Imagine you are running a university that has been around for over 600 years, with students and staff from all over the world, and a reputation for excellence in research and teaching. Now imagine you have to change your legacy finance system, which is outdated and inefficient. How do you do it without disrupting your operations, compromising your security, or losing your competitive edge?
Empowering Higher Education to thrive in the cloud
That was the challenge faced by the University of St Andrews, a prestigious institution in Scotland that wanted to modernise its finance function and take advantage of the latest technology. To achieve this, they partnered with KPMG and Oracle, who helped them design and implement a cloud-based finance system that would transform their processes, data, and reporting capabilities.
Why change the finance system?
The University of St Andrews had a legacy IT system that was nearing the end of its life cycle and posed a potential cybersecurity risk. The system was also unable to support the complex and diverse needs of the university, which had 19 schools, 30 professional service units, and multiple projects and funding sources. The university needed a new system that would enable them to streamline their operations, improve their financial management, and comply with regulatory requirements.
We have 19 schools over 30 different professional service units. All of those operating a little bit differently. So, bringing in a cloud-based system where there is a single process was an opportunity we couldn't resist.
How did KPMG and Oracle help?
The university chose KPMG as their implementation partner because of their expertise in higher education and their proven methodology for finance transformation. KPMG used their Powered Enterprise approach, which leverages best practices and accelerators to deliver a faster and more effective change. KPMG also brought in experienced consultants who had done similar projects before and understood the challenges and opportunities of the sector.
The university selected Oracle Fusion as their new finance system because of its cloud-based, flexible, and scalable features. Oracle Fusion offered the university a single platform that could integrate with their existing systems and provide them with a project ledger functionality that they lacked before. It also gave the university access to real-time data and analytics, which would enhance their decision-making and reporting capabilities.
What were the benefits of the new system?
After a successful transition the new system went live earlier this year and the university was able to achieve a faster and more accurate month-end process, which freed up time and resources for more strategic activities. They benefited from a standardised chart of accounts, which improved the consistency and quality of their data and reporting and can now future proof their technology and continuously improve their finance function moving forward.
The University of St Andrews, KPMG, and Oracle demonstrated how a cloud-based finance transformation can be delivered in a challenging and complex environment, with minimal disruption and maximum value. The project was a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and best practice in higher education.
As a result of the programme, the University now is future-proof from a technology perspective and it sets them up to continuously improve their finance function going forward.
