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Government Success: A State Department of Ecology Turned to HSO for Loan Management Functionality paired with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management
Multi-phased transformation helped the department streamline systems across programs to improve revenue processes
About
With 1,700 employees, this state’s environmental protection agency provides services in environmental permitting; technical assistance; inspections & enforcement; contracts, grants, & loans; environmental monitoring & analysis; and more.
Challenge
- Phase 1: There were four revenue tracking systems in place that were specifically created for managing revenue. Unfortunately, these systems were built using outdated technology and were incredibly challenging to modify. Consequently, updating them to align with the evolving business requirements became an unattainable task. As a result, the business needs were being addressed through manual data handoffs, which led to issues such as duplicate entries, errors, concerns during audits, and increased risk due to makeshift "systems" created by the staff.
- Phase 2: Prioritize federal grant accounting and the retrieval of costs related to toxic cleanup. There were over 12,000 toxic sites and associated expenses that the department was handling, a significant portion of which cannot be recovered. Additionally, due to the impact of COVID-19, the Department was functioning with employees on furlough or reduced work hours.
Solution
In Phase 1, HSO successfully implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management as well as HSO's Loan Management solution. This retired/standardized 4 revenue tracking systems across multiple programs, including a $1.4B loan portfolio and $375M in revenue collection each year. The implementation also involved crucial integrations with existing agency and state-level systems, such as accounting, treasury management, web-based grants and loans, and fee calculation.
Having successfully completed Phase 1, HSO continued supporting the department with Phase 2. We built on the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance to replace 3 Federal Grants Accounting and Toxics Cleanup Cost Recovery Systems. The replacement process involved intricate integrations with the existing systems.
Results
The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management and HSO's Loan Management solution resulted in immediate, significant improvement in revenue processes; accuracy of data; federal sub-recipient reporting; and staff efficiency/productivity (for example, fiscal year-end process went from months to minutes). The department was pleased that critical integrations were made between multiple existing agency and state-level systems, including accounting, treasury management, web-based grants and loans, and fee calculation systems. The department has improved their ability to meet business needs and objectives now and, in the future, reduced level of organizational, data security, and audit risk, and improved staff efficiency and productivity, reduction of paper generation and storage.