Satellite account for non-profit institutions, 2013

National level.

Final figures are published around two years after the end of the reference year, somewhat later than the final annual national accounts, which is published 23 months after the end of the year.

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The establishment of a satellite account for non-profit institutions was proposed in St.meld. nr. 39 (2006-2007) "Frivillighet for alle" (in Norwegian only). The need for more insight into and focus on non-profit institutions in Norway motivated the proposal. The agents within non-profit institutions vary in size, from small teams and clubs to large, international organisations. Their activities cover a wide area, and through service production and considerable voluntary effort they contribute to fulfilling important objectives in the welfare society. It is therefore expedient to arrange basic statistics on the non-profit sector into a system and compile economic variables within an established national accounts framework.

The UN has developed a handbook ( Handbook on Non-Profit Institutions in the System of National Accounts ) that provides definitions and guidelines on how to treat non-profit institutions within the system of national accounts (1993 SNA). A satellite account offers the possibility of focusing on non-profit institutions in a more thorough and detailed manner than that possible within the standardised framework of the national accounts (1993 SNA). Amongst other things, a different classification of units is applied, and supplementary data otherwise not included in the national accounts is added. This refers primarily to the contribution of voluntary, unpaid labour which is not included in the GDP estimations.

The Norwegian satellite account for non-profit institutions is based on the UN handbook. This framework ensures the best possible comparison across time and between countries. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that countries organise their welfare services differently. In some countries the hospitals will, for example, be part of the general government fiscal accounts, whereas in other countries they may be organised as non-profit activities. Different boundaries between general government and non-profit activities will thus affect the figures for non-profit institutions.

From 2011 this satellite account includes the organisations’ operational income and represents a complete accounting system for the non-profit institutions.

Development of the satellite account for non-profit institutions was financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.

The satellite account based on the UN handbook was first published as an article in the Statistical Magazine in January 2010, using figures for 2006 and 2007. The continued management will be an integrated part of the national accounts, and will entail annual publication.

Figures from the Norwegian satellite account for non-profit institutions are used by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, research institutions, non-profit institutions, media and individuals who are interested in analysing the structure and/or economic importance and development of non-profit institutions.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08.00 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

By including voluntary, unpaid labour, the satellite account exceeds the boundaries of the ordinary national accounts, where voluntary labour is not valued. This means that only the value added of paid employment is directly comparable to the figures in the national accounts. Excluding voluntary, unpaid labour, the figures in the satellite account are an integrated part of the national accounts, and published satellite figures are therefore consistent with national accounts’ figures. The figures are also consistent with other accounts that are included in the national accounts, such as the health accounts, education statistics and culture statistics.

As mentioned in item 3.2, the satellite account is based on statistics from several sources, both internal and external to Statistics Norway. Due to different definitions, data management, etc. the published figures from the satellite account will not necessarily be consistent with published figures from the source statistics.

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The satellite account encompasses all institutions that satisfy the definition provided in the UN handbook, see item 4.1, and shall in theory cover all organisations that do not operate for profit.

We do not have complete data coverage for all units within the sector for non-profit institutions since this sector consists of many smaller agents that are not obliged to submit annual accounts. The estimation procedure in the national accounts still aims at including the whole population within each kind of activity. See "Dokumentasjon av satelittregnskapet for ideelle og frivillige organisasjoner" for documentation of the estimation method for non-profit institutions in the national accounts (in Norwegian only).

The accounts cover the organisations’ costs and present important economic variables such as production, value added and employment. From 2011 the account also covers the organisations’ operational income, showing how the organisations fund their production. Hence, funds for investment purposes and foreign aid are excluded.

The satellite account for non-profit institutions is built up as a so-called satellite to the national accounts. This implies that the figures in the satellite account are consistent with the national accounts. Primarily, information already found in the national accounts is used, but there is also a need to collect relevant statistics from other sources in order to construct a more detailed classification of figures.

The most important sources for the satellite account are public accounts, including the health accounts, education statistics, accounting data for groups of organisations, structural statistics, and the funding of political parties. Furthermore, external data is gathered from the Norwegian Control Committee for Fundraising, the Norwegian Gaming and Foundation Authority and the Norwegian Federation of Co-operative Housing Associations, among others. All sources are processed in the national accounts and specially adapted in order to provide the necessary data to the satellite account.

Voluntary, unpaid labour is based on a survey that maps the extent of voluntary work in Norway. The questionnaire is designed based on a template provided by the UN handbook and is adapted for Norwegian conditions. The survey reveals, among other things, the share of the population that performs voluntary labour and how many hours they contribute with. The Institute for Social Research (ISF) develops and analyses the results, while Statistics Norway conducts the actual interviews. The ISF has mapped the voluntary activities for the years 1997, 2004 and 2009. For more information, see Sivesind (2007). Frivillig sektor i Norge 1997-2004 . ISF Rapport (2007:010) and Wollebæk, D. &; Sivesind, K. H. (2010). Fra folkebevegelse til filantropi? Frivillig innsats i Norge 1997-2009 . Rapport nr. 2010:3. Oslo: Centre for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector.

The non-profit institutions satellite account is based on statistics collected by other divisions in Statistics Norway. There is no separate data collection for the compilation of the non-profit institutions satellite account. See item 3.2 for further details on data sources.

The non-profit institutions satellite account is based on information in the Norwegian national accounts, combined with additional data. The latter is processed in order to meet the requirements of the national accounts, and is critically evaluated and controlled when integrated into the national accounts.

Preliminary figures for the satellite account are revised until the final, annual national accounts are compiled, and the figures are therefore adjusted due to periodical revisions of relevant parts of the national accounts.

Excluding the ordinary publication cycle, the national accounts are also subject to main revisions where retrograde time series are revised. Such main revisions normally involve introduction of new definitions and classifications, usually based on new international guidelines. It is recommended that main revisions are conducted every five years.

The main part of the compilation of the satellite account consists of linking data to the national accounts. In some cases, external sources are necessary in order to identify details needed for the satellite account for non-profit institutions, e.g. when the national accounts lack access to data at a sufficiently detailed level. Statistics on political parties’ funding, data from the Register of Non-profit Organisations and other relevant information is used to conduct the necessary estimations and divisions at activity level. In cases of incomplete statistics, extrapolation methods, indirect calculations and, to a certain extent, assumptions and estimates are necessary.

All calculations on voluntary work are conducted by the Institute for Social Research (for the years 2004 and 2009) before the data is made accessible for use in the satellite account. In order to spread the voluntary labour across all the years included in the satellite account, we assume that the annual growth rate for voluntary full-time equivalent work is constant between the measuring points.

In the satellite account the value of voluntary, unpaid labour is estimated. This is done by assuming that the compensation of employees is the same as for paid labour within the respective activity categories.

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According to the Statistics Act § 2-6, information shall under no circumstances be published in such a way that it may be traced back to the supplier of any data or to any other identifiable individual. In accordance with Statistics Norway’s rules on confidentiality, at least three units must exist within an industry in order for the data to be published.

In cases where this is relevant to the satellite account for non-profit institutions, the figures are aggregated up to a higher level before publishing.

One of the main purposes of satellite account for non-profit institutions is to provide a common framework for increased comparability of data over time and between countries. The figures for the satellite account for the period 2006 and onwards are compiled in accordance with international guidelines, and are therefore comparable with other countries that have established similar accounts.