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Finance to replace outdated system
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Posted on Feb 03 2020
The Department of Finance is pushing forward with a new software system.
Finance Secretary David M. Atalig said the enterprise resource planning software that the department is using is expiring within the year, and that their office is about to review the proposals submitted to have it replaced.
The version of JD Edwards being used will be what is called “end of life,” meaning IBM will stop supporting the software version that Finance is using.
“We need to upgrade to the latest version of the JD Edwards software. That in itself is like implementing a new system completely. K…We submitted a [request for proposals] for a new financial management information system, and so we’ve had an RFP out. It was closed early or first week of January” Atalig said.
A committee has been formed to review the possible replacements of Finance’s JD Edwards system.
He said the department has been using the same outdated system for almost 25 years, that it seems like they are “still using Lotus 123 to do [their] financial management system.”
“We have to get a new system because the system is outdated,” Atalig said.
“The new systems out there are very robust and very efficient. Everything’s online. Processes are online,” he said. “You can get up-to-the-minute data, or at least, the latest financial information as of, let’s say, last night at midnight. Right now, in order for us to move forward, we need to get a new system.”
In a separate interview, Rep. Sheila Babauta (Ind-Saipan) expressed support not just in updating Finance’s JD system, but on the importance of having discussions on the needs of the department.
“It is also important to have the discussion on what the needs of the department…are. When it comes to revenue collection, when it comes to tracking and filing, and office management, what are their needs?” the legislator asked.
Babauta added that the financial system that is being used is also the one at the Commonwealth Health Care Corp. and the Public School System, among others.
