The accounts are tracked and analyzed by a country's central bank. In the United States, this is done by the Federal Reserve Bank, and the findings are provided approximately 10 weeks after the end of a quarter.
The FOF accounts are used primarily as an economy-wide performance indicator. The data from the FOF accounts can be compared to prior data to analyze the financial strength of the economy at a certain time and to see where the economy may go in the future. The accounts can also be used by governments to formulate monetary and fiscal policy.