The National Bank continues to develop the financial accounts statistics, in line with the commitment for continuous harmonization with the highest international and European statistical standards. The twinning project "Strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Bank in the process of its accession to the ESCB" contributes towards enrichment of the current data set of our central bank, which was published for the first time at the end of the last year. The undertaken activities especially refer to the development of the financial accounts - flows, as well as to identify and determine the appropriate methods for estimation and data sources for compilation of the quarterly financial accounts – stocks and flows. Partners in this process are the Croatian and Romanian National Bank. 

Within the project, a presentation was held today at the Faculty of Economics at the St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, on the topic: "Financial Accounts Statistics in the National Bank - concept, development and analysis of the main sectors in the period 2013-2019." In the presentation of the latest achievements of the National Bank in the field of statistics to the professors and students of the Faculty, the Director of the Statistics Department, Sultanija Bojcheva Terzijan, discussed the latest data on financial accounts, as well the improvement achieved in the course of the EU-funded twinning project. In addition, Ms. Bojcheva Terzijan presented the initial (experimental) data on both, the financial accounts - flows, as well as the quarterly financial accounts stocks and flows.

"I must emphasize that the transfer of the IT solution for compiling these data of the Croatian National Bank, which is one of our twinning partners, is of great importance for the further development of the financial accounts statistics. This is a significant benefit of this EU funded project, which in the National Bank will contribute towards fast, efficient and systematic process of compiling and transmitting data to European institutions." - said Bojcheva Terzijan.

The presentation was followed by a discussion focused on particular issues, including methodological clarifications regarding financial accounts, emphasizing that the new and enriched data, besides enabling better evidence-based decision making in many areas, will also be extremely important for academic research. This proves once more that this EU-funded twinning project is beneficial for the overall economy, and accordingly, for all citizens.

The twinning project "Strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Bank in the process of its accession to the ESCB" is in its final stage. In this project, besides the financial accounts statistics, special project components are dedicated to payment services and systems, activities in the field of regulation and bank supervision, and research.