Upgrade to Oracle Financials

21 Aug 2024

Our Oracle Financials software will be upgraded later this year

Following the end of the Finance Transformation Project in 2023, we need to undertake a technical upgrade of our Oracle software to ensure it remains supported and updated.

This will be a change from Oracle version 12.1.3 to version 12.2.10. Most functionality will look and feel the same but there will be some tangible benefits for users, which are highlighted below. There will be training available where necessary.

This project is separate to some other work which is progressing under the banner 'Future Foundations'. That project is assessing the business case for a combined Finance and P&OD system, which would not be in use for a number of years.

When will it happen?

The timeline is under review, but the switchover to the new version is currently scheduled for December 2024. The likelihood is that this will move into early 2025 but a further update will be provided should this be the case.

What benefits will users see because of this?

There will be several smaller changes that users will see, but the top three benefits because of the change are:

1. Single Sign-on will change the log-on process so that logging in to Oracle Financials will then look and feel the same as other University systems i.e. with Duo authentication etc. The benefits to finance users is they will only need to remember their university ID and password and not a separate finance one. It will also mean that password changes will be managed via the centralised IT Helpdesk. The Finance Helpdesk will still control all access requests, user roles etc within Oracle Financials.

2. Changes to approvals needed on requisitions will mean any requisitions below £100 will no longer need any approval. The current £5k requirement for double-approval will be increased to £25k. Both measures should save users time and make processes quicker and more efficient.

3. Smart Forms will introduce preconfigured forms for a specific selection of preferred suppliers, the benefits will allow for a reduction in manual entry and will speed up time taken and reduce errors in raising requisitions.