Report to:	Audit Committee
Date of meeting:	13 February 2026
By:	Chief Operating Officer
Title:	Audit Committee Oracle Subgroup Update
Purpose:	To provide an update to the Audit Committee of the Oracle Subgroup’s most recent activity

 

1          Background

1.1       The Committee at its meeting in September 2021 approved the establishment of a Subgroup to provide oversight of progress with the Oracle implementation programme, seeking assurance that the programme is performing adequately.

 

1.2       The Oracle Implementation Programme was established by the County Council in 2019. Prompted by the expected expiry of support for the Council’s existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, SAP, the vision for Oracle is ‘to implement a suite of back-office systems that best meet the current and future needs of the Council and which provides optimal return on investment’.

 

2          Supporting information

            Work of the Subgroup

2.1       Since the last update to the Audit Committee on 21 November 2025, work on Phase 3 of the Oracle implementation (HR and payroll) has progressed and is now well into its User Acceptance Testing (UAT) period with a planned exit of mid March 2026. The ability of the programme to successfully exit UAT will influence the earliest go-live date that would be achievable for this phase and options are therefore still being considered for this.

 

2.2       Since 21 November 2025, the Subgroup met on 16 January 2026 and a summary of the minutes is included in Appendix A. The information presented to the Subgroup is included in Appendix B.

 

2.3       At this meeting the Subgroup recognised the positive progress made in both the technical elements of Phase 3 and the significant engagement being undertaken with the organisation as part of ensuring that staff are ready to use the new system. In addition, the continued work on Phase 2 was noted, in particular the planning being undertaken in the run up to the first year-end in Oracle.

 

3.         Conclusion and reasons for recommendations

3.1       The Committee is recommended to note that the Committee’s Oracle Subgroup has reviewed the Council’s Oracle programme to its satisfaction and continues to receive regular updates.

 

 

ROS PARKER

Chief Operating Officer

Contact Officer:          John Davidson, Oracle Delivery Lead, Tel: 07534 699102

Email: john.davidson@eastsussex.gov.uk

 

 

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:     

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