New finance system coming in July 2008
The University is embarking upon a new Web-based financial tool July 1, 2008 using the PeopleSoft platform. The Enterprise Financial System (EFS), the culmination of five years of planning and coordination, is an effort to integrate a variety of University financial systems. With a new financial system, the University can expect a reduction in manual efforts and reliance on redundant systems. Improvements in processes, quality, and quantity of information will also occur.
The new system will better support staff at all levels of expertise in terms of ease of use, access, and navigation. It will also provide the University more flexibility in gathering data for increasingly complex and demanding internal and external reporting requirements. An overarching goal is to ensure that each financial business process, and by extension the financial system as a whole, supports a strong internal control environment. CUFS is the fifth and last of the core administrative information systems to be replaced. The University has successfully installed PeopleSoft human resources, libraries, grants management, and student systems.
Processing
The new system provides for online submission and approval of travel and other expenses. User-friendly forms will simplify and speed up processing. Furthermore, the process for completing a requisition for supplies and other items will be more streamlined.
Grants management
The grants management system allows online proposal and award tracking, electronic NOGA delivery, and standard reports. Because sponsored data will be integrated, cost sharing will be linked to projects within the system. Information will be more timely; for example, F&A processing will be done nightly versus the current weekly. Proposal preparation will remain in the current Electronic Grants Management System.
Chart of accounts
CUFS numbers will no longer be used because the Chart of Accounts will be completely new and allow for more flexibility and better reporting. Financial Forms Nirvana (FFN) will also no longer be used. You will hear more about this in the near future.
Training
In addition to technical changes, over 3000 staff in all financial services departments, academic departments, and research centers will be undergoing required training sessions and assessments. About 1,500 users have completed the first prerequisite, and more than 370 users have completed the second prerequisite. Training on specific modules will begin in April 2008 for people who will be working in the system.
Finance structure
Financial services units across the University have been organized around a cluster/team or shared-services model which will provide for better data integrity, efficiency, accountability, and process consistency. Our College is well positioned as we moved into the cluster model July 2007. Our College ORG Design Team has worked diligently over the last five months to ensure that our finance teams, departments, and centers are ready for implementation.
For more information, plan on attending one of two general information sessions. The first session will be held on the Minneapolis campus February 20, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m. in room 325 Education Sciences Building. The second session will be held on the St. Paul campus on March 4, 2008, from 2 to 4 p.m. in 5 Peters Hall. As the EFS project moves forward, FSO will continue to communicate process and policy changes to all pertinent stakeholders in the College. Feel free to visit the EFS Web site at http://www.finsys.umn.edu/ for further information on the project’s status, goals, and proposed timeline.