Close-out of the Financial Planning Analysis and Reporting System (FPARS) Project

It also envisioned full automation through technology with change impacts on people, processes and ultimately, the culture at the City by enhancing accountability and transparency. The FPARS project goal was to implement a multi-year, service-based, citizen-centric budgeting system. The project met some of the objectives by delivering the following: - An off-the-shelf SAP module "Public Budget Formulation" (PBF), a budgeting tool that has been used for 8 budget cycles and is due to be replaced in two years; -The development of a Service Inventory and inclusion of services in the City budgets; - An inventory of initial performance measures was completed (including service levels); - Some cost avoidance was achieved primarily in Salary and Benefits attributed to a change in budget process leveraging automation; and - Foundational technology that has been leveraged for other large SAP projects such as Employee Self Service/Manager Self Service, Success Factors, Property Tax billing, utility billing, and e-time and divisional data marts. Full implementation was not achieved and the following deliverables remain outstanding: - Integration of People, Processes, Data and Technology to support Automated Reporting, - Predictive Analytics and Agile Data Visualization - A budget that links services to outcomes that support Council priorities and corporate objectives; - A performance management process and automation. After initiating an internal review of the project performance and expected benefits in 2018, upon assessment of the results the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer closed the FPARS project in 2019, thereby triggering the need to produce this close-out report. From 2006 to 2019, a total of $67.1 million was spent on the FPARS project out of a budget of $69.9 million. The cost of FPARS has been fully amortized as the Public Budget Formulation SAP budgeting system has been used for 8 budget cycles and is due for replacement. The foundational technology brought in through the project has allowed for other systems and platforms to be introduced. Cost avoidance savings of $22.2 million in salaries and benefits have been identified. However, it's important to note that a true understanding and validation of the savings and benefits of FPARS and its associated tools has not been completed at this time. Lessons learned from the FPARS project will help guide future transformation initiatives at the City.