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BEACON HR/Payroll project fully on line Virtually the entire state workforce is using the BEACON HR/Payroll system now that the second wave of agencies has joined the upgrade of North Carolina's antiquated business systems. On April 1, more than 66,000 Group Two agency employees joined the 19,000 Group One agency employees already using the new system to start conducting their own human resources and payroll transactions. Specifically, the new system allows state employees to update their personal and benefits information, check current and previous payroll data and record their working time from most computers with an Internet connection.
The BEACON system, which resulted from five years of planning and development, was created using software company SAP's enterprise resource planning package. The software is designed to allow future business operations to be added to the BEACON system. The General Assembly already has approved funding to add electronic recruiting, which will keep track of state job applicants; and electronic training, which will handle a number of training-related functions, to the new system. Planning has started on the next phase of the project, which will add budgeting, accounting and cash management functions. When completed, the BEACON system will provide centralized, coordinated business operations that can improve efficiency and provide timely, accurate information for decision-makers and the public. In addition to future projects that fall under the BEACON umbrella, the Controller's Office houses support and training departments. From a support perspective, agents from the BEST Shared Services Center are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday to assist state employees in conducting human resources, benefits and payroll transactions. The training department, dubbed BEACON University, will handle on going training needs for the State's human resources, payroll and financial systems. Web-based training will continue to be available for state employees using Employee and Manager Self Service. Although, no new data will be added to the State's outdated personnel and payroll systems, they will continue to operate until all state entities, including universities, have rolled off the system and all necessary historical data has been transferred. Full details regarding the BEACON program are available on the Office of the State Controller's BEACON website at www.beacon.nc.gov. Controller's Message: At last, .... a little time to catch our breath At last, the BEACON HR/payroll project has been implemented across state government. To be honest, there was a time or two during the five years of planning and development for this day when I wondered if it would really happen. But with the addition of about 66,000 employees to the system on April 1, we are fully oper So where do we go from here? In the Information Age, maybe more so than any other time in history, change seems to be our constant companion. Just as we start getting used to making calls on cell phones, they morph into entertainment centers with music players, cameras and Web access built into them. Just as we learn how to use one computer system, an upgrade or completely different system replaces it. While more change is coming for the BEACON program, we are planning to give people a chance to catch their breath this year, at least figuratively. While the HR/payroll system is up and operating, it needs some time to stabilize and become the standard way we do business in North Carolina. Once people get comfortable using it, they'll wonder how we ever did anything different, but that takes time.We have started the planning effort to add accounting, cash management, budgeting and other functions to the overall BEACON system. That planning is likely to take most of the rest of this year, and it probably will be early next year before we have a design and implementation plan pulled together. We will follow the same sort of course we did with the HR/payroll system, seeking input from core users in state agencies so we can develop a Financials system that meets the needs of agencies while infusing best business practices across state government. It will take a lot of work from a lot of people, of course, but our business office and human resources workers have shown in the establishment of BEACON that they can adapt and adjust to develop business systems that make sense for North Carolina. That will come later, though. For now, take a brief break from the endless onslaught of change. You deserve it. Governor nominates McCoy to become new State Controller Governor Mike Easley has nominated David McCoy to succeed Robert Powell as State Controller when his term ends June 30. The nomination must be confirmed by the General Assembly before McCoy can take office. McCoy has served as State Budget Director during both terms in the Easley administration. He previously served as Transportation Secretary, deputy chief of staff and chief deputy secretary of the Department of Administration under Gov. Jim Hunt. During the administration of Gov. Jim Martin, McCoy served as chief counsel in the Department of Administration and as assistant director of the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs. The State Controller serves a seven-year term. The EAGLE program has landed; will focus on internal control The Office of the State Controller has launched the EAGLE program to strengthen North Carolina's internal controls and give agency managers better information on the risks they face in financial management. EAGLE, which sta The act says clearly and for the first time that agency leaders must ensure that their business operations are following the system of internal controls that have been established by OSC. In that regard, it resembles the federal Sarbanes Oxley Act, which required corporate leaders to personally assure that their financial records accurately reflect the financial condition of the company. But the act went one step farther. It provided that OSC make sure agencies receive the training they need to adequately implement a strong system of internal controls. That is what the EAGLE program is all about. With help from Ernst & Young, OSC has developed a monitoring and training program that will be phased in over the next year. Each agency will be required to perform an annual self-assessment that will help them identify risks and compensating controls that will reduce the possibility of material misstatements or misappropriation of assets. "We believe the EAGLE program will give agency managers a valuable tool that they can use to reduce risks in their financial management,'' said State Controller Robert Powell. "In these times of tight resources, taxpayers expect us to make sure their dollars are carefully handled. EAGLE will help tremendously in that stewardship effort." The program was launched in late February, with a training session for the first group of agencies to use the monitoring system a month later. E-commerce report recommends unified, statewide structure A few state agencies have successfully implemented e-commerce programs that cover a range of services from disbursements to online payments, but North Carolina lacks a true statewide structure, a special Ecommerce Task Force says in a new report to the General Assembly. Instead of a unified system, various agencies, universities and community colleges have embarked on separate courses, developing their own systems. The task force, in the report requested by legislators last year, said a more coordinated approach needs to be developed, with a structure that can accommodate the variety of needs within agencies, universities and community colleges. Recommendations from the task force, which filed its report April 30, included:
BEACON University to offer training in SAP and NCAS The massive training effort that was a critical part of the BEACON HR/payroll implementation will not end now that the project is fully operational. In fact, training for both BEACON and the North Carolina Accounting System is expected to be a continuous process to keep up with system adjustments, changes in business practices and future projects affecting core business systems. Because of that, the Office of the State Controller is establishing "BEACON University," which will combine training for NCAS and BEACON in both classroom and on-line settings. The program, expected to be fully operational by this fall, will use agency "super-users" who already have been trained in BEACON subjects and a staff centralized in OSC who will produce and update training materials and conduct trainer training classes. An analysis of agency trends from 2006 and 2007 indicates that much of the demand for BEACON University services will come from employees hired, transferred or promoted into personnel and payroll positions. During that two-year period there was an average of 650 new hires each month and an additional 70 employees each month who were promoted or transferred. Roles requiring HR/Payroll training represented 3 percent to 5 percent of all jobs in the State. The analysis indicates that 20 to 40 new hires, transfers or promotions will require BEACON University training each month, with numbers that could be as high as 50 in the peak months of January, June and September. On-going monthly training will be scheduled in advance, with ad hoc training in specific areas that will be scheduled as needed. Some basic classes may even be required more frequently than once a month. The training schedule will include 23 NCAS courses as well as SAP courses needed to operate the BEACON system. "Training is a key component of the BEACON system and will continue to be important was we move forward," OSC Deputy Gwen Canady told a legislative budget subcommittee in requesting additional staff to operate BEACON University.
E-commerce conference draws 225 More than 225 representatives of state agencies, universities and other organizations turned out for a statewide conference on electronic commerce sponsored by the Office of the State Controller. The conference on April 23 focused on the services offered through the Statewide Electronic Commerce Program (SECP) administered by OSC. The sessions were designed to help agencies identify how they can more fully participate in e-commerce for both disbursement and collection of funds. Relevant issues pertaining to electronic funds transfer and merchant card processing were discussed and the vendors supporting the SECP also participated. Vendor exhibits were also available during the conference. The conference concluded with agency success stories from N.C. State University and the Department of Revenue.
OSC negotiates agreement to accept Discover cards Agencies that accept credit cards will now be able to take Discover cards under a master agreement negotiated by the Office of the State Controller. The agreement with DFS Services LLC will allow agencies to enroll in the Discover Network Card program beginning May 1. Detailed information regarding the Discover Network Card program, including enrollment forms, can be viewed at: thttp://www.ncosc.net/SECP/SECP_Discover_Cards.html. The State has existing agreements that cover Visa and Master Card, as well as the American Express Card. Those agreements also are available on the OSC website. Questions may be addressed to the OSC Support Services Center at (919) 875-4357, or email OSC.secp.info@ncosc.net . New web sites planned for Cash Management, NCAS DSS users The Cash Management Program has reorganized and redesigned its website to help agencies find the information they need. The improved site, which is expected later this month, pulls together information that had been scattered over several websites, said Amber Young, manager of the Central Compliance Section. "We also have made some improvements to our internal processes to free up our cash management analyst to provide more support to agencies," Young said. The Cash Management Program will offer refresher training in cash management procedures on May 21. Registration for the session is located in the training section of OSC's website. A similar upgrade to the North Carolina Accounting System Decision Support System is expected this summer. Reports needed for the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report previously have been shipped electronically to agency servers, but the new website will allow agencies to use the Internet to access those reports online from a central location. "We expect to be fully online by the end of July and will sunset the former distribution in mid- to late summer," said Anne Godwin, manager of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Section. Financial Section staff will work with agencies during May and June to transfer to the new system. Day-to-day operations for year-end procedures and the CAFR should not change, Godwin said, but the information will be easier to locate and use with the website improvements. Financials Project consultant expected by month's end Now that the State's new HR/Payroll system is up and running, the second major initiative under BEACON is the replacement of the State's budgeting and financial systems. The new system will integrate the budget and financial functions with the human resources and payroll functions already using SAP software. The planning phase will develop a detailed set of functional and technical requirements, along with a corresponding business process redesign approach, for the State's budgeting and financial areas. This work also will include identifying significant changes needed within state agencies, management practices and organizational structures to implement the recommended best business practices. Overpayment audits will soon be underway The Office of the State Controller will soon be conducting overpayment audits for both accounts payable and telecommunications. The occasional audits, which were first authorized in 1999, seek to find double payments, uncredited discounts or other areas where state agencies overpaid vendors. Contractors who conduct the audits are paid a percentage of the overpayments they recover for the State. Previous audits, which covered wide-ranging types of payments and services, covered July 1, 1995, to June 30, 2004. Those audits recovered $4.5 million in overpayments for the State, with about $1.4 million of that total going to the auditors. Later audits showed declining overpayments, indicating that the reviews were helping agencies keep a closer watch on their payments, said Assistant State Controller Julie Batchelor. The new accounts payable overpayments audit will cover the period from July 2004 through June 2007, a longer period than previous audits, to allow for those declining findings. As in previous audits, any findings reported by the auditors will be checked by the agency where they are discovered. If the overpayments are confirmed, the funds will be reclaimed and deposited in the General Fund. The North Carolina Accounting System processed about two million payments totaling more than $1.2 billion during the 2007 fiscal year. The accounts payable audit will include those payments, with the exception of $126 million in medical services expenditures and about $46 million in telecommunications payments, which will be handled in a separate audit. Broniec Associates, headquartered in Atlanta, will conduct the accounts payable audit. Auditors for the telecommunications audit will be decided soon.
So long, John
John Dew, left, receives his retirement certificate from Chief Deputy Controller Gwen Canady at a ceremony earlier this year. Dew had more than 30 years of state service, including stints with the Office of the State Auditor and the community college system. He joined the Office of the State Controller in 2001.
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One of the project's more notable accomplishments was the delivery of 55,794 hours of training over an 11-week period to 2,708 Group Two core users. The strong training effort provided core users at each agency with the knowledge needed to conduct human resources, benefits and payroll transactions in the new system. 
ational. I appreciate the effort that has been made by everybody involved, both here at OSC and in the agencies who have come on board. There has been a tremendous amount of time, energy, thinking and patience expended to get to this point.
nds for Enhancing Accountability in Government through Leadership and Education, grew out of the State Government Accountability and Internal Control Act approved by the General Assembly last year. 
