Funding provided to upgrade Financial Management System

Treasury Board President, Joan Marie Aylward announced today, that funding of $2.1 million will be provided over the next two years to upgrade information technology. Financial Management System (FMS) is government�s financial system used to process payments, record revenues and receipts, and process all the other day-to-day financial transactions.

The Financial Management System is the "books" of the province. It allows the Comptroller General to prepare the Public Accounts of the province for tabling in the House of Assembly. Managed by the Office of the Comptroller General, it is used by all government departments.

In 1998, Newfoundland and Labrador was the second jurisdiction in Canada to implement the FMS government-wide. It was done on time and within the projected budget. The FMS is based on the Oracle financial suite of products which is now the system of choice for seven provincial governments and most federal government departments. Periodically, all major software products are updated by suppliers to keep up with changing technology. All jurisdictions in Canada using Oracle have updated or are planning to update to the new version. It is also necessary for this province to upgrade its financial system. A total of $1 million has been allocated for that purpose in 2003-04.

Media contact: Glenn Bruce, Communications, (709) 729-6793.

2003 03 27                                      3:40 p.m.