To: Business Managers
MOU Leads
From: Scott Jackson, Executive Director for Enterprise Reporting and Departmental Systems
Brian Smith, Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Financial and Accounting Operations
Date: January 26, 2015
In response to problems and concerns related to departmental financial reporting, we have pulled together a working group to include representation from Enterprise Reporting and Departmental Systems, Finance, and ConnectCarolina Change Management (Training). In addition to us, the working group includes the following individuals:
- Becky Arnold, Director of Finance Business Analysis, Finance and Administration
- Carly Perin, Director of Administration, Facilities Services
- David Blakemore, Director of Financial Reporting, Financial and Accounting Operations
- Dennis Press, University Controller, Financial and Accounting Operations
- Jennifer Blair, Accounting Director, School of Medicine
- John Gallagher, Director of Research Management and Administration, RENCI
- Laura Yurco, Assistant Dean for Finance, College of Arts and Sciences
- McGregor Bell, Director of the Budget Office, Financial and Accounting Operations
- Nicole Šebik, Senior Training Specialist, ConnectCarolina Change Management
- Phyllis Petree, Director of Internal Audit
- Scott Dwyer, Treasury Operations Manager, Financial and Accounting Operations
- Susan McDonough, Training, ConnectCarolina Change Management
- Tricia Hennessey, Associate Dean for Finance and IT, School of Law
- Troy Howell, Finance Training Coordinator, Financial and Accounting Operations
The goals of this working group follow:
- Reconcile and validate data between InfoPorte and PeopleSoft;
- Establish ongoing quality control processes for data in both systems;
- Ensure basic reports are in place for campus and central needs for reconciliation, managing budgets, monitoring operations, and monitoring position (cash and commitments);
- Develop strategy to review other reporting elements of InfoPorte over time; and
- Identify training and documentation needs for reporting.
Our group has met several times to review quality control considerations and are currently working on setting up controls to ensure consistent data between systems and to change ledger roll-ups and reporting formats to ensure consistent and effective presentation. Our goal is to roll out some of these structural and formatting changes within the next two to three weeks.
We are also beginning to schedule meetings with schools and administrative units to review specific examples of reconciliation, “budget to actuals,” and cash/commitment positioning needs. We will initially meet with a couple of units individually and move to larger groups as we get valuable feedback and incorporate changes.
We will provide periodic updates on reporting as we have the opportunity to put some of our quality control measures in place; develop referenced structural and formatting changes; and gain insight from our meetings with schools and departments. We fully recognize the challenges and concerns on this front across campus and are committed to ongoing communication and expeditious response. Thank you.