Financials upgrade newsletter [Mar. 2006 (Issue 7)]

Issue 7

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

March, 2006

Important Dates to Remember...
Scan Gun Inventories (Audits/GTA) due by April 2006
Upcoming Agency Presentations for Financials Users 3/16/2006 3/23/2006 (See page 5 for details)
Train the Trainer Orientation on 3/20/06 Morning or Afternoon Session

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1

Important Dates to Remember

1

Milestones to Date

2

Spotlight on Asset Management

3

Spotlight on Asset Management

(Continued)

3

AM Major Customizations

4

Take a Look - New Asset

Management Main Page

5

Upcoming Events!

6

Training Update

7

ListServ

7

Contact Us

Milestones to Date
PeopleSoft Financials 8.8 Functional Testing began on February 27th and is expected to continue through June. There will be two complete passes of the functional test performed followed by a period of User Acceptance Testing. Each test pass consists of 6 "Cycles" which mimic the State's Business processes.
These cycles include:
Cycle 1: Daily Processing Cycle 2: Weekly/Monthly/Qtrly Processing Cycle 3: Year End Processing Cycle 4: Interfaces with External Systems Cycle 5: Complex/Exception Processing Cycle 6: Reporting
Training The Train the Trainer program is set to kick off on March 20th. The following agencies will participate in the program:
Department of Juvenile Justice Department of Public Safety Department of Education Georgia Bureau of Investigation Department of Natural Resources Board of Pardons & Parole Department of Corrections Department of Transportation Department of Audits & Accounts Department of Driver Services Georgia Technology Authority Department of Community Affairs Department of Technical & Adult
Education Department of Early Care & Learning Department of Human Resources
We want to extend a big THANK YOU to these agencies and look forward to the kickoff meeting scheduled for March 20th.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

Page 1

Spotlight on Asset Management Highlights
Asset Express Add
The "Cost/Asset Information" page will combine the version 7.02 "General 1" and "General 2" panels into one page.
The "Depreciation Information" page will combine the version 7.02 "Book-General 1" and "Book-General 2" panels into one page.
The "Asset Custodian" and "Asset Comments" panels from version 7.02 are no longer available through the Express Add function. The information entered on these panels should be captured within Asset Basic Information on the "Manufacturer/License/Custodian" page.
Asset Basic Information
The "Asset Information" page will combine the General Info 1 and General Info 2 panels into one page. In addition, the Asset Profile ID will be accessible from this page.
The "Asset Acquisition Detail" page will contain a link to the chartfields section of the entry, in addition to version 7.02 functionality. There is also an "Interfaces Info" link that will take the user to PO/Voucher source information.
The "Location/Comments/Attributes" page will contain the same data as version 7.02 which includes the Asset's Physical Location, Comments which are date/time stamped for information purposes and Attribute data such as color, size and weight.
The "Manufacturer/License/Custodian" page will contain the same data as in version 7.02. This information will include general information regarding vendor, registration number, issue date, comments and custodian information.
Asset Copy
The "Create Asset Copies" page contains the same functionality as in version 7.02. This will include adding asset tags, descriptions and serial numbers. Transaction dates, chartfields, cost and quantity may also be changed on this page.
Asset Cost Adjustment
The "Main Transaction" page will contain the same functionality as in version 7.02. This includes the ability to select a transaction type and enter a transaction date, accounting date and transaction type. The accounting date must fall within the current open accounting period. This page will also be utilized to designate an action (i.e. transfer, adjustment, etc). The chartfields will continue to be populated on the "Cost Information" page.
Asset Retirement/Reinstatement
The functionality of the "Asset Retire/Reinstate Assets" page will contain the same functionality as in version 7.02.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

Page 2

Spotlight on AM (cont) Lease Assets
PeopleSoft now has the ability to track and book Operating and Capital Leases. Pre-Interface
The agencies will have the ability to review the data in the pre-interface and make changes as needed. They will also have the ability to run the process that pushes the data from the pre-interface over to the interface.
Interface The Trans Loader process (Process to load the interface into the AM module) will run daily instead of on Fridays only. In addition, transactions in the interface will be prohibited from entering the module if not in the current open accounting period.
Major Asset Management PeopleSoft Customizations In PeopleSoft 8.8:
Agencies will have the ability to maintain Capital and Operating leases in the AM module
Agencies will have the capability to change asset details in the pre-interface tables, and will also be responsible for running the appropriate process to push the data from the pre-interface into the interface tables.
Transactions in the interface will be prohibited from entering the module if not in the current open accounting period.
The Trans Loader process (Process to load the interface into the AM module) will run daily instead of on Fridays only.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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New Functionality

Take a

at the new Asset Management main page:

This page may be used to navigate to other areas of Asset Management

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

Page 4

Upcoming Events!
The State Accounting Office is offering Educational and Change Champion sessions over the next several months to communicate the major changes being made to the PeopleSoft system during the
upgrade to version 8.8. Both the Educational Meetings and the Change Champion Sessions are open to all financials users and are to be web cast for those users that are unable to attend the live
broadcast during these sessions.

Educational Meetings
SAO held the second Educational meeting on March 2, 2006 in the Capitol Education Center. This meeting focused on the changes being made to the Chart of Accounts and the HCM Account Code.
Bart Haberbosch presented to the audience the changes which are being made to the Program/SubProgram, Class, Fund and Account in two sessions during the day.
The meeting was shown as a web cast during the morning session and several good comments were received as a result. The actual PowerPoint presentation and the distributed handouts are available on the State Accounting Office website @ www.sao.georgia.gov . The archived web cast will be available soon for those users that didn't have a chance to view the live broadcast on March 2. Don't miss out on the fun! Plan to attend one of the Educational Sessions today! An SAO Official Communication will announce each meeting. Keep an eye out for that communication!
Schedule of Future Educational Meetings

Date March 23, 2006
April 27, 2006

Example Topics Program Budgeting and Allotments Interunit & Open Item Accounting

Course # 407FN13
407FN15

Session # 0001 0002
0001 0002

Times 9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00
9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Change Champion Sessions
A Change Champion is an Agency's Primary person responsible for insuring a successful PeopleSoft upgrade for their Agency. The State Accounting Office is holding several "Change Champion" sessions which will disseminate important information to agency personnel concerning the PeopleSoft upgrade.

Schedule of Upcoming Change Champion Meetings

Date
March 16, 2006 April 12, 2006

Example Topics Deployment Overview FY06 Close

Course # 407FN12 407FN14

May 15, 2006 June 8, 2006

Agency Readiness Upgrade Activities List Review

407FN16 407FN17

Session #
0001 0002 0001 0002 0001 0002 0001 0002

Times
9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00 9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00 9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00 9:00 11:00 1:00 3:00

All users are welcome to register and attend any or all of these informative meetings/sessions. Have your Agency Training Coordinator sign you up today! If you agency has no training coordinator or the session is full, please email upgradefeedback@sao.ga.gov and someone will register you for the session. Please be sure to have your employee ID number ready.

Training Update
The Train the Trainer program is off to a roaring start! The Train the Trainer agencies have been identified and invitations have been extended for the March 20th orientation/meet and greet. This session will allow us the opportunity to discuss the training of your fellow employees on the PeopleSoft 8.8 System using the tools that the State Accounting Office will make available to you.
One of these tools is the User Productivity Kit (UPK). This on-line, on-demand tool will initially be developed with "Delta" lessons for each module. These "deltas" will present the changes that have been made between the old version of PeopleSoft (7.02) and the new version 8.8. Trainers will learn much more about the UPK during orientation.
In time for Go-Live, the UPK tool will have the large majority of module topics developed and ready for viewing by all users on their desktop. The UPK tool will be especially useful for those new employees that have never before seen the PeopleSoft product.
For non-Train-the Trainer agencies, end user training information and schedules will be published before the end of April.

Financials Upgrade Newsletter

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Want to be "In the Know"?
One of the most common complaints expressed to the SAO Help Desk is that users do not receive notification of system availability, special processing instructions and other important communications. These "FS Official Communications" are e-mailed on a regular basis to users who have subscribed to the Listserv system. One way to be "in the know" is to sign up for Listserv!
Don't rely on others to pass along information to you.......put yourself in the "LOOP"! There is no cost to subscribe and it's easy to do! You can also unsubscribe at any time. Please be aware, however, that 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.
Listserv is one of the most effective ways for you to obtain information and communications relative to your PeopleSoft system. If you have not already done so, sign up now.
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!

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 > News >PeopleSoft Upgrade
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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