Accounting Guidance

System of National Accounts

The United Nations’ (UN) System of National Accounts (SNA) is an international framework that helps nations measure economic progress and activities. The Australian SNA helps policymakers see important trends and events in the economy.

System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)

SEEA is a UN developed system that builds on the approaches from the SNA and integrates environmental systems to better understand the relationship between the economy and the environment. To facilitate the national implementation of Environmental-Economic Accounting (EEA), Australia has developed the National Strategy and Action plan for EEA to optimise this framework for Australia’s unique environment.

How SNA and SEEA work across different economies

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Global level

 

  • The System of National Accounts (SNA) is an international framework that helps nations measure trends and events in their economy.
  • The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (EEA) was developed by incorporating data and measurement into the SNA. This system ensures some key environmental areas are considered in policy making.
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National level

 

  • Using the SNA as guidance, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) regularly produces Australia’s National Accounts. This data measures the economic trends unique to Australia and can be compared to other countries.
  • Australia’s national plan for EEA is based on UN standards and captures and uses data specific to our unique environment. The ABS uses EEA to measure how environmental assets such as land, water and energy are managed and used in Australia.
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Sub-national level

 

  • The SNA is used to measure the economic performance of state and territories (state accounts( or specific activities (like tourism accounts).
  • EEA informs local policy management and provides reference for national accounts.

Thematic areas of SEEA

A range of SEEA technical guidance is available for different themes, including for example energy and water. The below themes have been prioritised as part of the Australian Government’s implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan for EEA and its membership of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

ARIES for SEEA

Artificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability (ARIES) for SEEA is available on the UN Global Platform, a cloud-service platform supporting international collaboration in the development of official statistics. ARIES can be used to compile accounts based on global datasets and other data loaded by the user.

Education Resources

There are both international and Australian produced courses available to help you learn more about Environmental-Economic Accounting.

Australian National and Sub-National Accounts

There are various other methods and approaches to account development documented as part of specific accounting projects.

If you would like to have a resource added to this web page, please contact environmentaleconomicaccounts@environment.gov.au