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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.