California's effort to build a single IT system for budgeting and accounting within state government could soon face a tough choice: either add another $100 million to the project budget, or scale down some functionality in order to keep the project on track.
That's one of several findings from the California State Auditor, which on Thursday released its annual mandated report examining the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal).
FI$Cal, which is both an IT project and, as of 2016, its own state department, was given approval last year to add an additional two years to the project schedule and $237 million more to the project's overall budget — which now stands at $910 million.
In a statement sent to Techwire and other media on Thursday, FI$Cal Director Miriam Barcellona Ingenito responded to the auditor's report:
"The more rigor and scrutiny brought to FI$Cal, the stronger the project will be. FI$Cal has hit all major milestones so far and is on track to meet those that remain. We’re also working closely with all of our oversight entities to ensure a high-quality system.”
If FI$Cal does need to add more funding, it could put the budget north of $1 billion — well below the $1.6 billion the system was initially projected to cost in 2005, but much higher than the $673 million price tag estimated just a few years ago.
The auditor's report provides more details about possible scheduling delays, concerns about knowledge transfer, and independent project oversight and IV&V.
"If these delays continue and start to compound, the project team may find it necessary to extend the schedule yet another year, which the sixth SPR [Special Project Report] estimates could increase the project’s costs by roughly $100 million. Alternatively, if these delays continue and the project chooses not to extend the schedule further, it will potentially have to reduce the features or the quality of its delivered product in order to meet its deadlines," the auditor's letter said.
Accenture is the system integrator of FI$Cal, under a seven-year $298 million contract, which itself has increased by about $85 million since it was awarded in 2012.
FI$Cal, in its January 2017 internal newsletter, said it's implementing a new change request system for state customers, and other improvements.
