Transforming UCSB's financial management capabilities by implementing enhanced budgeting, accounting and financial reporting throughout campus.

Background

The University of California has adopted a new financial Chart of Accounts (COA) structure with the goal to simplify and modernize financial reporting. The COA is a foundational component of the Campus Financial System (CFS) and drives financial reporting for all departments, so transitioning to a new COA structure essentially requires re-implementing the entire CFS. This project represents an enormous opportunity to improve overall financial management processes and reporting on our campus, as well as retire a number of aging systems.  

The core CFS has historically been oriented toward central offices and UC Office of the President (UCOP) reporting, and has not always met the financial reporting and management needs of campus units and projects. Elements of the new system will make it easier for all levels of organizational units to create budgets, categorize transactions, analyze, plan, and manage their financial accountability.

As part of this adoption, our campus will be migrating to the Oracle Financials Cloud (OFC) platform, which is also being adopted by many other campuses. The current CFS utilizes Oracle’s PeopleSoft Financial Supply Chain Management 9.2 software; however, Oracle has announced that primary support for PeopleSoft may end in December 2031. PeopleSoft is primarily used within Business & Financial Services as significant components of the software are not compatible with other campus departments, who therefore rely on custom applications for their financial management processes. These customized systems, such as the Grand Unified System (GUS), were initially developed to address unique reporting needs of smaller campus departments and will no longer be necessary with the capabilities of the new CFS. Additionally, the campus will be adopting OFC procurement to provide real-time integration with financials. Integration of research fund tracking within the OFC system will improve extramural and intramural fund management, both in day-to-day operations and in reporting.

A restructured and managed COA, combined with standardized financial reports, will provide the campus with the opportunity for a singular, unified financial tool that will improve training and unify processes on campus, enabling the accurate and timely management of campus financial resources.

Goals

Modernize financial systems and transform business practices at all levels of the campus by:

  • Enhancing capabilities for budgeting, accounting, and reporting
  • Reducing complexity and inefficiencies, and increasing accuracy through the elimination of “shadow” financial systems and processes
  • Improving processes for campus financial transactions
  • Providing a more consistent user experience for financial and procurement processes
  • Standardizing reporting through consistent accounting systems, structures and processes
  • Uniformed campus-wide training, allowing for greater cross-training and career development opportunities