Issue - meetings

Members considered a report regarding the potential replacement of the current finance system with a new product.

The Executive Director of Resources introduced the report and raised the following points:

·         The current finance system had been in place since 1999, although it had been upgraded in 2008;

·         A new system gave the opportunity for a fully integrated enterprise system in the future;

·         There had originally been an idea of buying one platform to look after both Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM); however it had since become clear that the market cannot provide such a product. 

Integrating these products in the future would be something that can be worked at; it was anticipated that the new systems would be retained for 7-10 years;

·         The new finance system would not be just basic accounting software; it would be able to extend into other areas;

·         The Finance department had undergone a full review in 2018 with support from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).  This review highlighted that data processing was taking place outside of the existing finance system in spreadsheets; it was proposed that the specification for the new system would include a full reporting suite which would allow processing to take place within the finance system.  This in turn would give improvements on budgeting processes;

·         It was anticipated that further efficiencies would emerge after the introduction of the new system.  This would be looked at in future business cases.

Members then asked questions of officers present; further information was provided:

·         The report mentions ‘high risk’ in implementing a new system; Members were assured that although there was a risk in implementing a new system, this would be the case with any new product replacing a system that had been in place for some time.

There would be an effort to mitigate risks at every available opportunity;

·         An example of budget monitoring was given; managers would be able to enter reports directly onto the system;

·         WLDC worked with two other authorities on a shared finance system, however this was halted during the procurement process.  There was a partnership in place with North Kesteven District Council for the IT systems; however they were not ready to take this step with their finance system.  Working with partners can be beneficial if they were ready to change systems at the same time;

·         The wider market for these products was quite confusing, as it seemed possible to buy a multitude of different products, and there didn’t seem to be one recommended template for a finance system;

·         WLDC had been through 3 market engagements, leading to the recommendation of a preferred Cloud system as it appeared to be more cost effective.  In the future, the costs of the Cloud system would ultimately reduce.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Approve the acquisition of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for Finance, incorporating Performance Management from the capital budget of £270,000 funded from the Project Investment Reserve;

(2)  Support the development of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57