Yang Hu

"From experience-based operation to standard operating procedure: An example of workflow automation at the Treasury"

The updatefi package was tailored around the workflow of updating fiscal indicators for the Economic and Fiscal Updates from the Treasury. It aimed to transform an experience-based operation into a standard operating procedure. The package consists of a set of functions that automate the workflow under the supervision of analysts. A comprehensive Quarto document is also made available as a mandatory component of the package.

The development of updatefi started just before BEFU 2023; functions were incrementally completed and applied for the preliminary and final rounds. The fully developed package has been used to update fiscal indicators since PREFU 2023. Empirical evidence shows that compared to before, the usage of the package has reduced the time required for updates and eliminated human errors involved in the process. The outputs generated are fully referenced and reproducible, leading to an increase in the transparency of the updating process.