P4068: North Dakota - Microsoft Great Plains ERP Solution: Identified Concerns, Update

State of North Dakota
Microsoft Great Plains ERP Solution - Identified Concerns
Updated: June 19, 2001

The following is a summary of the concerns and potential issues identified by the North Dakota ERP evaluation team with the solution recommended by Microsoft Great Plains. This summary is based on the Great Plains response to the state's RFP, the Great Plains presentation to the state last summer, and follow-up meetings that were held in May/June 2001.

Financial Systems Requirements

• Lack of functionality to handle accrual, modified accrual and cash accounting requirements.
• The solution does not provide robust fund accounting capabilities.
• The solution does not provide conformance with the requirements for GASB34 and GASB35.
• The solution does not provipe the capability to work in multiple fiscal years and appropriation periods.
• There are multiple concerns with appropriation control functionality including:
  • the ability to bypass appropiration posting
  • the ability to charge multiple appropriations
  • the ability to establish allotment amounts
  • the ability to establish appropriations by line item
  • the ability to manage biennial appropriations
• The solution is missing budget development functionality including:
  • the ability to develop budgets at various levels
  • the ability to develop multiple budgets for funds, appropriated funds, grants and contracts
• The solution does not provide the required cash management functionality including:
  • the ability to comply with the Federal Cash Management Act
  • the ability to provide cash balances by fund
  • the ability to track federal expenditures for drawdowns
  • the ability to provide fatal errors by fund
  • the ability to calculate interest liability based on clearance patterns
• The solution is missing the Grant Accounting functionality including:
  • providing a Grant Accounting module that is fully integrated with Project Accounting and Contract Management functionality
  • the ability to record and track grant information and characteristics
  • the ability for tracking and reporting grants over several periods
  • the ability to track grant matching requirements
  • the ability to provide reporting breakdowns
• The solution is missing the required Contract Management functionality including:
  • providing a Contract Management module that is fully integrated with Project Grant Accounting functionality
  • the ability to handle approval processing
  • the ability to track adjustments and change orders
  • the ability to identify funding sources
  • the ability to monitor contract expenditures

NDI 007345

• • the ability to control budgets based on remaining contract amounts
  • the ability to cross-check debarment information
• The Bond Accounting requirements were not met including the ability to track bond activity, maturities, coupon and interest payments, due dates, and amortization of premiums or discounts.
• The solution is missing the capability to track fixed assets information such as funding source, title, and use.
• The solution did not provide he necessary functionality for cashiering and teller operations.
• The solution does not meet the requirements for managing and reporting encumbrances.
• The solution did not meet the requirements for procurement functionality including the requirement to provide capabilities to manage and support enterprise procurement processes.
• Lack of certain higher education specific functionality such as:
  • the ability to classify customers for billing purposes (i.e. students)
  • the ability to establish coded transactions for accounts receivables
  • the capability to maintain deposits and advance payments

Student Information Systems Requirements

• Position budgeting capabilities are missing
• There are multiple concerns with registration functionality including:
  • the ability to handle touch-tone or telephone registration
  • full integration with housing, financial aid and finance
  • the ability to maintain a term schedule and master course list
  • the ability to view the institutional catalog in multiple formats
  • the ability to put holds on student records
  • management functionality for the academic record
  • the functionality required for graduation and degree audit
  • the functionality required for room scheduling
  • the functionality required to comply with international student regulations
• Lack of functionality to meet the needs of the statewide distance education process and may not meet all State and Federal requirements.
• The solution has not been implements on a univerisity system-wide basis (i.e. an 11 campus university system). Functionality concerns include:
  • the ability to produce federal reporting on a campus and system-wide basis
  • the ability to register on multiple campuses
  • the ability to handle transfer between campuses
• Lack of demonstrated experience in dealing with law schools, medical schools, graduate schools, research functions, and international students.
• The solution does not address the enrollment verification process.
• Lack of capabilities to monitor student employment.
• The solution does not have the ability to track work-study awards.
• The solution does not have standard reports required by the NCAA and NAIA.
• The solution does not have a communication plan for enrollment management.

NDI 007346

• The solution does not have the ability to handle tuition and fees management for multiple institutions.
• The solution lacks financial aid functionality for award history tracking.
• The solution lacks financial aid functionality for load processing.

Human Resource System Requirements

• There are multiple concerns with human resource functionality including:
  • The ability to provide complete benefits administration solution
  • The ability to track training and certifications
  • The ability to capture employee development plans
  • The ability to develop and track employee skills inventory
  • The ability to provide complete salary administration functionality
  • The ability for the system to facilitate the job requisition process
  • The ability to capture salary market information
  • The ability to facilitate applicant screening and tracking
  • The ability to provide online position descriptions
  • The ability to automate PIQ processing and classification
  • The ability to provide organizational charts and associated FTE reporting
  • The ability to capture and report key performance measures data (i.e. cost to hire, days positions left open, turnover rate, workforce demographics data, workforce retirements, etc)
  • The ability to provide employee self-service applications
  • The ability to provide online policies and procedures
• The solution does not provide position budgeting capabilities.
• The solution does not provide position control functionality that is linked to the HR/Payroll module and the Budget module.
• The solution does not have tenure management functionality.
• The solution did not have the capability to provide IPEDS reporting.
• The solution did not have the necessary functionality for 1042S processing and tax treaty reporting and does not support interfaces to Windstar.
• The solution does not have the capability to track and monitor payroll and other payments to non-resident alien students and employees.
• The solution does not accommodate job band and family needs
• The solutions lacks functionality to maintain various leave types

NDI 007347