CAPSA

1. CAPSA University of Cambridge Commitment Accounting System Target date: 1st August 1999.

2. Project Overview • CAPSA Aims • Improve efficiency. • Provide better information at all levels: • Individual projects and sub-projects • Groups / grants / sections • Departmental • University • Ultimate goal is to change the way the University handles all administrative information.Immediate goal is to modernise our accounting systems. CAPSA open meeting

3. Purpose of this meeting • … is to establish two-way communication with everyone who will be affected. • Present current status of project. • Provide information (as much as we can) • Request your assistance. CAPSA open meeting

4. What is CAPSA? • True on-line real-time commitment accounting with committed cost shown throughout all processes. • Enter purchase invoices and maintain creditors • Raise cheques and full bank reconciliation • Raise orders • Stock movements and balances • Raise sales invoices and maintain debtors • Electronic internal trading (IDNs) • General ledger with full reporting • Equipment data base. • In other words, integrates most of our non-personnel financial activity into a single system, and provides all authorised users with an immediate overview of each budget heading. • Will replace individual group systems CAPSA open meeting

5. How will CAPSA work? • Read-only access available to all authorised users via standard browsers (Netscape, Explorer etc). • One or two dedicated workstations (good PCs) in each section for placing orders, booking goods in etc. • Each group/section/grant etc can have its own authorisation matrix to control spending authorities (i.e., who can spend what on which heading?). • Information available instantly - there should be no further need for monthly and quarterly statements from Accounts. CAPSA open meeting

6. Status • Oracle selected as referred supplier. • Contract to be signed 14th Feb - £4.3M approx. • Oracle post-sales team installed at old RGO building… • … working with University team of 13 to adapt workflow modules to our needs. • Target installation date for 10 largest departments (including Physics) is 1st August! CAPSA open meeting

7. …status... • Departmental Status • Project team in place: • Professor Longair (Head of Dep’t) • Rachael Padman (Project manager) • Simon Jones (Project Secretary) • Derek Reeds (accounts) • Kath Burton (accounts) • Wendy Pettifor (accounts) • Keith Franklin (stores) • Meg Staff (P&C) • Patty Blench (OE) • David Odell (AP) • Anton King (SP) • James Talbut (Computing) • Links with groups and sections established(this meeting). CAPSA open meeting

8. …status • Current Activity • Department has notified project that we require all main workflow modules. • Workflows currently being assessed in detail: • Purchase Order Processing (Meg) • Purchase Ledger (Wendy) • Sales Order Processing (Kath) • Sales Ledger (Kath) • Research Grants (Simon, Rachael) • General Ledger (Derek) • Fixed Assets (Derek) • Stock (Keith) • Next major project will be to define training needs in individual sections: • standard users. • superusers. CAPSA open meeting

9. Final comments • Commitment accounting provides huge benefits to the whole department. • Different groups and sections in the Cavendish have a great diversity of practices. • The system we are purchasing is very flexible and can be adapted to almost all needs... • … but it can’t work if orders are not placed through the system, or not booked in and checked when they arrive, or not authorized promptly for payment. • CAPSA should spur us to introduce good management practice across the whole department. • As the project develops we will be trying to define what good practice is, and to encourage its adoption. CAPSA open meeting