Financials upgrade newsletter [Feb. 2006 (Issue 6)]

Issue 6

Financials Upgrade

Newsletter

February 8, 2006

Important Dates to Remember...
Off Line Inbound Interface Test Files due 2/22/06.
Agency Presentation for Financial Managers/Supervisors on 2/17/06 at the Capitol Education Center (see page 4 for more details).
Scan Gun Inventories (Audits/GTA) due by 4/2006.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1

Important Dates to Remember

1

Spotlight on General Ledger

2

Enhanced Functionality:

General Ledger Journal

Processing

3

Project Update

4

Training Update

4

Financial Manager Meeting

5

Take a Look New Functionality

General Ledger Page

6

ListServ

6

Contact Us

Spotlight on General Ledger
The General Ledger is the heart of any organization's financial recording system. It is a summary of financial account balances that enables an organization to determine its worth and profitability. Ledgers and Ledger Groups are used to store these summarized account balances from the subsidiary modules, off line systems, and on-line journal entries. A ledger consists of posted balances that represent a set of books for a Business Unit. This information is stored by accounting period and fiscal year at the unique chartfield combination level. The system does not store year-to-date balances on the ledger table, but calculates these balances for reports. The major change in this design resulting from the upgrade to PS 8.8 relates to accounting for encumbrances. Encumbrance entries are no longer posted to a Ledger in the General Ledger Module. The Commitment Control Ledgers will now house encumbrance transactions.
Ledgers and Ledger Groups are part of the initial set up for a Business Unit. Each Business Unit is assigned to a Ledger Group and a Detail Ledger based on their operating structure. PeopleSoft General Ledger posts to ledgers within a Ledger Group according to predefined system set-up rules. The application can also achieve posting to all ledgers within a ledger group simultaneously. This is achieved by using the Auto-Gen function on the journal header panel for journals entered through online data entry. Subsystem journals also have this functionality built in.
The initial PS 8.8 upgrade design approach for GL Ledgers was to change the ledger structure to align with the Basis of Accounting Methods. The implementation of the new ledger structure has been deferred until Fiscal Year 2008. We will retain the current ledger structure for Fiscal Year 2007.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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General Ledger PS 8.8
Enhanced Functionality
Journal Entry (Header Page) On-line journals may be saved with an "incomplete" status. Journals marked as incomplete will carry the status of "T" Journal Entry Incomplete and will be bypassed in batch processing. The user can complete the journal at a later time and release for further processing. The Journal Reversal options are accessed via a Reversal link on the Journal Header page and include two new selections. Users now may select to create and post the reversal journals the Next day or to a specific Adjustment Period. Journals Transaction Types in PS 7.02 are now accessed via a Commitment Control link on the Journal Header page. Transaction Types are now titled "Commitment Control Amount Type". When entering a journal, if an Amount Type is selected, you must specify a Commitment Control Ledger on the Journal Header page.
Journal Entry (Lines Page) Availability of three new chartfields. The Product, Budget Reference and Special Purpose are optional fields (not required by the system to be entered on each transaction) that are provided to capture additional information useful for analytical, reporting or tracking purposes. Because these chartfields are optional fields, each agency has the discretion to utilize these fields to capture information that is meaningful to them. These values will be determined after go-live.
Availability of a "Change Values" link allows the user to make global corrections to specified values entered on the journal.
Availability of Status links allows the user to easily identify and drill to the source of edit and budget checking errors.
The Open Item field will be used to capture employee and vendor information for travel and per diem entries.
The Budget Date field will replace the Budget Year chartfield in PS 7. 02. Budget Year is no longer a delivered chartfield in PS 8.8.
Excel Journal Upload (Spreadsheet Journal) will continue to be supported in PS 8.8. The process has been enhanced to allow the user to import the journal directly into the General Ledger Module. Creation of a PMI file is no longer needed.
Journal Processing and Inquiry
The Copy Journal process now allows the user to copy multiple journals under one process instance.
Journal Inquiry has been enhanced to allow drill down capability from the GL journal back to the source document.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Project Update Where are we?
Phase III Development is finished!
The Development Phase is complete and we will soon be ready to begin functional testing.

Phase I: Strategy and Planning

Phase II: System Design

Phase III: Development

Phase IV: Testing and Rollout

Phase IV: Production Support and Knowledge Transfer

11/04 - 12/04

1/05 - 5/05

6/05 - 11/05

12/05 - 6/06

7/06 - 9/06

Phase IV Testing & Rollout:

This phase encompasses the following types of testing:
Assembly Testing - A Unit test is a test of the individual pieces of the solution without regard to its interaction with other components. A unit is defined to be a single, logical component of work such as a program, page, or routine.
Functional Testing Our Subject Matter Experts will be performing testing of all types of entries in all financial modules.
User Acceptance Testing This testing period will involve Agency personnel who will come to our training facility and perform functional testing.
Operational Readiness Testing - ensures that the application can be correctly deployed. It is composed of two tests: Roll Out test and Operations test. o Roll Out test is a test of the roll out procedures and programs. o Operations test is a type of usability test for operations personnel.
Training Execution The Train the Trainer training and End User training will take place during this phase.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Training Update
An integral piece of the upgrade training effort centers on the "Train the Trainer" program. This method of training was used successfully during the implementation process in 1999, as well as the HCM Upgrade last July. We are confident that it will reap the same benefits for the 8.8 Financials upgrade.
The Train the Trainer program offers participating agencies the opportunity to assume ownership of their PeopleSoft training, providing them with the ability to customize the curriculum to be more representative of their business processes.
Criteria for participation in the program is based on the total number of end users within an agency. Agency's meeting this criteria should have already received a communication related to their participation in the Train the Trainer program.

Important Upgrade Meeting For Financial Managers/Supervisors Preparation for Go Live
An informational meeting targeted for Financial Managers/Supervisors is scheduled for Friday, February 17, 2006. The meeting will be conducted twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The content offered in the two separate meetings is identical, so choose the one most convenient for you.
Both sessions will be held at the Capitol Education Center Auditorium at 180 Central Avenue in Atlanta. Please note that an employee ID or picture ID will be required for entrance into the Center.
Financial Managers/Supervisors should contact their Agency Training Coordinator to register for this meeting. If there is no training coordinator at your agency, contact the Financial Systems Help Desk at 404-657-3956 or email upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov.
Use course #PS_FNUP06 and one of the following session numbers to register:
Session 0001 - 8:30am to 11:30 am Session 0002 - 1:00pm to 4:00pm

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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New Functionality

Take a

at the new General Ledger main page:

This page may be used to navigate to other areas of General Ledger

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Don't Forget to Sign up for ListServ!
Listserv is one of the most effective ways for you to obtain information and communications relative to your PeopleSoft system. Put yourself in the "LOOP"! There is no cost to subscribe and it's easy to do! You can also unsubscribe at any time.
Available lists include: AP, AR, AM, GL, PC, Labor, Budget, and PO.
Visit the SAO Website and click ListServ>Financial Systems eLists and subscribe today!
Please be aware, the more elists (modules) that you sign up for, the more emails you will receive in your inbox. We recommend only signing up for the lists applicable to your job duties.

For more information on the Financials Upgrade Project or Comments / questions about the Project Newsletter, contact the Communications
Team at: upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov
Additional information can also be found at the State Accounting Office Website:
http://sao.georgia.gov
State Accounting Office - Financial Systems - 200 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 1604, West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334 - Phone: 404-656-2133 - Fax: 404-463-5089

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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