Compliance in Progress Summary
The Czech Republic has been a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since 1998 and first met SDDS specifications in 1999. According to the SDDS website, the Czech Republic provides summary methodologies for all requisite data sets, and publishes advance release calendars for all data categories. The Czech Republic also meets or exceeds SDDS timeliness, periodicity, and coverage standards for all datasets. With regard to SDDS requirements for integrity and quality of data, the SDDS website indicates that the Czech Republic falls short in certain data categories. The IMF's 2000 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) found some weaknesses in the Czech data dissemination regime, but noted that the authorities were working toward improvements. As of the IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation report, some of the problems identified in the ROSC had been addressed, in part spurred by the need to fulfill requirements established by Czech membership in the European Union. However, more work still needed to be done, particularly in the areas of methodological standardization.
General Overview
The Czech Republic has been a subscriber to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) since 1998 and first met SDDS specifications in 1999. According to the SDDS website, the Czech Republic provides summary methodologies for all requisite data sets and publishes advance release calendars for all data categories. The Czech Republic also meets or exceeds SDDS timeliness, periodicity, and coverage standards for all datasets. The last full-scale IMF’s Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) specifically addressing Czech data dissemination practices was carried out in 2000. According to this report, subscription to the SDDS in 1998 inspired a greater interest in improving the process by which the Czech Republic compiled and disseminated economic and financial information. By 1999, significant progress had been achieved in this regard, according to the ROSC. The report identified primary data compilation and dissemination as the responsibility of the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), which deals with data from the real sector, as well as employment, population, and merchandise trade statistics. At the time of the report, the CSO did not handle unemployment data. The CSO is governed by the State Statistical Service Act (SSSA) of 1995, the provisions of which cover CSO independence, its rights and duties (including reporting duties), and data confidentiality. The CSO's independence is strengthened by the rules by which the agency's president attains office. Nominations come from the Prime Minister, but the appointment is made by the President. Parliament, however, approves the CSO budget. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) compiles and disseminates unemployment data, under the terms of the Employment Act of 1991 and supporting legislation. Like the CSO, the MoLSA is subject to dissemination and confidentiality provisions of the SSSA. The original ROSC was updated in 2001, at which time the IMF reported no essential changes to the data dissemination regime.
The IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation provides a more current assessment of the Czech Republic's data dissemination practices in its Informational Annex, which covers statistical issues. According to this report, "while data quality is generally high, some deficiencies remain in certain areas, and the authorities are taking measures to improve data accuracy" (p. 5). On the positive side, data required for posting to the SDDS website are regularly available and subject to minimal lags. On the other hand, inadequate data collection mechanisms and inconsistent reporting from enterprises has made some data inaccurate. Also, different methodologies are used across different government agencies, resulting in a lack of harmonization of certain data sets.
The Principles
FCComprehensive economic and financial data, disseminated on a timely basis.
According to the IMF's SDDS website, the Czech Republic first subscribed to the Standard in 1998 and first met SDDS specifications the following year. The website discloses that all SDDS specifications for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data are met, except for the timeliness of Central Government Operations data. However, the Czech Republic avails itself of the timeliness flexibility option for this category. Likewise, the IMF’s 2008 Annual Observance Report of the SDDS for the Czech Republic states that the country meets or exceeds all requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of all data sets.
FCReady and equal access to official statistics.
Information provided on the IMF's SDDS website for the Czech Republic indicates that advance release calendars (ARC) are published for all datasets and that all data is simultaneously released to all interested parties. According to the IMF’s 2008 Annual Observance Report of the SDDS for the Czech Republic, “during 2008, the Czech Republic met the SDDS requirements for ARC in all months” (p. 6). The IMF's 2000 ROSC notes that "users of Czech economic statistics, including news services, confirm that the advance release calendars are strictly adhered to." The Czech National Bank (CNB) website discloses a wide range of statistical data made available to the public, covering monetary, financial, balance of payment, and financial accounts statistics. According to the website, "The EU Treaty requires the European Central Bank, assisted by the national central banks, to collect the statistical information necessary in order to undertake the tasks of the European System of Central Banks." The website also provides access to inflation data, the advance release calendar, and a public database/time-series system designated by the acronym ARAD. The CSO website shows an additional wide range of data made publicly available. The CSO provides census, labor, population, and inflation statistics, among others. It also offers publications on statistical methodology. Similarly, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs offer public access to data and statistics-related publications.
FCOfficial statistics must have the confidence of their users. Transparency of its practices and procedures is a key factor.
According to information provided on the IMF's SDDS website, the Czech Republic provides clear dissemination of terms and conditions for all data categories. For fiscal data, however, the MoF does not have any specific act stipulating that the Ministry has to publish data but the data are compiled and disseminated on the basis of an unofficial agreement between the CSO and the MoF. Laws in the Czech Republic clearly define the confidentiality requirement on released statistics. Further, the SDDS website notes that the authorities clearly identify access to data prior to release and ministerial commentary at the time of release. The IMF's SDDS website shows that for most data categories, notice of methodological changes are provided only at the time of release of data. According to the IMF’s 2008 Annual Observance Report of the SDDS for the Czech Republic, metadata certification requirements were met. The report notes that “during 2008, the Czech Republic met the SDDS requirements for certification for all quarters” (p. 7).
The IMF's 2000 ROSC discloses that a number of laws govern the compilation, analysis, and dissemination of Czech economic and financial data. Principal among these is the State Statistical Services Act (also called the Statistics Act), which also contains provisions to safeguard confidentiality. Confidentiality of financial data dissemination by the central bank is further protected by the Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 101, of 2000. There is generally no ministerial access to data prior to general release. National accounts data are available to CSO and GDP compilers for use in their work, but only under conditions of secrecy. Real sector data are generally accompanied by a brief commentary by the CSO (and unemployment data may be accompanied by comments from the MoLSA) but these are identified. Preliminary and final statistics are generally identified, but national accounts data is not clearly distinguished as to whether they are provisional or final. Methodological changes are announced at least at the time that the change is first introduced, and often in advance.
According to the 2000 ROSC, the State Budget Act of 1990 governs the compilation of central government data, while the Parliament Act of 1990 establishes the parliament's mandate to approve the annual budget and receive quarterly state budget data. There is, however, no requirement in law for the Ministry of Finance to publish budget data for the central government. Instead, such publication is undertaken by the Ministry as a public service. A series of additional laws contribute to governing the compilation of central government data, including data on extra-budgetary funds (state funds, the National Property Fund, and the Czech Land Fund, among others). Local government data are subject to the State Budget Act and the Law on Municipalities. The Act on the Czech National Bank of 1993 governs the data compilation and publication duties of the CNB and establishes the requirement that commercial banks provide the CNB with the information it requires. Confidentiality is covered by the Law on Protection of Personal Data of 1992. Although the law mandates publication of monetary aggregate, international reserve, and exchange rate data, no legislation requires the publication of other financial or external sector data. Rather, the CNB publishes this data as a public service.
CPA set of standards that deals with the coverage, periodicity and timeliness of data must also address the quality of statistics.
The IMF’s SDDS website discloses that the Czech Republic publishes summary methodologies for nearly all requisite datasets. In most cases, additional information is published, but in a few (e.g., general government operations, central bank analytical accounts, balance of payments, international reserves, international investment position, external debt, exchange rate), such additional information must be requested. In the case of certain datasets, the SDDS website provides no information on the dissemination of component detail, reconciliations with related data, and statistical frameworks supporting cross-checking or otherwise providing the assurance of reasonableness. Examples of datasets for which this information is not provided include the production index, interest rates, merchandise trade, and population data. Meanwhile, according to the IMF’s 2008 Annual Observance Report of the SDDS for the Czech Republic, “during 2008, the Czech Republic provided available information on the methodology, sources, and statistical techniques of data categories in Data Quality Assessment Framework that would facilitate users to assess the quality of the data” (p. 7).
According to the Informational Annex of the IMF's 2008 Article IV Consultation report, "while data quality is generally high, some deficiencies remain in certain areas, and the authorities are taking measures to improve data accuracy" (p. 5). On the positive side, data required for posting to the SDDS website are regularly available and subject to minimal lags. Coverage of annual data submitted for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook includes extra-budgetary funds, and the data are also provided in a timely manner. Fiscal data submitted monthly for publication in the International Financial Statistics include coverage of state budget accounts, and are provided after a lag of two to three months. On the other hand, estimates of small-scale private sector value added are likely to be too low, due to inadequately developed data collection mechanisms and the inability to capture tax-evasion data. GDP estimates are also problematic. Bias has been identified in the quarterly national accounts estimates, due in part to the failure to impose mandatory quarterly reporting on enterprises and the failure by respondents to adequately disaggregate disparate spending categories. Quarterly data tends, therefore, to be unreliable. Some progress has been made in bringing the data for external trade more closely into line with EU practice, but further improvements are needed.
