Digital Information Systems Used for Accounting and Corporate Records Management

Marcus (Account suspended) made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Defence

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was successful.

Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Department of Defence,

I understand from APSC your agency is classified as Extra Large Agency https://stateoftheservice.apsc.gov.au/le...

I request information on the following:

* Financial Management Information System (FMIS) - this would be the system that your agency uses to record financial transaction, in your General Ledger accounts, that is the basis of your Financial Statements reported in your Annual Report. An example of a FMIS would be Finance One.

Can you please advise the name of your current FMIS and, if possible, when the current system was adopted/implemented.

* Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) - this would be the system your agency uses to create, manage, use, and/or store all mandatory to archive corporate documents and records. An example of an EDRMs is HPE Content Manager.

Can you please advise the name of your current FMIS and, if possible, when the current system was adopted/implemented.

FOR BOTH: If your agency uses multiple systems, can you please just report for FMIS and EDRMS the system that is predominantly used in your agency. If you agency has rebadged an off the shelf product (uses an internal name for it), can you also provide the name it is called in the agency.

Early reply appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

Marcus

Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Department of Defence,

Apologies, that second part should of read:

* Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) - this would be the system your agency uses to create, manage, use, and/or store all mandatory to archive corporate documents and records. An example of an EDRMS is HPE Content Manager.

Can you please advise the name of your current *EDRMS* and, if possible, when the current system was adopted/implemented.

Yours faithfully,

Marcus

Hall, Janine MS, Department of Defence

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Marcus,

Thank you for emailing the Department of Defence (Defence) Freedom of
Information (FOI) inbox.

Your inquiry, should it be a request for access to documents under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), will be considered and you will
be advised the status of your inquiry by an FOI team member shortly.  At
this stage you inquiry has not been validated as a formal FOI request.

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In the first instance, you should seek access to your Service personal,
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Regards,

Freedom of Information

Governance and Reform Division

Department of Defence

CP1-6-008 | PO Box 7910 | Campbell Park  CANBERRA BC  ACT  2610

E-mail:   [3][email address]

Phone: 02 6266 2200

[4]http://www.defence.gov.au/FOI/privacy.asp

 

 

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Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Ms Hall,

Thank you for your acknowledgment. If at all possible, given the very limited and small scope of this administrative information request, can Defence please provide the details sought before 21 September.

I am seeking the information as part of an essay on information systems in the Australian Public Service, as part of my IT studies, so am working to a deadline.

Yours sincerely,

Marcus

Hall, Janine MS, Department of Defence

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning Marcus

Unfortunately your request in its current form, is not considered to be a valid Freedom of Information (FOI) request under s15(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act. In your request you are seeking information (answers) to questions rather than requesting access to documents. Under the provisions of the FOI Act your request must be for access to documents. Our function is to provide access to information in the form of documents rather than providing answers to questions.

However, our office is currently consulting with the area responsible for overseeing our finance and records management systems to see if they are able to provide you with an administrative response in relation to the questions you have raised.

Our office has notified the area that you would like to receive a response to your request by 21 September 2018. Our office will endeavour to provide a response to you by this date. Please note: if this was to be considered a formal FOI request, the normal 30 day timeframe would apply in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope this helps
Regards
Janine

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Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Janine,

It appears Defence has overlooked that the request was not an FOI request (the words FOI are never used), but an administrative access request, which my email of 12 September 2018 (two days before you replied) makes explicit.

I am aware FOI is for documents not information, which is why it was recommended to me to make an administrative access request instead. I believe para 1.46 of the Information Commissioner’s FOI Guidelines to Agencies refers:

Administrative access to documents

1.46 The Information Commissioner encourages agencies to establish administrative access schemes to give access to certain types of information outside the formal FOI process. Greater access to government information informally or via specific administrative access schemes advances the object of the FOI Act to ‘facilitate and promote public access to information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost’.

Given the discrete and very small scope of information sought (the names of the largest FMIS and EDRMS systems, and if possible, when they commenced usage in the Department), it is appreciated if at all possible, given the very limited and small scope of this administrative information request, that Defence please provide the details sought before 21 September.

I am seeking the information as part of an essay on information systems in the Australian Public Service, as part of my IT studies, so am working to a deadline. I just need examples of various FMIS and EDRMS systems used for various sized public sector agencies (as I am a Queensland Public Servant I already have state examples, but I am unfamiliar with those used federally).

Yours sincerely,

Marcus

Hall, Janine MS, Department of Defence

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning Marcus,

Please be advised that where possible, Defence tries to manage these type of requests administratively, in accordance with section 3 paragraph 4 of the Freedom of information Act 1982, that is, as far as possible, to facilitate and promote public access to information, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost.

As I have previously mentioned, Defence FOI has consulted with the action area for processing a timely response to you. Your inquiry will now be considered closed and no further action will be taken by Defence FOI.

This does not exclude you from future FOI requests on this matter.

Regards
Janine

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Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Janine,

Stating my enquiry is now ‘closed’ is rather confusing when the information I asked for has not been provided.

Can I confirm that Defence has not refused this administrative access request, and that a response to my administrative access request will be received.

Yours sincerely,

Marcus

Marcus (Account suspended)

Dear Janine,

To provide additional guidance, the Department of Veterans‘ Affairs has already responded to this administrative access request, and provided this high quality response https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/d...

This administrative access request requires no more than this type of summary response provided by Veterans’ Affairs.

Yours sincerely,

Marcus

Hall, Janine MS, Department of Defence

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Marcus,

Please find below the information you sought from the Department of Defence on 12 September 2018.

The Resource & Output Management & Accounting Network (ROMAN) is Defence's core financial transaction system based on SAP's Enterprise Central Component 6 (ECC6) which provides the Defence financial functions of:
• General Ledger
• Purchasing (non-logistical)
• Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
• Asset Accounting
• Cost Centre Accounting and Profit Centre Accounting
• Investment Management and Project Accounting
• Banking and Cash Management
• Funds Management

The Budget and Output Reporting Information System (BORIS) is Defence's corporate budget development and reporting tool.
BORIS utilises a combination of two SAP software products - Business Information Warehouse (BW) and Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM).
The BW component of BORIS provides a data warehouse facility that Defence can use to store data that is extracted from a variety of sources, including ROMAN and the Card Management System (CMS).
While BORIS was initially developed to support Defence's corporate budget and output reporting requirement, the BORIS system now supports a number of discrete, yet integrated, components that support Defence's external, internal, and strategic reporting requirements.
When we talk about BORIS, we can refer to the following components:
• Defence Budgeting Process
• Financial Statement Reporting
• Cost Centre Management Reporting (CCMR)
• Procurement Expenditure Aggregate Reporting (PEAR)
• Card Management System (CMS) Reporting
• Commitment Reporting
• Internal Order Reporting
• Ministerial Reporting

Both ROMAN and BORIS where in implemented late 90’s to early 2000’s.

In November 2009, Objective was endorsed by the Defence Committee as the mandatory whole of organisation document and records management system. Previously known as DRMS on the DRN and EDMS on the DSN, the name was change to Objective in 2010, to reflect the name of the software and to delineate the endorsed system from other systems in Defence (which are often referred to as document and records management systems).

Regards
Janine Hall
FOI Operations
Department of Defence | CP1-6-001|
PO Box 7910 | CANBERRA BC ACT 2610
email: [email address]

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email.