Changes to Our Financial System: Guide to What’s Different With Oracle and Concur

Oracle Cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning) is now live. Anyone at the University who performs financial activities—including purchasing, budgeting, analysis, and grants management—will now use Oracle. This guide is meant to serve as a starting point to learn about what has changed and should not be considered a comprehensive overview.

The new system has changed many of UChicago’s prior financial processes and replaced some financial platforms, such as BuySite and ePayment. Below is a summary of key changes users can expect with Oracle and the new version of GEMS/Concur.

Oracle’s Chart of Accounts and Project Cost Collection Segments Has Replaced FAS

The new Chart of Accounts (COA) and project cost collection segments, known as POETAF, have replaced the University’s legacy Financial Accounting System (FAS).

• Users will use COA combinations for their standard purchases and financial transactions, or a POETAF string (project, organization, expenditure type, task, award, and funding source) for activities related to projects, University research, and individual awards and discretionary funds (IADF).

• The COA is comprised of 10 segments, each with distinct definition and purpose, and when combined, the COA provides a full view of the financial transaction. Users can leverage search functionality in Oracle to search for the segment values that they need for their particular transaction.

• View this demo of how to use the COA in Oracle to learn more.

Oracle Procurement Module Has Replaced BuySite and ePayment

Oracle has replaced BuySite as the UChicago procurement system and ePayment as the payment request system. Some ancillary systems, such as EasyAccess for invoice intake and PaymentWorks for supplier onboarding, have remained with the transition to Oracle.

• Oracle’s Procurement module is used to submit and approve requisitions and payment requests.

• Enhanced reporting capabilities enable data-informed decision making when it comes to purchasing and payment status.

• All requisitions are approved by the organization financial manager (OFM) or project manager, replacing the terminology “authorize signer.”

• Cost Corrections will be managed through a combination of ServiceNow and Oracle Cloud ERP, which will replace ACCTS.

Orbit Analytics and Oracle Reporting Has Replaced Business Objects

Orbit Analytics is the new data warehouse for the University’s financial data and will be the primary source of information for data consumers.

• Orbit is accessed via the Reporting Hub in Oracle and houses information from Oracle Cloud and other retained source systems. The data is refreshed nightly.

• Reports and Dashboards visible in Orbit vary based on a user's role and in the system. For those with access, the platform updates nightly and will be used for ad-hoc reporting, financial reporting, and analytical reporting.

• Oracle Cloud Reporting is used to report data within Oracle Cloud ERP and provides operational reporting in real time to provisioned transactional users.

New and Enhanced GEMS/Concur

GEMS/Concur, the system of use for the reconciliation and approval of business expenses and GEMS transactions, was upgraded alongside the launch of Oracle. Please be aware of the following functionality and features, and changes to the approval process.

• Approvals of expenses, advances, credit card applications, and card modifications will now be routed to and completed by the organization's financial manager (OFM) or project manager, not the supervisor.

• The number of expense types has been reduced for user ease. A list of GEMS expense types can be found on the FST Intranet. All expense types will be available in Travel and Non-Travel expense report types.

• View this one-pager about Concur to learn more.

UChicago Software Licensing Now in Kivuto

Software Site Licensing purchases will not be available in the new Oracle procurement portal. However, a new UChicago Software Licensing portal is now available through a University partnership with Kivuto.

Changes for Software Purchasers

• To place a new software order, visit the UChicago Software Licensing portal at uchicagosoftwarelicensing.onthehub.com.

• Purchasers will log in to the site with their CNET ID or UCHAD/UCMEDID. Orders may be placed for yourself or for other users. For detailed instructions, please view the Purchase UChicago Software Licensing article.

For more information, please view the Ordering Instructions on the new UChicago Software Licensing portal's home page.

Getting Support with Oracle

The implementation of Oracle is a large transformation for the University of Chicago. Please leverage the resources below as you interact with the new system and questions arise:

• Frequently asked questions, quick reference guides, and other helpful resources are available in the ServiceNow Knowledge Base.

• Create a ticket using the Ask a Question About Oracle or Financial Processes form in Service Now.

• For support call 773.702.5800 to speak to a live agent from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• For more information, visit the Financial Systems Transformation Intranet Site.