Under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan, California would spend more than $135 million in fiscal year 2016-17 to continue developing its new statewide financial accounting system.
About $100 million was spent on the system, called the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) in 2014-15. The state expects to spend an additional $153 million during the current fiscal year (2015-16).
Funding for development of FI$Cal comes from the General Fund and assessments charged to a broad range of other existing funds.
The project is continuing to roll out more phases and features: the state's new online procurement system and California State Contracts Register (CSCR) posting went live this month. More state departments will continue to be added to FI$Cal in waves through 2018.
On Jan. 7 the state auditor issued its annual report on the status and progress on FI$Cal, as required by statute. The report said FI$Cal has deviated from its project schedule and experienced “widespread” turnover in its management team in 2015.
