Strategic Projects

Current and Future Projects

FIS Spring 2024 Major Release

The FIS Spring 2024 Major Release is a critical initiative by the Berkeley Financial System (BFS) team aimed at enhancing and optimizing internal business processes to improve system performance and user experience. This release focuses on introducing new technical tools and methodologies while refining existing ones to reduce technical debt and stabilize the BFS system. By leveraging delivered functionality and streamlining processes, this release will not only enhance the system's efficiency but also lay a solid foundation for smoother future upgrades. Additionally, the PeopleSoft tools and image upgrades, scheduled for the FIS Fall 2024 Major Release, will build upon these improvements, further advancing system capabilities and ensuring a more robust and reliable platform for users.

FIS Fall 2024 Major Release

The FIS Fall 2024 Major Release will focus on integrating the latest PeopleSoft image features, up to image 50, into the Berkeley Financial System (BFS). This release is primarily centered on ensuring that the system stays current with the latest PeopleSoft updates, enhancing overall functionality and system performance. Aside from implementing the new Lived Name functionality, this release will not introduce any additional internal business requests or process improvements, allowing the BFS team to concentrate on seamlessly incorporating these critical updates.

CalTime Timekeeping Replacement Project

This future project is proposed to Identify and implement a timekeeping replacement solution for UC Berkeley employees by fall 2026. The project aims to leverage cost savings in excess of 50% of the ongoing maintenance costs incurred today while improving the level of accuracy, efficiency, compliance, and accessibility of today’s system. Additionally, benefits include ease of use, transparency in time records and leave balances, auditability and greater levels of reporting for supervisors and managers while maintaining the high standards for paperless processing.

Expense Module Implementation

The Controller’s Office is in the process of retiring the legacy reimbursement system for the integrated Peoplesoft Financial’s Expense Module, which integrates seamlessly into BFS. This allows the University to reduce the support costs since it’s an existing owned module so the University no longer needs to pay for the ongoing licensing and support costs of two duplicative systems (the legacy home grown reimbursement system plus an unused module of Peoplesoft Financials). The system provides several benefits as follows;

1. Streamlined Expense Management: The module automates the expense reporting process, making it easier for employees to submit, review, and approve expenses.
2. Improved Compliance: It ensures adherence to company policies and regulatory requirements by enforcing rules for allowable expenses and providing audit trails.
3. Enhanced User Experience: The module features a user-friendly interface with mobile capabilities, allowing employees to submit expenses on the go and access their reports from any device. With the implementation of a digital adoption platform, the system will be even easier to use with real-time training help as users engage with the system. See more about the digital adoption platform project below.
4. Integration: It integrates seamlessly with other PeopleSoft modules, such as Accounts Payable and General Ledger, ensuring that expense data is accurately reflected across financial systems. It also integrates with the corporate paid travel card to simplify and automate the logging of expenses.
5. Real-Time Reporting: Managers can access up-to-date reports and analytics, enabling better visibility into spending patterns and more informed decision-making.
6. Cost Control: The module helps organizations manage and control travel and expense costs by providing tools for tracking, analyzing, and reducing unnecessary expenses.
7. Customizability: Organizations can tailor the module to fit their specific expense policies and business processes, ensuring it meets their unique needs.
8. Increased revenues to campus: Generates revenues for the benefit of campus through the corporate paid travel card program.

These benefits lead to more efficient expense management, better financial control, and enhanced compliance within the organization.

Digital Adoption Platform Implementation

This project selects and implements a digital adoption platform to support the change management/training needs for the Expense Module Implementation. With the use of a digital adoption platform (DAP) for the implementation of Peoplesoft Expenses, we expect to see the following key benefits:

1. Improved User Onboarding: DAPs guide new users through the PeopleSoft Expense Module with step-by-step instructions, reducing the learning curve and helping them become proficient more quickly.
2. Increased Efficiency: By offering real-time assistance, in-app guidance, and contextual help, a DAP minimizes errors and speeds up the process of submitting, reviewing, and approving expenses.
3. Enhanced User Experience: DAPs provide personalized experiences, making the complex functionalities of PeopleSoft Financials more intuitive and easier to navigate, improving overall user satisfaction.
4. Better Compliance: The platform can highlight and enforce policy requirements during the expense submission process, helping users comply with University policies and regulatory standards.
5. Reduced Support Costs: With users receiving help directly within the application, the need for external support and training is reduced, leading to cost savings for the University.
6. Continuous Learning and Updates: As the PeopleSoft Financials Expense Module is updated, the DAP can seamlessly introduce users to new features and processes, ensuring that they stay current without additional training sessions.
7. Data-Driven Insights: DAPs often provide analytics on user behavior, helping organizations identify areas where users struggle and where additional training or process improvements might be needed.

These benefits enhance the overall efficiency, compliance, and user satisfaction with the Expense Module, leading to more effective expense management. While we will initially use this platform for the PeopleSoft Expense module, many other modules and applications can leverage this technology to drive down their change management, training and ongoing support costs.

CDS Replacement Project

Today, UCB uses a home grown Campus Deposit system (CDS) to record cash receipts that then get booked to the general ledger. We also have the PeopleSoft Accounts Receivable (BFS:AR) module which provides similar functionality. Following a fit gap analysis, we determined that we can retire CDS and leverage the PeopleSoft AR module. By doing so we will reduce complexity and costs to the university by leveraging a single enterprise system. The Peoplesoft AR module offers several benefits over the CDS system as follows:

1. Efficient Cash Flow Management: Departmental deposit processing via the AR module helps the University manage their receivables efficiently, leading to improved cash flow by ensuring timely collection and more efficient processing of payments.
2. Process Accuracy: By utilizing speedtypes in BFS, the AR module offers opportunity for reduced errors and ensures that financial data is accurate and up-to-date. Additionally, chartstrings entered as part of the deposit will have a COA validation performed in real time ensuring accuracy.
3. Integration with Other Modules: It integrates seamlessly with other BFS modules, such as the General Ledger, providing a unified view of financial data across the University. CDS is a homegrown internally developed system whose interface must continuously be monitored and maintained as a separate cost that can be avoided in the future with retirement.
4. Enhanced Reporting and Analytics: The module provides insights into customer payment behaviors, helping organizations make informed decisions and improve collections. Most campus departments processing departmental deposits to CDS, do not have reporting access via CDS and are dependent on central Cashiers for reports..
5. Customizable Workflows: The University can tailor the departmental deposit processes to our specific needs, including customized approval workflows and cash handling policies.
6. Enhanced Customer Relationship Management: The module allows the University to track customer interactions, manage disputes and maintain comprehensive records, improving overall customer service and satisfaction with the organizations and individuals remitting payment to the University.
7. Compliance & Auditability: The AR module ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and provides clear audit trails, facilitating audits and reducing compliance risks.

These benefits contribute to more efficient receivables management, better financial control, and improved relationships with outside organizations and individuals.