Strengthening New Zealand's critical social services
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With the upcoming expiry of continued support for its existing shared services system to consider, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) went to market with a request for a new financial management information system (FMIS) and an enterprise performance management (EPM) solution.
Tasked with overseeing a wide range of domestic services from citizenship application processes, passport issuance and national archive administration, the DIA relies on its shared services system to carry out essential tasks such as managing accounts payable and accounts receivable. In addition to this the DIA supports seven government ministers and manages 37 appropriations (agencies with the authority to spend a portion of the government budget), so the need for timely, accurate information is paramount.
The existing system was due to be decommissioned in mid-2021, meaning its replacement would need to be operational ahead of this deadline with minimal service disruptions during the switchover. Any delay would prove costly, and effectively halt the seamless operations of the DIA.
Swift but efficient action was needed.
The DIA sent the project out to market tender and selected Deloitte’s Oracle project team, led by Deloitte consulting partner, JP Tocker. From the outset, time was a significant constraint as the team had just 11 months to deliver a wholly independent finance system.
The DIA had not executed an implementation of this scale in such a short timeframe before; however, the organisation was compelled to take on the challenge.
The project kicked off with an eight-week design phase, during which workshops were held with the DIA’s internal project team.
Given the various complexities, these workshops helped the team understand precisely what was required and how the solution would deliver those needs.
“The DIA staff were highly engaged and took ownership of the process. They wanted the best outcome for their organisation, and so did we, which made working together easy,” says Melissa Atkinson, manager in Deloitte’s Oracle team.
It was important that the solutions would need to be functionally robust, to help support the DIA’s central enterprise processes well into the future.
To help the local team with this work, a team of Deloitte Oracle functional and technical consultants in India were onboarded to the project, providing additional expertise and insight. This extensive collaboration within Deloitte facilitated the build of 65 integrations, which connected the DIA’s external systems with the Oracle designed solutions. These complex integrations enabled the various systems within the DIA to operate in unison, enhancing the overall functionality and effectiveness of day-to-day operations.
“It’s of huge benefit for our clients that Deloitte is able to draw on internal experts to deliver on such large-scale projects,” adds Melissa.
The outcome is a fit-for-purpose solution that effectively accommodates for the various financial intricacies of the department. Centralised within the DIA’s software infrastructure, these Oracle cloud integrations empower the department to perform critical finance functions in-house, all of which were successfully delivered in the 11-month time frame.
The project delivered or exceeded the outcomes DIA planned to deliver. That said, it should not be underestimated the time that needs to be put into training users to get the most out of any new system to enable the benefits of the engagement to extend well beyond the organisation itself to all New Zealanders who utilise the functions of the department.
The DIA is an important Government vehicle that keeps New Zealand ticking, providing critical social services ranging from translation through to offshore territory administration, and Deloitte’s Oracle team has helped ensure it continues to drive New Zealand forward into the future.
