Abstract

GONZALEZ, Jorge Iván. ASYMMETRIC ACCOUNTING OF RESERVES. Innovar [online]. 2018, vol.28, n.68, pp.29-37. ISSN 0121-5051.  https://doi.org/10.15446/innovar.v28n68.70468.

The article discusses the way reserves are accounted for. The depreciation of the Colombian peso has a double consequence: on the one hand, it increases the value in Colombian pesos of reserves; and, on the other, increases the value in Colombian pesos of the external public debt. In accounting, both effects should be addressed following a symmetric approach. However, it does not work that way in reality, since assets and liabilities are given a very different treatment from the fiscal point of view, thus standing for an asymmetric accounting of reserves. This work shows that such procedure is not adequate, and that part of the surplus generated by the depreciation of the Colombian peso could be efficiently used without falling into past mistakes that resulted in an abuse of the resources of the mechanism known as Exchanges Special Account (Cuenta Especial de Cambios).

Clasificación JEL: G18, G21, G28.

Keywords : Reserves; depreciation; balance.

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