Banca d’Italia

INFOSTAT User Manual - version 1.3

INFOSTAT Data Collection Platform

USER MANUAL Version 1.3

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INFOSTAT User Manual - version 1.3

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING “INFOSTAT” SERVICES .................................................................. 3

2.

REGISTRATION, AUTHENTICATION AND ACCESS TO INFOSTAT .................................................................. 4

3.

HOME PAGE...................................................................................................................................................................... 5

4.

ENTERING THE PIN ........................................................................................................................................................ 6

5.

ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR DATA PREPARATION AND TRANSMISSION ...................................................... 9

6.

DATA ENTRY .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5.

7.

DATA ENTRY – ENTERING DATA (THE 'EDIT' FUNCTION) ............................................................................................ 13 DATA ENTRY – DATA IMPORT AND EXPORT ............................................................................................................... 21 DATA ENTRY - DIAGNOSTIC ....................................................................................................................................... 24 DATA ENTRY – DATA TRANSMISSION......................................................................................................................... 25 DATA ENTRY – CONFIRMATION MANAGEMENT.......................................................................................................... 27

UPLOAD FUNCTIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 28 7.1.

UPLOAD FUNCTIONS – DATA DIAGNOSTIC AND TRANSMISSION ................................................................................. 29

8.

MESSAGE MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................................................................... 32

9.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS FOR AUTHORIZATION MANAGEMENT ................................................................... 7

10.

GUIDE TO REMARKS .............................................................................................................................................. 35

11.

INSTALLING CERTIFICATES ................................................................................................................................ 36

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1. Operating instructions for using “INFOSTAT” services The Data Collection Platform (hereinafter INFOSTAT) is an IT infrastructure to support the preparation and transmission of periodical statistical and supervisory reports to the Bank of Italy (hereinafter BoI). Access to INFOSTAT is available on the BoI website (following the path “Statistiche > Raccolta dati e servizi > Raccolta dati presso gli intermediari > Raccolta dati via internet > Accesso alla raccolta dati via internet (vers. 2 – INFOSTAT)”) or at the internet address “https://infostat.bancaditalia.it”. The INFOSTAT platform offers several functions as described below: •

The schedule provides an overview of the deadlines for submission of due reports.



The data-entry enables reports to be compiled and performs an initial check on the correctness of entered data.



The diagnostic is a tool available to reporting agents (hereinafter conventionally referred to as ‘partnersì) to check the quality of the report produced.



The data transmission function enables the forwarding of official reports to BoI.



The upload function enables the diagnostic and the official submission to BoI of report files independently produced and compliant with the agreed format .



The confirmation function allows partners to confirm remarks received from BoI and to accompany the confirmation with an explanatory note.

To use the INFOSTAT functions the user is required to have access to the Internet, to have a web browser and the plug-in of the Adobe Flash product, freely downloadable from the Adobe website. Due to the confidential nature of the information processed, access to the platform is only granted to authorized users. The authorization process involves the following steps: •

BoI attributes a secret code (PIN)to each partner, upon formal request,.



The partner commits the PIN to an operator responsible for data transmission to BoI. The entrusted operator first registers on the BoI website and then proceeds to enter the PIN code.

The operator is now authorized to transmit data to BoI on behalf of the reference partner and can also delegate this power to other operators. The credentials (username and password) chosen by the operator during the registration phase will be required for each subsequent access to INFOSTAT. Communication on the Internet network uses the https protocol (secure connection) and uses digital certificates issued by the BoI’s "Certification Authority" of the. To enable easy access to INFOSTAT, users can install the root certificate of the aforesaid ‘Certification Authority’ on their browser. (See § 11 ‘Installing Certificates’). INFOSTAT is designed to deal with a wide range of information exchanges with the BoI. This manual contains information that applies to any information exchange with the BoI; it should be considered, however, that some functions may be inhibited if not covered by the specific legislations that regulate each specific data exchange. The images shown in this manual are examples of the features supported by the platform; they may differ from the ones that users will face in relation to a specific survey.

For technical questions and for all matters relating to access to INFOSTAT and the use of related services, send an e-mail to the mailbox [email protected].

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2. Registration, authentication and access to INFOSTAT To access INFOSTAT (See § 1) it is necessary to have a USERNAME and a PASSWORD acquired through the function for registering onthe BoI website (shown on the Home screen as Registration). Registration requires some mandatory data including a USERNAME, an e-mail address and a password. The e-mail address given may not coincide with the functional mailbox entered on the form for using the Internet channel submitted to the BoI on behalf of the partner; it is usually a personal address that the procedure uses to confirm the registration and for operations related to the USERNAME management (e.g. password changes). The choice of the USERNAME and the PASSWORD is free, in accordance with the rules written on the form. When choosing a password, it is important to remember whether letters are upper or lower case. When confirming the data entered, the system will send an e-mail to the e-mail address indicated on the form. By clicking on the link contained in the e-mail received, users can complete the activation of their USERNAME. Assistance in the use of the self-registration feature can be requested by sending an e-mail to this address: autoregistrazione@bancadit alia.it.

Once registration has been completed, access to INFOSTAT requires user authentication by entering the USERNAME and the PASSWORD.

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3. Home Page At the end of the authentication process, users can access the INFOSTAT Home Page. The data preparation and forwarding interface can be viewed in English by clicking on ‘English version’ (upper right) Services for the exchange of data with the BoI are accessible by clicking on ‘Access to Services’. To access these services it is first necessary to use one of the following functions: •

Enter a PIN (if users have the PIN code sent to their reference partner by the BoI);



Request delegation (if users do not have the PIN code and need to be delegated by an operator that is already authorized, having entered the PIN code).

Users that are already authorized directly access “Access to Services”.

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4. Entering the PIN Selecting the ‘Enter PIN function gives users access to the following panel:

Users that enter the PIN code become ‘managers of the survey group’ (hereinafter ‘manager’). The role of manager allows users to: -

Access all INFOSTAT services connected with data preparation and transmission (function: ‘Access to Services’ on the Home Page);

-

Delegate other users to operate on behalf of the reference partner and of the survey (or survey group) he is manager of.

The PIN code can only be used once, so only one user can enter the PIN code. The success of the transaction is notified to the partner by an e-mail addressed to the functional mailbox communicated to the BoI on the form for the use of the internet channel. The manager may delegate others to work for the same partner and the same survey (or survey group) for which he is enabled upon request by the users concerned. For the request and the granting of the authority to act on behalf of the partner, refer to the relevant section (see § 9).

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5. Advanced functions for authorization management The request for delegation Users who are not direct recipients of a PIN code, once registered (see § 2), in order to be able to use the INFOSTAT services for the preparation and processing of data, must request an ‘operational delegation’ from the ‘manager’ (see § 4). Such a request can be activated from the home page of INFOSTAT (see § 3). In the delegation request, the user must indicate the partner on whose behalf he intends to operate:

The request is preliminary to the actual granting of the delegation by the user with the role of ‘manager’. Once the authorization process has been completed by the manager, the' ‘delegated’ user will have access to INFOSTAT services for the preparation and transmission of data.

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Granting a delegation A delegation to act on behalf of a partner is granted by a ‘manager’ using the ‘authorization management’ function accessible from the main menu. The person requesting the delegation may be authorized to the role of ‘manager’ (which in turn gives the authority to delegate other users) or to the role of ‘operator’ for an individual survey.

The interface for managing authorizations contains the list of authorizations in place. Depending on the user role, the view of the list available will either be total or partial. The total view is reserved for the ‘manager’, able to see both his own authorizations and those of the other users authorized for the same partner. ‘Operators’ will have, instead, a partial view consisting of the list of their authorizations.

An authorization can have three different statuses: o

Active: authorization in place;

o

Suspended: authorization request still pending;

o

Revoked: authorization closed or revoked.

For each active authorization the manager is allowed to: o

Revoke (‘Revoke’ action);

o

Enable a person to a role other than that possessed. Specifically, a user with the role of ‘manager’ may enable to the role of ‘manager’ or remove a user from the role of ‘manager’ granting the authorization to the role of ‘operator’ for one or more surveys (action ‘Enable operator’);

To grant further authorizations to the role of ‘operator’ (for other surveys) to a person that is currently an ‘operator’ for some specific surveys, it is possible to proceed using ‘New Authorization’. For each suspended authorization the following options are possible: o

authorization with role of ‘operator’ for one or more surveys (action ‘Enable’);

o

authorization with role of ‘manager’ (action ‘"Enable");

o

cancellation of the authorization request (action ‘Deny’).

No actions are possible in the case of revoked authorizations. Actions for changing authorizations in place (granting a delegation, revocation or updating of a current authorization) can be activated using the corresponding ‘Actions’ available on the interface for authorization management. Each change to current authorizations is notified to the relevant partner via an e-mail message addressed to the mailbox indicated on the form for the use of the internet channel (vers.2 - INFOSTAT). Such messages are also available on the website. Pag. 8 di 39

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6. Access to services for data preparation and transmission By selecting the "Access to Services’ function from the INFOSTAT Home page , users have access to the section of the website dedicated to services for data preparation and transmission. The home page is organized around a ‘Schedule’. The schedule is a tool that provides the partner with annual summaries of its reporting obligations. The interface shows an annual calendar that shows the months in which deadlines for data submission fall, for each of the surveys on which the partner is required to send periodical reports to the BoI,.

Select the partner and the reference calendar year Select the ‘cell’ of interest in order to activate the services menu (on the bottom)

Click on the tool bar that is not active in order to view the services menu

Users may select both the partner for whom they intend to operate (if they are authorized to act on behalf of multiple partners) and the calendar year for which they want to view the report deadlines. Schedule cells are highlighted for the months in which a deadline falls. In that case they show the accounting reference date of the due survey. By moving the mouse over a highlighted cell, other information are shown in addition to the accounting reference date,: the date from which data may be processedand the deadline for submitting the report to the BoI. By one of the highlighted cells of the schedule selecting with the mouse, if the date from which data may be processed has expired, functions related to the data processing are activated. These functions are grouped into two general categories:

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Category: ‘Data Entry’. It includes functions related to the data entry service (data entering, checking, the diagnostic–, and official submission) and auxiliary functions (management of confirmations, consultation of messages exchanged with the BoI);



Category: ‘Upload file function’. It includes services intended for partners who do not use data entry to prepare their due reports: loading functions and diagnostic functions of external reporting data files (produced independently by partners, compliant with the agreed formats), sending confirmations of data and consultation of messages exchanged with the BoI.

By default the services menu shows the functions related to the ‘data entry’ category, but it is possible at any time to switch to the other category of services by clicking on the reference tool bar.

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7. Data entry Data entry consists of a set of services available to partners for compiling, checking and transmitting data to the BoI. It is a virtual space for the exclusive use of partners where they can enter, edit and check data also during multiple sessions distributed over time. Until the time of the official transmission of data to the BoI, no operation carried out in the data entry is an ‘official’ interaction with the BoI. The services available are as follows: -

-

-

Survey Management o

The editing function for entering data

o

Data display

Message management o

The diagnostic: for checkingf input data

o

The transmission function: to officially forward data to the BoI

o

Confirmation management: to confirm possible reports for which remarks are made

o

The visualization of messages exchanged with the BoI

Utility o

The function for importing data: to prepare a report using data already transmitted to the BoI or an external file

o

The printing function: to print the latest data officially transmitted to BdI or data that are currently inside the data entry space and still have a ‘working’ status

Once authorized, users will be able to work on behalf of their reference partners using the data entry functions, read all messages sent and received (regardless of the user who directly transmitted the data), request the diagnostic function and manage the confirmation of remarks.

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Survey / reference date

Click for the editing function, select the option of interest (‘Full’ vs. ’Partial’)

‘Transmit’ and ’Check’ allow access to related services

‘Import’ and ’Print’ allow access to related services

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7.1. Data entry – Entering data (the ‘Edit’ function) Data entry is carried out using the ‘Edit’ function. A request for edit can be total, if you want to take charge of the entire reporting scheme, or partial, in case you want to update a specific section of the reporting scheme itself. In both cases, the request for the ‘Edit’ function of the data entry activates a panel composed of two sections. The section on the left side shows the phenomena/subjects covered by the survey, organized in a hierarchical structure (taxonomy) compliant with the reporting scheme. The right section shows, for each phenomenon selected, the frame for assisted data entry, set out according to the structure of the data.

Select the subject of interest to enable data editing

In order to minimize potential operator errors associated with the activity of typing data, information with a preset value are already compiled and can not be modified.

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‘Partial’ Edit – Update of a single data section You can access the edit of a single data section by choosing the ‘Partial edit’ option from the data entry menu. A list is displayed showing all the sections of the survey; it is then possible to select the one to be edited .

Select the section you requirerest

The partial edit option provides functions similar to those of the ‘full edit’ option; the only difference is that it only makes the data in the selected section available for updating. The function is intended to allow the contemporaneous updating by different persons of the data belonging to the same survey but related to different data sections reporting scheme . When a user is modifying a section, it will not be available to other users.

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Mask for data entry with ‘single’ observations. For Phenomena whose information does not have to be broken down according to the values of one or more classification variables, a mask appears with all the preset data and only the ‘amount’ variable available to be typed.

Back to the Schedule Type the value

Save data

Delete data

If the ‘amount’ variable provides for signalling the presence/absence of a phenomenon, the data entry mask will show a ‘check-box’ that corresponds to the ‘amount’ variable andthat can beactivated if you want to enter the preset conventional value

Activate the check-box if the information is required

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Mask for data entry with ‘multiple’ observations. Phenomena whose information needs to be broken down according to the combined values of one or more classification variables, are shown on the right using a mask with a matrix structure in which it is possible to insert values for classification and measure variables.

Select to activate? buttons ‘Duplicate row’ and ’Delete row’

Click to insert a new observation

To duplicate selected rows

To delete selected rows

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Functions that support ‘Edit’ To minimize the risk of error in entering the values of classification variables, a ‘search’ function for permitted values is available. This function is activated by clicking on the ‘lens’ icon that appears when you select the reference cell.

Type a string related to a code or a description and press the search button Select an option and press OK

To ensure search function usability returning lists with too many values are not returned. If the search criteria are not very discriminating, a warning message is shown and you need to repeat the search using more accurate criteria.

Lists with few options are shown in a ‘dropdown box’

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Control functions within the edit phase When saving the changes made in entering the data, the procedure checks that values entered for each classification variable are consistent with the set of permitted values for the variable itself. Any errors are highlighted in correspondence to the rows affected.

Saving data is in any case allowed even if there are ‘formal’ errors such as, for example, the presence of a value not included among those allowed for a variable. Only a few kinds of errors do not allow data to be saved, such as: •

presence of double observations;



values not compliant with agreed formats (e.g. presence of alphabetic characters where numeric type variables are required).

Editing operations are not allowed when functions of official data transmission or diagnostic are ongoing; in this circumstance, in the left section of the screen (taxonomy), icons associated with these phenomena are shown in red to indicate that they are unavailable.

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List of data entry remarks Below is a list of possible errors that may occur during the data entry phase: ERROR

PROBLEM

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

SOLUTION

You can not update the survey report because, at the same time, activities of other users are ongoing (data are not available and can’t be changed, and the icons associated with phenomena are shown in RED).

Data transmission or diagnostic ongoing

During data transmission/ diagnostic it is not possible to access the edit frame to carry out updates.

Please try again at a later stage to verify data availability.

Duplicated database.

Duplicated observation

You must not include observations with identical values referring to the same classification variables. The error leads to blocking.

Correct the reported value for one or more classification variables inside the duplicated row or delete the whole row.

Variable with a wrong format

Wrong format

Correct the entered value.

Variable with a value that is not allowed

Wrong value

Format of entered values must comply with that provided for the variable. The error leads to blocking. Entered values must belong to the list of values admitted for each variable. The error leads to blocking.

observation

in

the

Correct the entered value.

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Data consultation The data consultation function, accessed by pressing the ‘survey: browse’ button, shows a frame similar to that used by the survey edit function. Buttons for updating data are, however, not present.

Printing data The function, which is accessed via the ‘Print’ button, allows the printing of data currently stored 'inside’ the data entry space (option: ‘working data’) or data referring to the last official transmission to the BoI made using the ‘data entry’ function (Option: ‘Last delivery of data’). It is also possible to print the differences between data currently being processed and data from the last official transmission made to the BoI. The latter option is available only if the two information sets involved differ from each other

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7.2. Data entry – Data import and export The data entry tool supports import and export of data functions. They can be activated using the corresponding buttons in the ‘Utility’ section of the data entry services menu. Note: The data import into the data-entry can not be used for files exceeding 1 mega in size.

DATA IMPORTING In order to facilitate the data entry phase, data may be imported from different kinds of sources (data already transmitted to the BoI using the data entry tool/external files). This function can be activated by pressing the ‘import’ button and works in two different ways o

Total replacement: imports data of interest deleting any data already present in the data entry space.

o

Integration: imports data of interest and addss them to data already present in the data entry space.

The data source can be chosen from the following options: -

Last data delivered: Resets the data entry working space with data referring to the last official data transmission to the BoI for the reference accounting date. In this case the function always operates in a ‘total replacement’ way.

-

Previous period: Resets the data entry working space with data officially transmitted to the BoI on a previous reference accounting date (to be indicated). It iss possible to import all the data from a particular survey or just those related to a single data section(to be indicated).11

-

External file: allows data to be imported from on an external file. The function supports the CSV format (see paragraph: ‘CSV format – operating instructions’) or the ‘Puma’ format. If the CSV format is chosen, the ‘separator’ used in the CSV file itself must be indicated. It is possible to import all data or just those related to a single data section (to be indicated). When importing data from an external file, users must specify how to manage possible errors during the import itself (inconsistencies in the data structure or ‘duplicated’ observation); the following options are provided: o

Block import in case of errors: in case of errors the import function stops and shows a list of the errors found so far, with evidence of the incorrect data;

1

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Skip errors: in case of errors the function continues in any case with the importing of correct records; at the end it displays a list of all the errors detected with the evidence of the incorrect data to be discarded.

DATA EXPORT The ‘Export’ button allows you to produce a CSV file containing the data currently stored inside the data entry space with regard to the survey and the accounting date selected in the schedule. The function requires you to specify the source of the data to be exported: -

Data being processed: data entered (and stored) in the data entry space not yet transmitted to the BoI;

-

Last data delivery: data relating to the last official transmission to the BoI, irrespective of their possible coincidence with data currently stored in the data entry space.

It is also possible to only export the ‘structure’ of the survey (the ‘template’) in CSV format. In this case, the exported file contains no data but the set of variables required by the reference survey. This function is activated by the ‘Template export’ button

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CSV FORMAT – OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS. The structure required for a data file in CSV format to be imported into the data entry space is the same as that of the ‘template’. This can be exported using the ‘export’ function of the data entry tool. 2 This file can also be compiled in Excel, but taking the precaution, once the data has been entered, ofo saving the file as ‘CSV (Comma delimited list)’

Note that in this way the CSV file produced uses “;” as separator. By way of an example, the following figure shows the structure of a data file compiled in Excel for the survey ‘3A’ (which uses the template downloaded for the survey ‘3A’). Below are some instructions for compiling the data file, applicable to the surveys covered by the ‘Circular 154 of 22 November 1991’.

Column ‘ID FENOMENO’ (phenomenon id.) must be compiled by entering a string in the format: ‘survey_phenomenon code’ – e.g. 3A_6400000; Column ‘DATA DI RIFERIMENTO DELLA SEGNALAZIONE’ (survey reference date) shall include, for each input record, the reference accounting data in the format: yyyymmdd; Column ‘ENTE SEGNALANTE’ (reporting agent) shall include, for each input record, the reporting agent code without the control code; Column ‘FENOMENI RILEVATI’ (phenomenon code) shall include the phenomenon code (following reference reporting instructions) – e.g. 6400000; Columns referring to classification variables shall report codes compliant with the reference reporting instructions; Columns referring to classification variables that are not present in the input record structure shall not be compiled (should therefore remain blank); Column “IMPORTO” (amount) shall indicate the amount to be reported.

2

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7.3. Data entry - Diagnostic The Diagnostic service is a tool available to partners that enables a preliminary verification of the data entered, before their official transmission to the BoI. In any case, after data transmission, checks will be repeated in full by the BoI. The BoI also reserve the right to perform additional checks on reports in relation to the various needs of data use. The Diagnostic service can be requested without limitations and returns messages with attachments reporting the remarks, in the same way as for the official transmission of data (see below). The remarks generated by the diagnostic program (see § 10) are exclusively delivered for partners’ internal use. If there are no errors, the diagnostic returns a message with positive feedback.

optional note to be associated with the message Press to start the diagnostic

The diagnostic performs two types of checks: •

Formal checks: referring to the correctness of single observation values;



Deterministic checks: aim to check consistency between the various parts of the data report. This category of controls also includes checks on the trend of reported phenomena which compare data referring to different time periods and cross-checks which compare data from different surveys (for the same reference date).

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7.4. Data entry – Data transmission The data transmission function allows partners to officially proceed with the submission of their reports to the BdI.

optional note to associate with the message Press to start with the official data transmission

Data entry - Remarks Once officially transmitted, data are subjected to a checking phase by the BoI aimed at verifying their reliability. During this phase the BoI may also carry out controls additional to those performed by the diagnostic. Remarks generated during this phase are accessible in INFOSTAT (see § 8). Partners must examine the aforementioned remarks in a timely manner. To facilitate this activity, the same remarks are also emailed to the partners. Partners answer to the communication of remarks by revising their reports or sending confirmation messages. If there are no remarks, partners will receive no messages of positive feedback. 3 More details about reports on remarks are presented in the relevant paragraph (see § 10). Note: If Data Entry is used to produce reports, it is not possible to send revision or confirmation files using the upload function. Revisions are to be transmitted through a new complete report which will replace the former. This process may be performed either by using data entry or by uploading the file using the proper function. Confirmations may be sent using the specific function.

3

A message with positive feedback, instead, is provided when the absence of remarks is found in the diagnostic phase. Pag. 25 di 39

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Data entry – Revision management The data entry function does not provide a specific function for sending revisions to data already transmitted (regardless of the delivery method that was used: data entry/upload). Therefore if partners choose to send revisions to data already delivered using the data entry tool, they will have to make a completely new transmission of their data (with the necessary corrections). They will therefore select the reference accounting date of interest in the schedule, restore the data referring to their last delivery inside the data entry space (they can use the import function as described in § 6.2), go to the edit mask of the data entry (see § 6.1) and update their reports with the necessary revisions, saving the changes made. It is possible to see data updates using the following functions on the data entry menu: ‘print’ or ‘preview changes’; the latter function is available on screen by pressing the ‘Check’ and ’Transmit’ buttons (through which revised data are sent to the diagnostic process or to the BoI (see §§ 6.2 and 6.3)).

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7.5. Data entry – Confirmation management Services connected with the Data entry function include a specific service for the ‘confirmation’ of deterministic checks. You must first move onto the cell corresponding to the ‘accounting date’ of interest: this activates the ‘Confirm’ Button. Pressing this button opens a frame with the list of all deterministic checks sent to the partner. In the absence of deterministic remarks, a message will appear informing the user that there are no remarks to confirm. The frame for confirmation management therefore lists deterministic remarks accompanied by the same information contained in the communication of the remarks that was delivered to partners. To confirm a remark, simply select the appropriate check-box. Users may also enter an explanatory text in the column of the explanatory notes to comment on the confirmation; the possibility to insert the note is enabled after activating the check of confirmation. Once you have completed the updating the confirmation frame by activating the check on all the remarks you want to confirm, press the ‘Send confirmations’ button to forward the message.

Explanatory note of the confirmation (optional)

Activate the ‘check’ to confirm the remark

Press to send confirmations

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8. Upload functions Upload functions allow users to make the diagnostic and the transmission of reports prepared using own procedures to the BoI.

Select the survey and the reference date to activate the services menu

Characteristics of messages Messages of data transmission must be produced in compliance with agreed formats for each particular survey. 4

4

For supervisory reports, in particular, technical specifications about the format of the file to be transmitted using the upload functions are contained in Volume I of the ‘Circular 154 of 22 November 1991’ (http://www.bancaditalia.it/vigilanza/banche/normativa/disposizioni/c154/) and in the manual on procedures for exchanging information (http://www.bancaditalia.it/statistiche/racc_datser/intermediari/segnalaz/norm_rif/sec_ban/asf.pdf). Pag. 28 di 39

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The upload functions verify that formats are consistent with the specific requirements; if they are not, a ‘discard’ message is produced. This message is put on the website and can be viewed using the message display functions (‘Browse’ button or ‘Messages’ option of the main menu); it is also sent to partners’ mailboxes. Note: To use the Upload Function correctly, there should always be consistency between the selection of the delivery type (flag ‘Transmission’, ‘Revision’ or ‘Confirmation’) and the type of file that is delivered. For example, if you intend to make a second transmission that completely replaces the previous one you should select ‘Transmission’ and not ‘Revision’.

8.1. Upload functions – Data diagnostic and transmission The upload function, accessed through the ‘Check’ or ‘Transmission’ options of the connected services menu, opens the following frame:

optional note to associate with the message

Press to select the file to attach (see also the next figure)

Select the message to be transmitted

In this case, consider that some of the fields of the ‘Puma’ file are not relevant and we suggest compiling them using the ‘null’ value, specifically: - For the ‘NUMINV’ field (progressive transmission number for the message type 001 e 002) we suggest always using the value ‘00’ - For the ‘NUMLOT’ field (progressive number of the information set for message type 002) we suggested usinge the value ‘0000000000000’. Pag. 29 di 39

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The ‘Add file’ button opens a panel that allows the search for the file to be transmitted/checked on the operator’s computer.

Select the file of interest on the PC

Press ‘Transmit to forward the attached file (in the Diagnostic mask the button is called ‘Check’)’

The diagnostic makes three types of checks: storage, formal and deterministic checks (see §10).

Upload functions – Remarks Once officially transmitted, data are submitted by the BoI to a checking phase aimed at verifying their reliability. As regards the remarks produced during the official checking phase and by the diagnostic, the same considerations made for the data entry functions apply (see § 6.3 Data entry – remarks).

Upload functions – Revision management A Revision of data already transmitted can be made by transmitting a revision file of (of the single record that needs to be updated) or by transmitting the whole report again. In both cases the file transmission is carried out using the ‘Transmit’ function already shown (see § 7.1 Upload functions – Data diagnostic and transmission). Note: The revisions can not be submitted to the diagnostic function

Upload functions – Confirmation management Partners using their own procedures to produce report files will forward the confirmations file (independently produced) using the aforementioned ‘transmit’ function (see § 7.1 Upload functions – Data diagnostic and transmission).

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Alternatively, confirmations can be managed using the specific function activateded by the ‘Confirm’ button in the same way as described for data entry (see § 6.4).

Warnings on revisions and confirmations (both sent via data-entry or via upload) Revisions

and

confirmations

must

be

submitted

separately.

Revisions and confirmations must have different production dates. It has to be remembered that the confirmations sent via the Data Entry function assume the date assigned by the software as the ‘production date’; revisions/confirmations sent via the Upload Function assume the date indicated in the files as the ‘production date’.

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9. Message management Message structure Messages exchanged between partners and the BoI can contain different informative elements (referred to as ‘annexes’, such as data reports, confirmations, remarks and documents). Each message is assigned a serial number (protocol) and further descriptive attributes (sender, transmission date, etc.). If upload functions are used, part of this information (e.g. Partner code, survey code or production date) must be included in the message, as specified by the relevant survey regulations.

Message display The message display function allows users to see the main identification elements of messages and their annexes. The message display function has two distinct sections referring to sent messages (e.g. data reports) and received messages (e.g. remarks or notifications). It is possible to access specific messages using the search parameters provided by the interface. It is possible to access the message display function in the manner described below.

Activation from the main menu The message display function can be activated from INFOSTAT main menu, by selecting the appropriate option:

Select the ‘Messages’ option

It then displays the following frame:

Filters to set search criteria for messages

On selecting the message of interest, a window is opened with the message details. In correspondence with the annex an icon appears that allows the file to be downloaded. In the case of messages sent using the data entry function, downloading is not allowed.

Search for the latest message

Select the icon to download the file

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Activation through the ‘Data Entry’ and ‘Upload’ service menus The message display function can also be called up through the Schedule. In this case you will only get messages related to the selected survey and the reference accounting date.

Select the Schedule cell of interest

Press the ‘Browse’ button

Whether accessing through the data entry function or the upload function, the following panel is displayed:

Press buttons related to sent messages or received messages depending on the scope/field of interest

Select the icon to download the file

Select the message of interest in order to view its details (at the bottom)

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Related messages Messages sent/received are often related to one another. Received messages, in particular, can show a reference to the ‘original’ message that determined them (for example, the remarks message will show a reference to the original message of the official data transmission that produced the remarks); sent messages instead may have an ‘answer’ message. If this reference is present it will be possible to see the related message by clicking on the appropriate link: this will open a window containing a summary of the information referring to the original message and the possibility to download the corresponding attached file.

Select the icon to download the file

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10. Guide to remarks The remarks communication is a report that lists any errors encountered during the control phase. These errors can be classified according to their type. Remarks from storage are produced by checks that verify the correctness of the messages in the PUMA format, sent by partners using the upload function. These checks verify in particular the correctness of variables and phenomena codes that were used, the consistency of the header information (Partner id and accounting date) and the validity of the ‘control values’ (record id, record type and total number of records) . In the remarks report, errors from storage provide the indication of the entire row affected by the error, also highlighting the value that caused the error.

Value that caused the error

Value that caused the error

This type of remark by definition does not concern data transmitted using the data entry tool. Formal remarks are produced by checks that concern the values attributed to the classification variables. They aim, in particular, to verify the correctness of the format of the value of the variables themselves, its inclusion in the list of permitted values (shown in the administrative instructions that describe the survey) and its possible inconsistency with the values attributed to other connected classification variables. In the remarks report, formal errors provide the indication to identify the survey and the list of all the variables included in the structure of the wrong record, showing and describing briefly the type of error for the variables involved.

Remark id

Description of the error found

Deterministic remarks refer to checks that verify the consistency between the various parts of the report. In the remarks report , the deterministic errors provide the description of the aggregates that were compared and the amounts that refer to these aggregates (calculated). For these remarks, if a similar remark was already sent in a previous communication sent to the partner, the amounts previously indicated are also included in brackets. Pag. 35 di 39

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11. Installing certificates In the section ‘Statistics’ (Statistiche), sub-section ‘Data collection from intermediaries’ (Raccolta dati presso gli intermediari) – “Data collection through the Internet (Raccolta Dati Via Internet) – ‘Accesso alla raccolta dati via internet (vers. 2 – INFOSTAT)’ (see § 1) a specific link is present that allows the downloading of the digital certificate of the BoI ‘Certification Authority’. Users may download the certificate and save it on their own personal computer.

The main characteristics of the certificate are the following: Issued by ‘Servizi di certificazione dei sistemi informatici’ - Valid from Thursday 16 December 2004 13.56.28 to Tuesday 16 December 2014 14.26.28 - identification algorithm ‘sha1’ - Impression‘c6 cd 16 6b 82 de 85 db 78 42 48 2d d5 36 1b 25 44 de 8e a3’.

To verify the certificate’s reliability you can activate the action ‘Open’ and check on the panel ‘Details’ under ‘Public Key’, whether the associated characters correspond to those indicated in the note. 5

After the verification , proceed with the installation of the certificate (the procedure will differ depending on the browser used by the user).

5

30 f6 f0 91 a6 7a 9e ac 75

82 e7 b9 56 30 33 0f 6b 02

01 d8 6a 1a a3 74 4b 8f 03

0a 5c af 86 af 77 fb ba 01

02 d5 df 64 60 5b 39 ff 00

82 e7 7b c5 18 1a f7 4d 01

01 9c 42 d1 a1 86 6e ea

01 ac c7 df 5c c5 d6 25

00 e0 ec 36 1c c5 9a cf

b2 ee 68 59 e9 dd 5d 8e

c1 1d a6 24 1b c6 53 10

c7 b0 2c cc 1f d8 a2 89

58 ca 4c b2 1d 4d 7a ef

77 61 67 0d c9 fe 2d 4e

b7 e6 4b 0a 40 d3 d7 e0

a1 dd f9 55 1c e2 a3 ab

23 1e 44 8c aa 90 1c 31

ec c6 58 c9 90 b3 1a 5a

2d 5e 47 31 8c 1f b5 62

3a d4 84 43 f1 41 d9 c8

7c fe 7f 53 dd ce 86 fe

59 c5 6e d2 37 2b 9a f2

fc 92 d1 b5 9c 02 9d 44

5c 41 a6 9b 9c f2 e9 28

bc 68 7a e6 e0 5a 2c 3e

6b 70 18 29 fd 37 7f ae

07 75 3b ae a0 9e b7 99

bf 6a 5d e4 a4 83 be 3d

e2 f7 7c 02 c0 4a 9b 96

5c 56 aa 99 45 58 ef bb

2a 18 c7 16 30 81 6d 69

ae a4 3b f6 74 d1 7a bc

1b 04 9b 17 29 97 ab 52

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Installing certificates– Internet Explorer Select ‘Opzioni Internet’ from the ‘“Strumenti” menu and then ‘Contenuto’; activate the button ‘Certificati’. The archive of the certificates already imported to the browser will be shown.

Press the ‘Importa’ button on the panel ‘Autorità di certificazione fonti attendibili’. The ‘Importazione guidata certificati’ function is activated.

Select the certificate you downloaded and press the ‘Avanti’ button until you see the message ‘Completamento dell’Importazione guidata certificati’. Press ‘Fine’ to complete the installation.

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Installing certificates – Mozilla Firefox Select ‘Opzioni’ from the ‘Strumenti’ menu and then ‘Avanzate’; press the button ‘Mostra certificati’. The archive of certificates already imported into Mozilla Firefox will be shown.

From the panel ‘Autorità’ activate the function ‘Importa’. Select the certificate you downloaded and press the ‘Apri’ Button.

Activate the check-box as shown below and press ‘OK’.

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