AUDIT COMMITTEE

ORACLE IMPLEMENTATION SUBGROUP

7 November 2024

ATTENDEES:

Councillor Colin Swansborough

Councillor Gerard Fox

OFFICERS IN ATTENDANCE:

Ros Parker, Chief Operating Officer

Ian Gutsell, Chief Finance Officer

John Davidson, Oracle Implementation Delivery Lead

Mark Winton, Audit Manager - Delivery

Sophie Webb, Interim Senior Governance and Democracy Officer

APOLOGIES:

Councillors Matthew Beaver and Philip Lunn

1. VERBAL UPDATE from Chief Operating Officer

1.1       RP updated the subgroup following a successful go live of the first element of Phase 1 – Enterprise, Performance and Management (EPM) and noted that work is progressing on Phase 2, namely Finance, Procurement, Recruitment and Helpdesk.

1.2       RP summarised the lessons learned from the Phase 1 EPM implementation, the first part of which went live in September 2024.

1.3       RP highlighted several organisational and operational challenges which could affect staff and programme readiness to go live with Phase 2 on 1 April 2025 in line with the financial year.

1.4       RP explained the benefits of a 1 April go live date for Phase 2 emphasising the importance of communications and engagement together with the benefits of the Oracle system and interface.

1.5       RP outlined the support model which will need to be in place in time for go-live and summarised the governance work around the programme delivery along with the risks of being able to achieve going live on 1 April 2025.

1.6       RP noted that the achievement of 1 April 2025 as a go-live date was not to be at all costs and that certain core requirements would still need to be met.

2.         DISCUSSION with subgroup

2.1       The Subgroup discussed the following points:

· How the programme would affect staff after implementation of Phase 3.

· The cultural risks around engagement and compliance across the organisation.

· The importance of a robust support model to promote system confidence.

· Proposed aspects of the support model as the programme moves through Phase 2 and Phase 3.

· Communication and training approaches going forward.

· The work of Internal Audit to provide assurance throughout the programme.

· The programme budget and cost allocation.