Definition: Stocks

Category: SNA

Stocks are a position in, or holdings of, assets and liabilities at a point in time. The SNA records stocks in accounts, usually referred to as balance sheets, compiled in respect of the beginning and end of the accounting period.

Stocks measure economic value at a point in time (SNA 2008, §§ 3.2 and 3.4).

Stocks are a position in, or holdings of, assets and liabilities at a point in time and the SNA records stocks in accounts, usually referred to as balance sheets, and tables at the beginning and end of the accounting period; stocks result from the accumulation of prior transactions and other flows, and they are changed by transactions and other flows in the period (note that stocks of goods are referred to as "inventories" in the SNA) (SNA 1993, § 3.66). http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/SNA2008.pdf System of National Accounts (SNA) 1993