Financial Performance Management

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COMPANY

Our client is a joint venture providing information technology services to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Headquartered in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, the client employs approximately 500 individuals and has annual revenue in excess of $125 million. With several current contracts, the client is experiencing strong growth and was looking for efficiency in their back office operation and clarity and flexibility in their financial reporting.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE


Our client chose to implement the Oracle eBusiness Suite comprised of nine Oracle Financials applications. The requirements of the implementation were as follows:


  • Ensure compliance with Defense Contract Auditing Agency (DCAA) regulations

  • Establish streamlined processes for entering and extracting data that are consistent with industry best practices

  • Create a single repository for key financial data through the elimination of off-line databases and data sources

  • Ensure all financial and operational data reporting requirements are met for both internal and external users

SOLUTION


Ascendra joined the implementation team nine months after inception as a business liaison between the software implementer and the client’s operations team. The Ascendra consultant ensured the Oracle ERP system performed efficiently and effectively to satisfy the client’s contractual and financial reporting requirements. Along with specific implementation advice and recommendations, Ascendra helped to shape the client’s future business processes and applications configurations in line with industry best practices.

The Ascendra consultant contributed the following:


  • Made use of pre-existing ERP system data and configurable data fields to eliminate the need for an offline database for the tracking of metrics in the Accounts Payable department.

  • Streamlined the process of approving, entering and paying complicated vendor invoices through the use of Item Templates, Blanket Purchase Orders, standard Oracle Applications processing best practices, and a proper segregation of duties across many departments.

  • Identified a potential area of concern related to the proper costing of labor data in the new system. Designed the functional specification, comprehensive testing and validation model for a custom labor costing extension in Oracle Projects.

  • Re-engineered the project accounting solution to provide maximum reporting capabilities without complicating the project structure

  • Enhanced the clients understanding of the Oracle solution by providing briefings, demonstrations and tutorials specific to the client’s industry.

Ascendra Staff added value by partnering with their client to design, develop and deploy an efficient and effective Oracle eBusiness Suite solution. The client is able to focus more time on managing and growing their business with the knowledge that their critical business data is collected consistently, accounted for properly, and reported timely.


  • Eliminated two external data collection and tracking systems by configuring Oracle to collect all necessary information.

  • Increased the efficiency of Accounts Payable by 66% through the elimination of unnecessary steps.

  • Streamlined the organization structure and reduced the number of required organizations by 75%.

ORACLE MODULES IMPLEMENTED


Ascendra provided consulting services for the following Oracle eBusiness Modules:


  • Oracle Financials

  • Oracle Time & Labor

  • Oracle Projects

  • Oracle Human Resources

  • Oracle Purchasing

  • Oracle Payroll