Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts

Canada's system of macroeconomic accounts (CSMA) is a set of accounts (or economic statistical statements), each one providing an aggregated portrait of economic activity during a given period. Each account differentiates itself from the others by providing a different perspective of the economy, whether it be industrial, sectoral, financial, or environmental or whether it measures production, the generation and distribution of income, use of income, capital formation, financing activity, wealth positions or our engagements with the rest of the world.

Because these accounts all use a common set of definitions, concepts and classifications, and are explicitly related to each other, they form an integrated system. As a result, the economic stories assembled from the CSMA statistics are coherent and credible. The latter reflects the enhanced quality inherent in an integrated system.

The CSMA is built using three main international macroeconomic accounting frameworks.

The "System of National Accounts 2008" (SNA2008) is the underlying framework used to compile the Canadian System of National Economic Accounts. The "Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition" is the underlying framework used to compile Canada's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position. The "Government Finance Statistics Manual" is the underlying framework used to compile Canada's Government Finance Statistics. Other related international standards also apply.

The use of internationally adopted macroeconomic accounting manuals in the development of Canada's System of Macroeconomic Accounts ensures the resulting statistics are consistent and comparable with macroeconomic accounts compiled in the United States, Australia, the European Union and other countries.

The CSMA is probably best described by the key economic statistics that flow out of these statistical statements, such as gross domestic product, national wealth, saving, disposable income, investment, household consumption, government debt, foreign direct investment, trade, national net worth and productivity.

The Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts is grouped into the following categories of accounts: