Financial Remediation and Deployment Project Overview
Prior to the start of this project, CherryRoad Technologies (CRT) completed an assessment of our PS Financials application to determine if it is utilized to the full extent of its capability by the City and to provide recommendations for both short and long term remediation items and implementations. The assessment reviewed the current General Ledger (GL) processes and ChartField usage in order to provide recommendations for improvement. The remainder of the assessment focused on the review of the current processes associated with Fixed Assets, Grants, Accounts Receivable, Billing, and Reporting. Additionally, CRT identified the pain points associated with not having an integrated system.
Based on the assessment, the City and CRT kicked off the Financial Remediation and Implementation Project on October 1, 2012. This project is scheduled to run through June 2013, with an additional 2-month period for production support.
Project Goals
- To remediate the General Ledger module
- To implement the Accounts Receivable, Asset Management, Billing, Contract Administration, Grant Management, and Commitment Accounting modules
- To integrate the Financial and Human Capital (HCM) modules, which will aid in decreasing the current need for manual workarounds and dual entry. Reconciling labor distribution reports to the General Ledger will become much easier.
- To implement workflow to simplify the journal approval process and voucher approval process. This will speed up the approval process for all departments and help the City to quickly close the books monthly and provide accurate interim reports. The City will be able to decommission the GEAC legacy accounting system by implementing PS Billing and Accounts Receivable functionality.
- To eliminate shadow systems
- Enable the DFAS-Enterprise Resource Planning Program (ERP) to serve as the first line of support for troubleshooting issues and providing support for our users
- Facilitate streamlined generation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA)
Areas Impacted by Project
- DFAS – Accounting Division
- All City Departments
Return on Investment (ROI)
This major project fixes several issues with the City’s Oracle PeopleSoft (PS) financial application and implements several key components. At the completion of the project, scheduled for July 1, 2013, the City will also replace its legacy Accounts Receivable, Billing, Asset Management, and Grants Management applications with PS functionality. Abandonment of the use of inefficient “shadow systems,” combined with our continual march toward an integrated single data set, will result in significant labor redeployment opportunities.
Further, improvement in the quality and timeliness of financial reporting will help management make data-driven decisions and bolster the City’s credit rating. Implementing the Grants functionality will help prevent reimbursement leakages. Deployment of Accounts Receivable will allow us to retire the mainframe infrastructure. Estimated labor and direct cost savings from this project is estimated at $1.6 million annually. Based on consulting fees of $3.4 million, the annual perpetual ROI is 47 percent.
