023; Guide to the Income and Expenditure Accounts, Catalogue no. 13-017
 
Component of: Government expenditures

Composed of: Subsidies on products, Subsidies on production

Reference: Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Sources and Methods, Catalogue no. 15-547

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraphs 7.98, 7.99

French: Subventions
Subsidies on factors of production See subsidies on production.
 
Subsidies on production Subsidies except subsidies on products that resident enterprises may receive as a consequence of engaging in production. Examples include: a) subsidies on payroll or workforce: these consist of subsidies payable on the total wage or salary bill, or total work force, or on the employment of particular types of persons such as physically handicapped persons or persons who have been unemployed for long periods. The subsidies may also be intended to cover some or all of the costs of training schemes organized or financed by enterprises; b) Subsidies to reduce pollution: these consist of subsidies intended to cover some or all of the costs of additional processing undertaken to reduce or eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the environment.

See also: Institutional sectors
 
Component of: Subsidies

Reference: Guide to the Income and Expenditure Accounts, Catalogue no. 13-017

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 7.106

French: Subvention à la production
Subsidies on products A subsidy payable per unit of a good or service. The subsidy may be a specific amount of money per unit of quantity of a good or service, or it may be calculated ad valorem as a specified percentage of the price per unit. It may also be calculated as the difference between a specified target price and the market price actually paid by a buyer. A subsidy on a product usually becomes payable when the good or service is produced, sold or imported, but it may also be payable in other circumstances such as when a good is transferred, leased, delivered or used for own consumption or own capital formation. Examples are those paid for agricultural products, transportation services and energy. Government subsidies received by industries are treated as revenues, and are shown as negative entries on the expenditure (input) side of industries. Direct payments to persons are not included here. Government payments to cover operating losses of government business enterprises are included.

See also: Guide to the Income and Expenditure Accounts, Catalogue no. 13-017
 
Component of: Subsidies

Composed of: Import subsidies, Export subsidies, Subsidies on products, other

Reference: Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Sources and Methods, Catalogue no. 15-547

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 7.100

French: Subvention sur les produits
Subsidies on products, other Subsidies on goods or services produced as the outputs of resident enterprises, or on imports, that become payable as a result of the production, sale, transfer, leasing or delivery of those goods or services, or as a result of their use for own consumption or own capital formation.

See also: Guide to the Income and Expenditure Accounts, Catalogue no. 13-017
 
Component of: Subsidies

Reference: Gross Domestic Product by Industry, Sources and Methods, Catalogue no. 15-547

Source: System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 7.105

French: Subvention sur les produits, autres
Supplementary labour income See employer's social contributions.
 
Supply The supply of a good or service is the sum of the values of its domestic output (from all sectors), plus imports, plus net withdrawals from inventories during an accounting period. When measured in modified basic prices, the supply of a good or service is equal to its demand or disposition (in modified basic prices) during the same accounting period.
 
French: Offre
Surplus An excess of revenue over expenditures.
 
French: Excédent
Surplus or deficit on current account in the Canadian Balance of International Payments The surplus or deficit of Canada on current transactions with non-residents plus net reinvested earnings on direct investment.
 
System of National Accounts 2008 International standards coordinated by international organizations including the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and Eurostat, with input from experts around the world.
 
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