State of Georgia Implements Oracle’s PeopleSoft Applications to Streamline Financial Management and Human Resources Processes

State’s Modernization in Response to Governor’s Commission for a New Georgia.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.- Oracle today announced that the state of Georgia has implemented Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management and Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management to improve visibility into business data, streamline procurement processes and provide self-service human resources functionality to employees.

The state first implemented PeopleSoft applications for financial management and human resources in 1999, as it migrated its legacy system to prepare for Y2K. The state of Georgia recently upgraded to more current versions of PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management and PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management to take advantage of new functionality - allowing the state to upgrade more easily and install patches. The state also uses Oracle(r) Database on the back-end to support its applications. With an integrated, centralized application infrastructure, the state’s agencies can now more easily run their own queries and make more informed decisions.

“With Oracle, we now have a solid foundation in place to move forward with significant projects that will help us improve efficiency and enhance services to our citizens and employees,” said Lynn Vellinga, state accounting officer for the state of Georgia.

Streamlining Financial Management to Help Increase Efficiency and Reduce Costs
In 2003, Georgia’s Governor Sonny Perdue established the Commission for a New Georgia - a non-profit corporation led by private sector senior executives throughout Georgia. The organization’s mission is to bring breakthrough thinking and a fresh perspective to the state government so it can better manage its assets and services and map its strategic future.

In response to the Commission’s work, the state of Georgia knew it needed to examine its financial management processes, including procurement and asset management. Currently, 72 state agencies run Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management to gain visibility into financial data, strengthen financial discipline and automate key processes. The state of Georgia also leverages PeopleSoft Enterprise Purchasing to streamline purchase order processing while strengthening policy compliance.

The PeopleSoft Financial Management applications enable the state of Georgia to easily import spreadsheet data without the need to rekey information, saving significant time in budget preparation. In addition, agencies can run and build queries against the data store to ease various auditing processes.

The state is also in the process of transforming its procurement system to allow for e-procurement. This effort includes plans to implement PeopleSoft Enterprise Supplier Relationship Management. In addition, the state is focused on consolidating banking across its agencies in order to create one centralized view of banking data and to yield maximum interest. As a first step toward streamlining banking, the state recently began a pilot implementation with six agencies on PeopleSoft Enterprise Cash Management.

Providing Self-Service Human Resources Functionality
The state of Georgia also streamlined its human resources management processes in response to the Commission for a New Georgia’s recommendations. Currently, 112 agencies run Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management, which allows the state to optimize its workforce and manage talent, while improving the efficiency of the payroll process. The state uses PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll for North America to issue an average of 125,000 payroll checks each month. The application integrates with other PeopleSoft human resources and financial applications to facilitate accurate, timely management and reporting of payroll expenses.
State employees - more than 70,000 professionals - have access to self-service human resources functionality. The state now posts pay stubs online, saving paper and administrative time. In addition, employees can make changes to their addresses and other personal information without filling out multiple forms. Managers can use the self-service functionality to view employee information including monitoring employees’ leave.

Offering User-Friendly Training for All Employees
The state of Georgia uses Oracle User Productivity Kit (UPK) to provide Web-based training for Oracle applications to all end users. Oracle UPK is a comprehensive tool that enables the state to quickly create critical documentation, training and support materials to drive productivity. With Oracle UPK, the state can centrally develop, maintain and update online training materials, delivering new information to employees’ desktops, at their convenience. In addition, end users can access Oracle UPK resources in real time if they need help or have a question while working in an Oracle application.

“We are pleased to work closely with the state of Georgia as it continues to modernize its financial management and HR processes,” said Oracle Public Sector Senior Vice President, Mark Johnson. “Oracle’s applications are helping the state to operate like a business, providing enhanced services to constituents while maximizing taxpayer dollars.”

The state of Georgia continues to roll out additional applications to support its business processes. Over the next year, the state will implement applications for benefits administration, recruiting, compensation management, cash management and enterprise learning management, among others. The state is also planning to implement Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management across its applications to align the right information and resources to strategic business objectives.