Taking these principles into account, the objectives of the de facto classification of exchang ate arrangements are to support IMF surveillance by bringing greater transparency, consistency, and evenhandedness to the description of the results of members' policy actions; help imf staff to identify institutional and operational obstacles to the achievement of he authorities' policy objectives; and provide a summary description that facilitates cross country analysis From an operational perspective, a de facto classification system should reflect the wide range of exchange rate arrangements across the Fund membership with no overlap among categories consistently classify countries according to transparent and verifiable rules; and be operationally feasible without ambiguity or unnecessary delays This said, no classification system can capture all aspects of a country' s exchange rate arrangement. By its nature, a classification system can only reflect certain basic features, the most important of which is the extent to which the exchange rate is determined by markets rather than official action, a distinction which will often be reflected in the flexibility of the exchange rate. Thus, the classification system needs to be complemented by a more detailed description of exchange rate policies 2 While the de facto classification supports surveillance, it is distinct from the assessment of exchange rate olicies under the 2007 Decision. Surveillance must analyze members' exchange rate policies, with a view to providing (i)a clear description of these policies--supported by the de facto classification; and (ii)an assessment of the consistency of these policies with the Principles for the Guidance of Members outlined in the 2007 Decision. These two judgments must be underpinned by the same analysis and understanding of the member's policies, but ultimately consistency with the Principles will be assessed for exchange rate policies they arise, regardless of the de facto classification assigned to the arrangement5 Taking these principles into account, the objectives of the de facto classification of exchange rate arrangements are to:  support IMF surveillance by bringing greater transparency, consistency, and evenhandedness to the description of the results of members’ policy actions;2  help IMF staff to identify institutional and operational obstacles to the achievement of the authorities’ policy objectives; and  provide a summary description that facilitates cross country analysis. From an operational perspective, a de facto classification system should:  reflect the wide range of exchange rate arrangements across the Fund membership with no overlap among categories;  consistently classify countries according to transparent and verifiable rules; and  be operationally feasible without ambiguity or unnecessary delays. This said, no classification system can capture all aspects of a country’s exchange rate arrangement. By its nature, a classification system can only reflect certain basic features, the most important of which is the extent to which the exchange rate is determined by markets rather than official action, a distinction which will often be reflected in the flexibility of the exchange rate. Thus, the classification system needs to be complemented by a more detailed description of exchange rate policies. 2 While the de facto classification supports surveillance, it is distinct from the assessment of exchange rate policies under the 2007 Decision. Surveillance must analyze members’ exchange rate policies, with a view to providing (i) a clear description of these policies—supported by the de facto classification; and (ii) an assessment of the consistency of these policies with the Principles for the Guidance of Members outlined in the 2007 Decision. These two judgments must be underpinned by the same analysis and understanding of the member’s policies, but ultimately consistency with the Principles will be assessed for exchange rate policies as they arise, regardless of the de facto classification assigned to the arrangement