Integrated Web-Based Grants Management and Reporting Solution
Solix Case Study
Situation
A Midwestern state with 350 local agencies needed an end-to-end solution to streamline federal and state grants managed at the local agency level (e.g., county, provider, service location). The primary goals were to improve cash flow, optimize Federal revenue recovery and compliance, implement statewide regulations, and identify and implement best practices for statewide federal financial reporting for Health and Human Services agencies. The state also required that the chosen solution provider possess highly experienced, client-focused policy experts on staff with the ability to deliver a state-of-the-art, web-based solution that could be implemented in less than 10 months.
Objectives
- Improve cash flow and reduce payment cycles for local agencies.
- Enhance federal program compliance at the county and state levels.
- Enhance federal revenue reimbursement.
- Minimize audit risks and the potential for federal pay-backs.
- Maintain and track federal and state grants in a compliant and auditable manner.
- Assist in roll-out of federal and state policies and best practices through a centrally controlled and maintained system.
- Integrate with the statewide accounting and case management systems.
- Provide flexibility for local to customize for their operational needs.
- Offer online, real-time data analysis and reporting functionality to enhance critical decision making.
Challenges
- Ensuring statewide compliance while offering operational flexibility at the local agency level.
- Gaining buy-in on best practices implementation by state and local agencies.
- Interfacing with multiple agency financial systems.
Solution
- Coordinated and facilitated regular User Groups with state and local agency representatives to design operational flexibility for local agencies while ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations and directives.
- Conducted and assisted with User Acceptance Testing with selected team of state and local agency users.
- Provided fully-reconciled data integration with state accounting system and multiple case management systems.
Results
- Developed, configured, and deployed statewide system based on agreed design requirements within budget and ahead of schedule.
- Delivered web-based system with end-to-end solution including Budget Allocation, Cash Draw, Expenditure Reporting, Cost Allocation, Consolidation of Data, and Federal Reporting.
- Improved cash flow and reduced quarter-end closing process from three months to one month (67% reduction in processing time).
- Implemented best practices and automated federal revenue recovery and compliance.
- Deployed analytical functionality to assist local agency executives in performing sensitivity (i.e., “What-If”) analysis.
- Consistently achieved or exceeded all service level targets.