UCI’s Kuali Financial System (KFS) team is helping UCI departments prepare for transition to KFS next year.

As noted in an earlier article, the Kuali Financial System (KFS) is new, comprehensive software that integrates UC Irvine’s core financial functions, including general ledger, procurement, budget, disbursing, and travel reimbursement. It will replace UC Irvine’s more than 30-year-old financial system, which is paper-intensive and has become increasingly difficult to support.

In addition to the KFS web site, where the project and its goals are described, OIT has created a Wiki which includes resources to help departments plan for the transition, links to training, and other key information.

UCI’s mission focuses on education and research, but there is a business enterprise which makes that possible.  Accounting and Fiscal Services, in partnership with OIT and other units, are working to implement the Kuali Financial System (KFS) at UCI.  KFS is a product of the Kuali Foundation which aims to provide community sourced software to higher education.

UCI’s current financial system is almost thirty years old and is increasingly difficult to maintain.  Moreover, the campus has grown in size and complexity beyond what the current financial system can readily serve.

KFS is an integrated suite of financial software which will replace a range of financial sub-systems, enhancing ease-of-use, software consolidation, work transparency, and administrative efficiency.  Departments will enjoy a number of benefits including better quality financial data from a single authoritative source.

Community sourced software draws on the knowledge of coalitions of experts and can be used without paying licensing fees.  In the case of Kuali, that coalition comprises higher education institutions.  UCI has been a member of the Kuali Foundation for several years and ramped up KFS implementation efforts in 2011.  The current plan is to deploy KFS in July 2013.