The VA's current financial management system is a conglomeration of 48 systems.
The VA's current financial management system is a conglomeration of 48 systems.
Integrated Financial/Logistics Management Standards (IFMS) is a project to
streamline the systems into one complete package. The time line for the project
is:
Phase One: The VA identified critical requirements of current VA processes and
reviewed whether commercial off-the-shelf products exist that can support those
requirements. A cost-benefit analysis was presented to the VA's internal
Capital Investment Board, which approved the IFMS project Sept. 1, 1999. A
budget request to fund the project for fiscal 2001 was included in the
department's request to the Office of Management and Budget.
Phase Two: The VA is preparing the request for comment and request for
procurement. Booz-Allen &Hamilton Inc. will facilitate the business process
re-engineering in these areas: accounting/general ledger, budget, contract
management, purchasing, payment management, inventory management, asset
management, receivables processing, debt management, travel and grants. Also, a
series of data surveys will be sent to the owners of about 60 systems asking
for their data dictionary and design documents.
Phase Three: The procurement effort will begin with the September 2000 release
of the RFP. A group of experts will examine the products and rank them. The
recommendations and analyses of the procurement team will be made to the
secretary of Veterans Affairs, who will decide by about April 2001 what
product(s) the department will acquire.
Phase Four: In about October 2002, the VA will begin a phased implementation of
selected products. The system will be tailored, if necessary, to handle the
newly re-engineered processes. The target completion date is September 2003.