4.13 The main attributes of an institutional unit are that:
(a) it is entitled to own goods or assets in its own right; it is, therefore, able to exchange the ownership of goods or assets in transactions with other institutional units.
(b) it is able to take economic decisions and engage in economic activities for which it is itself held to.
(c) it is able to incur liabilities on its own behalf, to take on other obligations or future commitments, and to enter into contracts.
(d) either a complete set of accounts, including a balance sheet, exists for the unit, or it would be possible and meaningful, from both an economic and legal viewpoint, to compile a complete set of accounts if they were to be required.
Institutional units are recognized in the cases of branches and notional resident units (as discussed in paragraphs 4.26–4.44) even though they may not fully satisfy criteria (a), (b), and (c).
4.14 There are two main types of units in the real world that may qualify as institutional units:
(a) households—persons or groups of persons; and
(b) corporations (including quasi-corporations), nonprofit institutions, and government units—legal or social entities whose existence is recognized by law or society independently of the persons, or other entities, that may own or control them.
Paragraph 4.13 - 4.14, Page 52, BPM6
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