1.8 Bank of Finland’s Data Balance Sheet augments Annual Report

The Bank of Finland’s 2022 Data Balance Sheet will be published in English in June 2023. It highlights the importance of data, information and knowledge to the work of the central bank and describes the operating environment for these at the Bank.

The themes of the articles published on the Bank of Finland’s Bulletin website in 2022 included cost competitiveness, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, rising import prices and falling house prices. The articles conveyed a rather sombre view of the economy, which was under strain during the year due to a number of simultaneous crises.

These economic shocks accelerated the need for data collection and reporting and for analysing data. It is also essential that data is quickly and reliably available for use.

To underpin these efforts, the Bank of Finland returned to its information management roots in 2022 by defining the terminology more clearly and developing the overall architecture as part of an information management development programme. The programme is continuing to the end of 2023.

What is the Data Balance Sheet?

The Data Balance Sheet serves as a key part of the Bank of Finland’s information management reporting.

The Data Balance Sheet brings together details of the development work being undertaken in information management and focuses on various aspects of data security and data protection. It also presents figures on the central bank’s tasks and on information management and analysis work.

The Data Balance Sheet will be published in English in June after the publication of the Bank of Finland’s Annual Report. It serves to complement the Annual Report from an information management perspective.

Events from 2022 and from history

The 2022 Data Balance Sheet includes a selection of articles on topics ranging from the basics of information management through to cash, interest rates and the energy efficiency of buildings.

The Data Balance Sheet also features articles on matters of history going back 200 years. These refer to the protection of historically significant archive materials and also dip into their fascinating content, including material on the Finnish Civil War and the Parliamentary Supervisory Council.