ABSTRACT
However clear-cut may be the story told by a set of accounts, their value must depend primarily upon the approximate accuracy of the tale they tell. This reflection calls for some consideration of the data available for drawing up the international accounts. Are they reliable enough to warrant the adoption of the accountant's financial statement, with its appearance of completeness and accuracy? Is it worth while attempting to check one set of items against another, when the estimates for some of them represent little more than brave guesses?
