Traditionally, the reporting of statistical information has been viewed from the perspective imposed on it by the regulatory requirements to report. Each reporting institution must pass information up the chain, generally to several recipients. While the production of financial statistical information was automated early on, the advent of the internet and XML-related technologies such as web services allows us to view the entire cycle as subject to automation, focusing on the space between reporting institutions as well as within them. With the adoption of this new paradigm, it becomes possible to realize major improvements in efficiency, resulting in more timely data at all levels, a higher quality of data, and improved access. Many of these benefits come as the result of having improved metadata, as well as simple improvements in the way that data is reported.

The information life-cycle begins with the processing of payments, through SWIFT and other payment networks. The information about this flow is reported upward through accountants and banks to national agencies, and from the national level goes to regional and global institutions that provide aggregated data in the form of macro-economic statistics. At all levels of the reporting chain, the data produced is used by analysts and other users. Today, this chain is plagued by inefficiencies. This paper addresses the problems faced in the current paradigm, related to the multiplicity of formats, lack of standard semantics and structures, and the limitations of visibility into the world of statistical information.

This paper presents the emerging solutions to these problems, based on the new internet technologies and on past efforts to standardize the reporting chain. The scalability of the new web-services technologies is examined; the ability to provide secure XML data exchange; and the techniques for transmitting and managing large quantities of data across organizations are explored. The usability of these new technologies is also examined, with recommendations about the capabilities of different vendor solutions provided. Issues around migration from and integration with existing legacy systems are also examined, and the costs and benefits weighed. A prospective timeline is also presented, answering questions of when the new technologies may be ready for practical deployment.

Statistical reporting promises to be an atypical implementation of web services in some ways, but it also stands to benefit in a significant fashion from the adoption of the new technologies and standards. This paper attempts to provide a clear assessment of how this may be accomplished, and how soon the emerging technologies and standards will be ready for production use.