Download The National Bank of Poland’s warehouse-based reporting system

Financial Reporting with Data Warehouse System at the Narodowy
Bank Polski
The Data Warehouse Project was introduced as a part of the
Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) general IT
implementation scheme. Till this time, the IT Department staff of NBP
had been (and still is) developing applications based on Ingres
database system for PC environment (with and without networking
capabilities). However, for the time being a major problem became
meeting the ever-increasing access needs of endusers, i.e. specialists
and analysts at the technical departments of the NBP Headquarters.
Thus the idea of the Data Warehouse commenced, that is a SAS
System-based data warehousing facility.
However, NBP Data Warehouse functionality is not limited to data
warehousing only, but provides users with various tools and
applications (both built into the SAS System and custom-made by the
IT staff). Following are SAS System features that make SAS preferable
as the foundation of a Data Warehouse:
7 The SAS System is open, i.e. available on many hardware and
software platforms;
7 The SAS System provides client-server architecture that allows to
connect computers with various operating systems to each other;
7 Excellent communication with other database systems (dBase, Ingres)
enables bi-directional connections between chosen databases and the
SAS System;
7 Module structure of created applications allows their further
development and modification. Easy running of one application from
within the other is possible. Modules of one application can be used
with the other without copying or recompilation;
7 Tools are available for automatic generation of applications to operate
on selected data and for running programs for specific applications,
both with interactive modification capability.
The Data Warehouse at NBP is being constructed interactively (in
cooperation with endusers), according to the needs of the Bank. The
system is created in such a way that endusers do not need to know the
SAS System, except basic concepts of data library, directory, record,
etc. The Data Warehouse is installed on a UNIX server.
A main Data Warehouse objective is to inform users about contents of
information resources and to provide them with reports, charts and jobs
registered in the system. The heart of the Data Warehouse is a dataset
named • Metabase• . It contains all detailed information about registered
datasets, i.e. dataset descriptions, variable descriptions, dataset
attributes, variable attributes, variable formats, etc.
The Metabase contains information about following Data Warehouse
information resources:
7 Data libraries
7 Datasets
7 Data
Each data library contains datasets corresponding with one topic (one
NBP activity area) and one aggregation level. Metabase information is
described providing users with easy ways of searching.
An application • Data Warehouse• is a kernel application of the Data
Warehouse.
Data Warehouse Participants
Data Warehouse Administrator: an IT Department staff member in
charge of the Data Warehouse, also responsible for:
7 granting access to Data Warehouse information to usergroups (with
cooperation of the data proprietor);
7 subdirectory names for data pertaining to particular areas of NBP
activity;
7 data access rights;
7 data access monitoring and data safeguarding;
7 cooperation with Data Warehouse developers working on data
structure
7 consultations on Data Warehouse usage.
Data Warehouse developer: an IT Department staff member that
designs and develops Data Warehouse applications.
NBP Data Warehouse developers determine for the system proprietor
the range and detail level of information fed into the Data Warehouse
and prepare appropriate applications for data feeding and presentation.
DW developers responsibility is to:
7 design data structure for a particular job;
7 prepare a feeding application;
7 prepare presentation applications;
7 provide application maintenance;
7 develop ad hoc listings for endusers;
7 instruct endusers on Data Warehouse application usage;
7 provide consultations within the SAS System area;
7 cooperate with the Data Warehouse Administrator on new
subdirectory definitions and granting data access rights to Data
Warehouse endusers.
DW Data Proprietor: a Technical Department Director responsible for
particular information.
With the Data Warehouse application, a Data Warehouse user can
find out who is the owner of data (data library).
Data Warehouse User: a NBP HQ department staff member entitled to
use the Data Warehouse.
The IT Department provided users with an application that allows them
to use Data Warehouse information in an easy way. Besides the
information part, the application enables creating user-defined listings
and charts, predesigned beforehand by IT Department developers.
With this application, a user can define and create listings based on
Data Warehouse information on his own. The application enables him
to create SQL queries without any knowledge about SQL language, as
well as to view, print or copy source code. It is also a very helpful
learning facility.
At the same time, with data chosen from Data Warehouse datasets
created, a user can move a portion of information to his own (HOME)
directory and put it there to further analysis.
Data Warehouse Information Resources
All INFORMATION RESOURCES included in the Data Warehouse
have a • Read only• clause.
Information included in the Data Warehouse comes from all NBP
activity areas and represent various details level: from full details to
country level.
Information contained in the Data Warehouse can be grouped by two
categories:
7 technical
7 detail level
Information belonging to particular groups is aggregated in data libraries
that are saved in respective directories.
Data Warehouse information is placed in appropriate directories,
accessed by specific usergroups.
Data Warehouse features are split into two categories: administrator• s
features and users• features.
The Administrator, being responsible for the Data Warehouse, has at
his disposal following applications:
Data Warehouse Dictionary
Finds information contained in datasets
registered in the Data Warehouse and
allows to register existing datasets and
views in the Data Warehouse;
Data Warehouse Maintenance Grants data access rights to users and
usergroups, registers and deletes DW
datasets, changes descriptions and
formats in DW datasets, manages
graph and report books;
Data Warehouse Jobs
Manages Data Warehouse jobs,
Database Feeding
including deleting old and creating
new jobs;
Enables automatic feeding the Data
Warehouse with Ingres tables and
allows conversion of single Ingres
tables.
A Data Warehouse User, being a member of a NBP technical
department staff, • processes• DW information and has at his disposal
following applications:
7 Data Warehouse Dictionary: an application that allows to browse
Data Warehouse-registered datasets for information and to create
individual datasets with SQL queries;
7 Report Generator: an application for interactive report generation, with
print, tabulate and report procedures, and for dataset listing, with frame
adding and local printing capabilities;
7 Graphics Generator: an application for interactive chart generation
(bar charts, pie charts, plots, etc.), with local printing capability;
7 Utility Features: a collection of features for viewing Program Editor,
Log, Output and Libname Assist type windows, for browsing report and
graph books and for iterative performing of standard SAS jobs, as text
files sorting and reading, Ingres databases conversion and data
consolidation;
7 other Data Warehouse applications: tools that the IT staff developed
for specific purposes.
Data Warehouse information range can be divided to technical units
both by aggregation level and by technical range of information.
Base level information can be saved in Ingres databases only and
accessed with the ACCESS command. Another possibility is to feed the
Data Warehouse periodically with Ingres database information.
Due to this structure, no null information is saved in the database. The
TRANSPOSE procedure is used to rebuild information for presentation
purposes. It allows to change from vertical to horizontal information
structure.
Data access technology is based on concepts of a SAS data library, a
UNIX directory, a usergroup and a single user.
Information pertaining to particular technical units is defined in
respective SAS data libraries.
Datasets belonging to one data library are saved in one UNIX directory.
Each user belongs to one usergroup.
Access to data saved in a directory is granted both to usergroups and
to single users.
Due to this approach, all data access configurations can be defined.
Information passwording and encoding is used for additional
safeguarding of especially protected data.
In 1997 there was a new version of financial reporting introduced to
NBP, covering all commercial and cooperative banks in Poland. Whole
responsibility for receiving, monitoring and validation of report
information lies with applications developed with Ingres database tools
by the IT Department. On receiving a signal from an Ingres database
that a validated financial reporting database has been created, the
Data Warehouse feeds the SAS database with new report data.
The Data Warehouse application for financial reporting builds a series
of user-defined listings. Each source and output form is defined in
dictionary datasets and generated by the Data Warehouse application
during feeding procedure. Listing construction is parametrized, listing
sums being defined with use of arithmetic expressions and where
clauses. Sums calculated in output listings are re-used for further
calculations. Subsequent definition of output listings requires detailed
analysis and proper definition of dictionary datasets.
Besides fixed listings being generated during Data Warehouse feeding,
the Data Warehouse applications allows users to define ad hoc listings
themselves.
Whole financial reporting information, i.e. dictionaries, source
information and output information, is saved to the NBP Data
Warehouse system and technical users can access it with Data
Warehouse applications.
For security reasons, a SAS file passwording and encoding system was
implemented.
The major problem will be a vast number of data fed into Data
Warehouse (5 years• back history). Therefore, to increase data
processing rate, information was both indexed and partitioned.
Advantages of Data Warehouse Implementation
1. Systematization of the NBP information base.
2. Integration of all essential NBP information resources.
3. Direct and independent enduser access to information resources.
4. Option to build a comprehensive information system.
5. Easy enhancement with new information resources and applications.
6. Full security monitoring of access to information resources.