Introduction to FI$Cal for Non-FI$Cal Departments

Purpose: Introduce an overview of FI$Cal.

Roles: Department SCPRS Processor, Non-FI$Cal Department CSCR Processor, Non-FI$Cal Department CSCR Approver, Non-FI$Cal Department CSCR Ad-Hoc Approver

Steps:

1. Introduction to FI$Cal for Non-FI$Cal Departments

   Wave 2 Training

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2. Course Introduction

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3. Course Introduction

   The purpose of the Introduction to FI$Cal for Non-FI$Cal Departments course is to explain how FI$Cal benefits your department, the proposed multi-year rollout strategy and how SCPRS and CSCR now function with the replacement of BidSync.

   There are no prerequisite courses.

   Course Duration: 2 Hours

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4. Course Objectives

   After completing this course, you will be able to:

   • Understand how FI$Cal is impacting the State of California agencies and non-FI$Cal departments

   • Recognize the key components of FI$Cal

   • Explain how FI$Cal’s rollout implementation encompasses a multi-year strategy

   • Understand how FI$Cal SCPRS and FI$Cal CSCR replace BidSync

    

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5. Topic 1: FI$Cal Overview

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6. Topic Objectives

   After completing this topic, you will be able to:

   • Describe the FI$Cal solution

   • Describe FI$Cal key terms

   • List the Partner State Agencies leading the effort to implement FI$Cal

   • Recognize the benefits FI$Cal will deliver to the State

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7. Benefits of FI$Cal

   • Fully integrated electronic process from requisitions to checks

   • Elimination of redundant existing systems

   • Establish a Statewide Vendor Management File (VMF) to improve payment abilities, negotiate contracts, and manage vendors

   • Replacement of BidSync with FI$Cal SCPRS and CSCR

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8. FI$Cal Overview Key Terms

   • ERP - ERP is business process management software commonly used within the public sector, manufacturing or financial management environments. An ERP replaces multiple legacy systems into a single, integrated application so departments can more easily share information.

   • Oracle - A third-party company which designs ERP software. Oracle owns the software being used to develop FI$Cal. Some features may still be labeled “Oracle” that may be renamed “FI$Cal” in futures waves.

   • PeopleSoft - PeopleSoft is the ERP software owned by Oracle Corporation being implemented as FI$Cal.

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9. FI$Cal Overview Key Terms

   •  Hyperion - Oracle’s Hyperion Financial Management application is comprehensive, web-based reporting and analysis software system. FI$Cal uses the Hyperion system for creating budgets, planning, reporting, and forecasting.

   •  End User - A person who uses FI$Cal. This primarily refers to a State employee who will use FI$Cal to perform his or her job functions. An end user will only take courses pertaining to his or her role. Suppliers and contractors may also perform FI$Cal roles.

   •  Menu Options - A list of commands or options from which you can choose to carry out business processes. Within FI$Cal, all business processes you have access to will be displayed in one or more menu options.

   •  Workflow - Within FI$Cal, it is a method of automatically routing information according to defined business processes for further processing, approvals and review.

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10. FI$Cal Overview Key Terms

    •  Bidder - An entity that has self-registered in FI$Cal to receive and submit bids online, maintain their information, and apply for certification

    •  Event - FI$Cal terminology for a solicitation, the process of seeking information, proposals, or quotes for goods and/or services

    •  Line - Item description, Unit of Measure (UOM), Category, and Quantity for each requested good/service on the event

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11. FI$Cal - Definition

    • FI$Cal is the acronym for the State-wide project known as the Financial Information System for California

    • FI$Cal is a business transformation project for California State Government in the areas of budgeting, accounting, procurement, and cash management

    • We’re implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution (Oracle PeopleSoft and Hyperion)

    • The project is a historic partnership between the following State Agencies:

         • Department of Finance (DOF)

         • Department of General Services (DGS)

         • State Controller’s Office (SCO)

         • State Treasurer’s Office (STO)

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12. FI$Cal Partner Agencies

    • In October of 2007, a memorandum of understanding was executed by the four control agencies of three core functional areas of the State of California (budgets, accounting, and procurement)

    • We refer to these four agencies as Partner State Agencies (DOF, DGS, SCO, STO)

    • The memorandum of understanding certifies the support of the project and validates how Partner Agencies will work together to help achieve the objectives set forth by FI$Cal

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13. What is ERP?

    • ERP is the acronym for  Enterprise Resource Planning

    • ERP is business process management software commonly used within the public sector, manufacturing or financial management environments

    • ERP allows an organization to use a system of integrated software tools and applications to manage day-to-day operations, thereby helping automate back-office functions

    • FI$Cal is an ERP application designed to help integrate core State financial functions on one uniform software application platform

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14. Goals to be Achieved by FI$Cal

    • Key Values:

     Enterprise Thinking, Collaboration and Communication

    • Goal #1:

    One statewide integrated source of financial information

    • Goal #2:

    Improved efficiency through process automation

    • Goal #3:

    Enhanced decision making through better planning and analysis

    • Goal #4:

    Better resource management through improved IT infrastructure and standardization

    • Goal #5:

    Reliable, accessible and timely financial information

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15. Lesson Summary

    The key points covered in this lesson are listed below:

    • Defining FI$Cal

    • Describing FI$Cal’s purpose and vision

    • Listing the Partner State Agencies leading the effort to implement FI$Cal

    • Recognizing the benefits FI$Cal will deliver to the State

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16. Topic 2: FI$Cal Rollout Strategy

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17. Topic Objectives

    After completing this topic, you will be able to:

    • Describe the planned rollout strategy for FI$Cal

    • Identify the departments and transition strategy to FI$Cal for Wave 2

    • Recognize the core functionality being delivered to FI$Cal within each Wave or Release

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18. FI$Cal Rollout: Strategically Incremental

    • FI$Cal functionality will be delivered in incrementally, beginning with targeted functionality

    • As each Wave or Release is deployed, FI$Cal will expand current functionality, and further refine the Statewide business processes. Additional departments will also come on board.

    • Those departments in Pre-Wave and Wave 1 led the way in validating the successes FI$Cal will deliver using such a pragmatic delivery approach

    • A significant level of functionality is being delivered in Wave 2

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19. FI$Cal Rollout Strategy

    • FI$Cal functionality will be delivered in separate Waves and Releases. With each new deployment, additional departments will begin using FI$Cal.

    • Pre-Wave lasted 12 months and went live in July, 2013

    •  Wave 1 lasted 20 months and went live in July, 2014

    •  Wave 2 lasted 15 months and went live in August, 2015 and December 2015

    • The 2016 Release is scheduled to go live in July 2016

    • The 2017 Release is scheduled to go live in July 2017

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20. FI$Cal Functionality: Wave 1

    • Use of General Ledger

    • Statewide Chart of Accounts (COA)

    • Procurement and Accounting Functions

    • FI$Cal becomes the primary departmental accounting, procurement, and budgeting System for Wave 1 Departments

    • FI$Cal becomes the System of Record for budget data for the Department of Finance

    • Monitor and forecast cash requirements

    • Automatic accounting entries and bank reconciliations

    • Spend analysis and asset management

    • Plus existing functionality established in Pre-Wave

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21. FI$Cal Functionality: Wave 2

    • Statewide control functions for the DGS Partner Agency deployed

    • FI$Cal becomes the Procurement System of Record

    • BidSync functionality replaced by FI$Cal

    • Vendor records for all State departments integrated into the statewide Vendor Management File (VMF)

    • Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification

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22. FI$Cal Functionality: Future Releases

    • Fully integrated system

    • Enhanced analytic tools including Business Intelligence analytics (OBIEE)

    • Statewide Budgeting

    • Statewide control functions for SCO and STO

    • Transparency website deployed

    • Remaining departments brought into FI$Cal

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23. Accessing Data Within FI$Cal

    • Data is the “common language” in FI$Cal.

    • FI$Cal End-Users Input Transactions to a Central FI$Cal Data base, which then Obtains the Financial Data for Review and Further Processing

    • All FI$Cal End-Users will access a common central FI$Cal database, which is updated daily and unaffected by local server issues

    • With FI$Cal, users can input and extract information from a single, central database. This will allow financial data to be readily and universally available for review and further processing

    • FI$Cal prompts end-users to check their entries, draws attention to errors and confirms that data has been entered successfully.

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24. Accessing FI$Cal

    Once you receive your login credentials for FI$Cal, recognize these facts about how you will access the application:

    • FI$Cal is an online application, with a look and feel similar to a standard internet web page

    • Access FI$Cal using your web browser

    • FI$Cal runs on PeopleSoft (for financials) and Hyperion (for budget planning). Both are Oracle applications.

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25. Menu Options within FI$Cal

    The menu options that display vary depending on the end user’s role.

    Menu options to access FI$Cal business processes will vary, based on the level of access you have been granted in that particular module.

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26. FI$Cal Training Structure

    • FI$Cal provides you training on redesigned Statewide business processes and transactions

    • Any deviation, special exemptions or workarounds specific to your department will be communicated to you by FI$Cal and department leadership

    • It is essential to fully understand the redesigned business processes being established through FI$Cal. They are established to provide a uniform, standardized approach to processes currently carried out in multiple fashions throughout the State.

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27. The FI$Cal Public Website

    • The FI$Cal public website is an ideal starting point to learn about the Project, as well as access important links such as those educating you on:

         • FI$Cal Business Objectives

         • FI$Cal Project Charter and Timelines

         • The FI$Cal Training Academy (FTA)

    • The FI$Cal Website is accessible at:

    www.fiscal.ca.gov

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28. Training Materials & Resources

    • Training material related to SCPRS and CSCR processes will be publicly accessible on the FI$Cal website

    • It is highly encouraged to review training materials before carrying out a transaction in FI$Cal. This will ensure accuracy and re-affirm your understanding of the standardized business processes in place.

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29. Lesson Summary

    The key points covered in this lesson are listed below:

    • Describing the planned rollout strategy for FI$Cal

    • Identifying the departments and transition strategy to FI$Cal for Wave 2

    • Recognizing the core functionality being delivered to FI$Cal within each Wave

    • Describing the FI$Cal Training Structure

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30. Topic 3: SCPRS Processing

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31. Topic Objectives

    After completing this topic, you will be able to:

    • Describe the SCPRS functionality within FI$Cal

    • Understand who uses the SCPRS process in FI$Cal

    • Explain what can be done using the SCPRS functionality in FI$Cal

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32. What You Need to Know - SCPRS

    • With FI$Cal Wave 2, the State Contract and Procurement Registration System (SCPRS) will be hosted under FI$Cal for collecting contract and purchase order spend information from departments

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will manually enter required transactions or use the SCPRS upload to send transactional data to FI$Cal

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will follow SCPRS related policies set by DGS

    • Key processes include:

         • FI$Cal SCPRS Data Entry

         • FI$Cal SCPRS Search

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33. SCPRS – Data Entry

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will report purchase order and/or procurement contract transaction information using FI$Cal SCPRS Data Entry page

    • A change order is created when a change is made to a required field, whether as a result of a change order or an edit to the entry

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34. SCPRS – Search

    • The FI$Cal SCPRS Search page will allow users to search for Purchase Order and/or Procurement Contract transaction information recorded by departments

    • Users will have a variety of search criteria to filter by when searching for transactions

    • Running a search will then allow the user to view detailed transactional information

    • Users do not need to log into FI$Cal to access the Search page

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35. Lesson Summary

    The key points covered in this lesson are listed below:

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will use the Data Entry page to report purchase orders and/or procurement contracts

    • They will also be able to use the Search function to find purchase orders and/or procurement contract transaction information created by those departments

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will also need to follow SCPRS related policies set by DGS

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36. Topic 4: CSCR Processing

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37. Topic Objectives

    After completing this topic, you will be able to:

    • Describe the CSCR functionality within FI$Cal

    • Understand who uses the CSCR process in FI$Cal

    • Explain the key processes of FI$Cal CSCR

    • Understand the difference between a Bidder, Supplier, and eSupplier

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38. What You Need to Know – FI$Cal CSCR

    • With FI$Cal Wave 2, the California State Contracts and Register (CSCR) will be hosted under FI$Cal for advertising State solicitations to maximize competition through advertising State purchasing and contracting opportunities

    • Recall that in FI$Cal, a solicitation is also called an “Event”

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will use the FI$Cal CSCR application to enter information to post a solicitation event

    • Key processes include:

         • Create solicitation events

         • Approve solicitation events

         • Post solicitation event advertisements

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39. FI$Cal CSCR – Create and Post Solicitation Events

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will create a solicitation event by entering complete information, such as an Event Name, Event Description and attachments to provide solicitation details

         • Once a user creates a solicitation event, it will go through a workflow approval process prior to being posted to FI$Cal CSCR

         • The approval process will be initiated when the Non-FI$Cal Department CSCR Processor clicks the “Post” button

         • This is a one-step approval process with ability to insert ad hoc approvers

    • Once approved, the solicitation event will be posted in FI$Cal CSCR for viewing

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40. FI$Cal CSCR – Create and Post Solicitation Events

    • The Create an Event page in FI$Cal CSCR is used to enter information such as Acquisition Type, Method and DGS Billing code

    • FI$Cal CSCR allows State users to invite Bidders/Suppliers to view their event

    • Adding comments and attachments to solicitation events will allow users to provide specific instructions or additional details to Bidders/Suppliers who view the event

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41. Posted Solicitation Events

    • Once departments approve and post their solicitation events using FI$Cal CSCR, specifically invited Bidders/Suppliers will receive an email notification directing them to view the solicitation event

    • Solicitation events that are made publicly accessible will be posted on FI$Cal CSCR for all Bidders/Suppliers to view

    • Interested Bidders/Suppliers must still submit paper bid responses

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42. What You Need to Know –Progress Payments

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will use the FI$Cal Progress Payment page in FI$Cal CSCR to enter progress payment details

    • Users can view reported progress payments

    • The View Progress Payment page will allow public users to enter search parameters and search for posted progress payments

    • Progress Payment information is posted to provide sub-contractors the ability to view payments that have been made to their prime contractor

    • Users can click on the Progress Payment Reference number to drill down to view more progress payment details

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43. Lesson Summary

    The key points covered in this lesson are listed below:

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will use FI$Cal CSCR to create solicitation event advertisements

    • Bidders/Suppliers will use Cal eProcure to view and respond to posted solicitation events from departments

    • Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will use the Progress Payment page to enter progress payment details

    • Public users can search for progress payments posted by Wave 2 and Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments using the View Progress Payment page

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44. Course Summary

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45. Course Summary

    After completing this topic, you are now able to:

    • Understand what FI$Cal is introducing to select State of California agencies and departments

    • Recognize the key components of FI$Cal

    • Explain how FI$Cal’s rollout strategy encompasses a multi-year strategy

    • Understand how Future Wave, Deferred, and Exempt departments will access and enter SCPRS, CSCR, and progress payment data using the FI$Cal system

    • Describe how the Bidder/Supplier community will view and respond to posted solicitation events

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You have successfully completed the "Introduction to FI$Cal for Non-FI$Cal Departments" topic.

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