Seminar on Main Updates to the Seventh Edition of the Balance of Payments Manual

The seminar was held in virtual format from May 23 to 24, 2023 jointly between CEMLA and the International Monetary Fund. The objective of the seminar given by the IMF Statistics Department in cooperation with CEMLA, seeks to inform participants about the main changes that will be incorporated in the future publication of the seventh edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (MBP7).

The BPM7 will be compatible with the new edition of the System of National Accounts and both are expected to be published in 2025, ensuring the maximum coherence on international statistical standards.

The seminar began with a brief presentation of the main objectives, priorities and procedures on the update of the BPM7, following with the fundamental requirements in the preparation of the balance of payments, such as the comprehensive framework, accounting principles, economic territory and residence, as well as the classification of institutional sectors.

In subsequent sessions, the functional categories and classification of financial assets and liabilities were presented, then moving on to the analysis of the goods and services accounts and the income and capital accounts.

On the second day of activities, several aspects related to the international financial position, the financial account and changes in the accounts of financial assets and liabilities were addressed. Towards the final part of the seminar, new topics of MBP7 were discussed, such as growing globalization, digitalization, informal economic activities and the communication and dissemination of economic information, as well as the need to maintain sustainable finances.

The seminar activities ended with a questions and answers session.

This virtual event had 142 participants from 33 countries.