Revision policy

Danmarks Nationalbank’s revision policy is one element of the task of publishing reliable, relevant and consistent financial statistics. The policy is in accordance with international recommendations and best practice and includes all financial statistics published by Danmarks Nationalbank.


Revisions are defined as any changes to statistics that have already been published. Revisions are a consequence of, among other things, the updating of statistical methods in step with developments in international statistics manuals, the refining of published data with better or more complete source data, and the correction of any errors in source data.​

Revision cycle

Danmarks Nationalbank revises financial statistics according to a published plan: the revision cycle. It determines when the individual statistics are revised and the periods that are subject to revision.

As a general rule, statistics are revised according to the fixed revision cycle. However, deviations may occur. For example, significant changes to the statistics will entail extraordinary revisions if Danmarks Nationalbank considers it necessary to facilitate users’ interpretation of data. Deviations may also be related to the length of the revision period and the time of revision. Deviations are clearly stated in the NEWS publication where data is published.

The revision cycle is designed to follow the production cycle of the various statistics. It also reflects Danmarks Nationalbank’s weighing of quality and costs with regard to reporters, users and Danmarks Nationalbank itself.

Danmarks Nationalbank seeks to ensure consistency over time within the individual time series by compiling historical data in connection with major revisions.  However, this is always based on various factors weighed against each other, such as user considerations, costs and the existence of source data. Any breaks in data series are stated in footnotes to the relevant tables and charts.

Documentation

Details of the sources and methods applying to the individual statistics are stated in the respective ‘Sources and methods’. Where published data are particularly uncertain and subsequent revision should be anticipated, this is stated in footnotes to the relevant tables and charts.