During the latest Customer Impact Committee (CIC) meeting this December, committee Chair Eric Lau, assistant deputy director of administrative services at the State Water Resources Control Board, announced that he would be stepping down from his role, beginning January. Lau welcomed Tim Kreisher, chief of accounting at the California Department of Veterans Affair (CalVet) as the new chair of the committee.
The CIC serves as a formal mechanism for agencies and state entities to provide input to the Department of FISCal (FI$Cal) executive team, and helps shape FI$Cal system enhancements, services and training. During bi-monthly meetings, FI$Cal partners and end users receive reports from working groups and FI$Cal staff, as well as updates on enhancements, trainings, reports and more. Participants also have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.
In attendance at the year-end meeting was Jennifer Maguire, director of FI$Cal. She thanked Lau, recognizing his contributions, “Eric has not only built upon the prior chairs’ work to strengthen the partnership with FI$Cal, and provided guidance and leadership in transitioning the facilitation of the lessons learned meetings to FI$Cal, but he’s also allowed us the opportunity to elicit feedback and ideas for improvements and encouraged departments to share information between us and themselves directly.”
Said Lau of his time as CIC chair, “I am most proud of the system enhancements that FI$Cal designed and implemented, which had minimal effect on the departments’ fiscal teams; this simplified my work as the CIC chair.” He continued, “CIC participation is important because it gives system users a platform to offer input on system implementations and potential issues that might not have been considered. Additionally, it offers a setting where departments and FI$Cal can work together.”
In handing over duties, Lau thanked Kreisher for stepping into the role, citing his accounting and FI$Cal system experience as strengths he will bring to the committee.
Kreisher brings a depth of experience in FI$Cal, beginning his state service in FI$Cal’s Change Management Office, working directly with departments during the FI$Cal project implementation. Following his time with FI$Cal, Kreisher joined the CalVet accounting team, and now serves as CalVet’s accounting section chief.
When asked about his goals in the role of CIC chair, Kreisher said, “My hope is to build upon the solid foundation that previous chairs have built. As chair, I aim to foster ongoing communication, exchange of ideas, and collaborative problem solving with ‘Keep Moving Forward’ as the motto.”
The CIC is a user-led group that meets virtually on a bi-monthly basis. For more information, departments can visit the CIC web page or contact us at fiscal.cmo@fiscal.ca.gov.