Information Management
Financial Systems Needs Assessment Complete!
Thanks to all who participated!
The UW initiated the Financial System Needs Assessment (FSNA) project in April 2008 and it was successfully completed in February 2011. This project was comprised of two phases:
- Phase 1 – Gather system requirements and determine business needs; document current business processes; identify high priority business processes for improvement
- Phase 2 – Determine and assess alternatives; prepare request for information (RFI); develop recommendations for future project phases
During the past 2 ½ years, the project received great input and feedback from campus. This input has provided the University, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the financial business processes of the institution and insight into the needs of the community. Key project deliverables include:
The original scope of work for Phase 2 included issuance of an RFI to support an assessment of both vended and open source solutions. In April 2010, in light of the eroding budget and economic challenges facing the UW, it was determined that the current business models associated with vended solutions are not realistic for the UW. The Roadmap Executive Sponsors made the decision in April 2010 to implement a new HR/Payroll system before replacing the UW’s current financial systems (FAS/FIN, BGT, & PAS). This decision was informed by, but not driven by, the determination that the vended solution model is not a realistic option for UW. The decision was made to abandon the release of the RFI and to focus on learning more about the Kuali Financial System (KFS), an open source solution, to determine if it is a potentially viable solution for the UW at a future date. The assessment of KFS was completed in December 2010 and finding are available below:
KFS Assessment Executive SummaryKFS Assessment Findings Report
A high-level project timeline and copies of the project’s lessons learned reports are available below:
FSNA timeline
Lessons Learned:
The FSNA project successfully gathered and documented the UW’s enterprise wide financial system replacement requirements and gained an understanding of our priorities for the new system. Although the decision was made not to move forward with the replacement of the UW financial systems at this point in time, the work completed by the project teams positions the UW well for the future. Information gathered from campus during the project provides valuable information that will help us move forward both in the short- and long-term. For example, FSNA findings and deliverables are currently being used in the ongoing Ariba Assessment to help determine fit/gap and how well the Ariba modules under consideration align with user specified priorities.
Enterprise financial systems are large and complex. By necessity, the project engaged many stakeholders (business and IT) to gather, discuss, and document information about the University’s financial system needs. Over the life of the project, everyone associated with the project has grown in knowledge of our current and future financial system needs. This leaves all of us and the UW with a much deeper knowledge pool of “all things financial” that is immediately applicable in our current work and better prepares us to meet the challenges of eventual system replacement in the future.
The UW has a solid foundation to work from when the financial system replacement moves forward. Thank you to everyone who participated in the project!
The FSNA Project Team
General Ledger/Chart of Accounts Focus Group Findings and Recommendations
The FSNA project is designed to solicit input from campus regarding business requirements and unmet needs through a variety of project activities, including General Ledger/Chart of Accounts (GL/COA) focus groups.
The GL/COA structure provides the foundation for an effective and efficient financial system. It is critical to understand how effectively the current GL/COA structure supports UW’s financial and accounting activities, reporting needs and business processes. The information gathered during the focus groups provides valuable input for defining the replacement financial system’s requirements.
Twenty-five (25) focus group sessions were held across campus between January 8th and April 13th, 2009. The objectives of each group were to:
- Identify themes across units related to GL/COA use, interaction and processing
- Identify reporting needs (financial reporting, management reporting and external reporting) and challenges that are driven by the current GL/COA
- Gain input needed to create a framework for defining financial system GL/COA requirements
- Gain input needed to recommend next steps regarding the GL/COA structure with respect to the Financial Systems Replacement Project
A high level executive summary of GL/COA focus group major themes is available below:
- GL/COA Executive Summary (PDF)
- Appendix A (PDF)
- Appendix B (Excel)
- Appendix C (PDF)
As-Is Business Processes Documentation & Validation
A deliverable of the FSNA project includes High-Level As-Is Business Processes Documentation & Validation. In order to select a new financial system that meet the needs of the UW, it is important to first understand the way the UW conducts business today. Only when that understanding of current business processes is gained, will it be possible to select quality requirements for a new financial system.
The project team began collecting As-Is Business Process documentation in January 2009 for core University financial processes. The scope for process collection is shown in the diagram below:
The goals for each in scope business function are to:
- Develop a common understanding of the components of each process
- Map the process at a high level
- More detailed mapping will be done in later phases of the project
- Reduce risk of missing requirements through identification of high-level processes
- Provide foundation for a Business Redesign Framework
FSNA Business Analysts meet with process owners/Subject Matter Experts to gather As-Is process information and create an As-Is Business Process Mapping document for each specific area. The document includes process flows/swim lanes, process narratives, process properties & sub properties, systems involved with the process, and potential opportunities for improvement.
Following the documentation of each area, the project team held Requirements Definition Retreats to validate the process with campus and gather new system requirements for the specific business function.
At the completion of each High-Level As-Is Business Processes Documentation & Validation, the process map will be available on this website.