March 6, 2024

The FMM program is focused on testing and foundational training in 2024. In January, the Testing team kicked off the first of three cycles of Systems Integration Testing (SIT), during which the team will confirm that modules within Oracle Financials Cloud (OFC) interact correctly with each other. 38 testers representing 11 departments are participating in testing during this cycle. Campus involvement in testing will increase with each testing cycle, and the program team plans to include more departments in this process in coming months. 

Additionally, FARM’s new Office of Financial Training launched the first phase of the FMM training program, Core Financial Principles (CFP) Finance 101, in January. There has been an overwhelming response; more than 300 UCSB staff members have participated thus far, with classes averaging 200 attendees per session. Throughout the year, the Training team will also focus on deepening campus’ understanding of the new Common Chart of Accounts (CCOA), starting with ongoing divisional meetings to follow the recent virtual CCOA town hall. 

Completed Events

Quarterly Program Update Town Hall

On January 17, the FMM project team hosted a virtual town hall to review progress to date, share the new implementation timeline, provide an overview of the current testing phase, and discuss planned training and engagement activities. Click here to watch the recording.

CCOA Town Hall 

The Training team held a virtual town hall focused on the Common Chart of Accounts on February 14, with more than 350 campus staff in attendance. This presentation kicked off follow-up meetings with divisional offices and their departments to further discuss the new chart of accounts and answer department-specific questions. Click here to watch the recording.

Upcoming Events

Divisional CCOA Meetings

Following the recent town hall focused on the new Common Chart of Accounts, project leaders are meeting with lead departmental financial staff in the Vice Chancellors’ divisions and Academic Deans’ areas through early April. These meetings are designed to review the CCOA, talk through examples, and provide an opportunity for participants to share feedback and ask questions more relevant to their areas.

Core Financial Principles: Finance 201

The second phase of CFP training, Finance 201, will invite cohorts of Business Officers to attend a two-day summit for in-depth learning and discussions on a variety of topics that impact their role. This phase of training is anticipated to begin in April 2024.

Workstream Updates

  • All Workstreams: The project team participated in eight “lessons learned” sessions with their UC Riverside counterparts in December and January. UCR transitioned to Oracle Financials Cloud in July 2023.
  • Conversion: Mock Conversion 1 and SIT1 Configuration Smoke Testing were completed in December. These milestones mimic the conversion process and bring data from existing systems into Oracle Financials Cloud (OFC) for application testing.
  • Testing: Late last year, the OFC testing plan was completed leading up to the first iteration of Systems Integration Testing (SIT1), which formally kicked off on January 12.
  • Reporting: The Data Warehouse and Analytics team held 14, 90-minute listening sessions in December and January to understand what is working well and identify gaps in campus reporting needs. The team identified 41 data warehouse reports that are required for go-live.
  • Training: The Training team launched Core Financial Principles (CFP) Finance 101 training earlier this year, with seven unique courses designed for campus financial staff. While the first iteration of Finance 101 will wrap up this week, the Office of Financial Training plans to offer additional sessions via Zoom in late March or early April.

Staying Engaged

Thank you for your continued support in modernizing our campus financial system.