Balance of payments (BOP) accounting conventions, never straightforward, have been complicated recently by the introduction of new standards. This note presents a short description of BOP and international investment position (IIP) data. It refers to data for the United States, Brazil, and South Africa, but given that there are worldwide standards for countries that report BOP and IIP, it should provide guidance for understanding the data of just about any country. It is meant to be a resource that students can refer to time and time again as they gain a deeper understanding of BOP data.