Financial accounts are a part of national accounts that focus on the financial structure of the economy.
They portray, on a quarterly basis, all transactions between the various sectors of the economy (financial sector, general government, households, non financial corporations, and external sector) that give rise to the creation of claims or the incurrence of obligations.
The claims of an economic sector accumulate and are depicted on its stock of assets, whereas the incurrence of obligations accumulate and are depicted on its stock of liabilities.
In the financial accounts one can find:
- the flow of funds during a period from one sector to another (who finances whom), as well the precise kind of these funds (e.g. deposits, securities, shares), and
- the stock of assets and liabilities of each economic sector at a particular point in time.
It should be noted that (a) securities are valued at market prices and (b) the fixed assets of the various sectors do not include real assets (e.g. dwellings, vehicles, offices plant and equipment etc).
