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Update: State Begins Pre-Implementation Activities for $85 Million CROS Project

At the hearing, project director Chris Caietti told the BOE the CROS team and the project’s primary vendor, Fast Enterprises, are collaborating on implementation activities that will take place in the next year, including finalizing project schedules and aligning project management.

The Board of Equalization received an update at its Nov. 29 meeting on the progress of the state’s Centralized Revenue Opportunity System (CROS) project.

At the hearing, project director Chris Caietti told the BOE the CROS team and the project’s primary vendor, Fast Enterprises, are collaborating on implementation activities that will take place in the next year, including finalizing project schedules, aligning project management, establishing training and testing facilities, and completing technical environment setup.

Fast is also continuing work with the California Department of Finance and the Department of Technology to clarify details on project reporting and a CROS budget change proposal approved by the BOE in October.

Speaking on pre-implementation activities, CROS business manager Trista Gonzalez said staff will receive demonstrations of Fast’s core product, GenTax, November through December. In addition, staff continues to provide Fast better insight on agency needs.

The CROS project will replace the current Integrated Revenue Information System and Automated Compliance Management System, and create an enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence capability, among other improvements.

Caietti said he anticipates staff will begin looking at individual interfaces for CROS after January 1. These functionalities will ultimately be tied into the tax program. 

The new system is projected to enable California to collect anywhere from $40 million to $190 million in additional revenue each year.

The BOE approved an $85 million contract with Fast in August. Caietti said both the fiscal year 2017 and total project expenditures, which are estimated at $2.63 million and $37.2 million respectively, are both on track.

 

Maggie Cabrey is a staff writer for Techwire.