Implementation and Installation of a Trust Fund Accounting System

The vendor is required to provide to implement and install a trust fund accounting system and procedures for the entire program.
- This accounting system will become the official system of record for budgeting, ledgers, reconciliations, reports, and cash transactions of the unemployment insurance program.
- The system must be fully integrated or fully interfaced, i.e. general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable and fixed assets.
- The system must include an integrated cashbook.
- The system must be able to provide as a minimum basic budgeting facility.
- Accounting system features include:
- Security
• The system must allow an unlimited number of “potential” users subject to licensing requirements
• The system must control user access via an authentication mechanism based on a unique username and password login for each user.
• The system should store the user passwords in the database using irreversible encryption methods.
• The system must ensure that all authentication data and the mechanism itself is protected against unauthorized access.
• The system should allow the system administrator to specify the minimum password length and whether passwords are case sensitive or not.
• The system must not echo the password on screen, instead the system must display an asterisk (*) or similar character.
• The system must allow the system administrator to specify who can amend user passwords.
• The system must log user access (including reporting): date last used, unsuccessful log-in attempts (username, password and workstation).
• The system must log user activities by function.
- Control access
• The system should allow for each user to be assigned to a user group; for example, by job function or departmental structure/hierarchy.
• The system should allow the definition of different levels of access control for each user group to allow for segregation of duties and delegated financial authority levels, for example, supplier creation, supplier modification, invoice entry and invoice authorization.
• The system should provide full access control at both a functional level and a data level.
• The system must not display any function or information to which the user has not been granted access: menus/screens, transaction types, i.e. documents transaction data, i.e. single accounts or groups of accounts.
• The system must apply the access controls to the running of standard and ad-hoc reports / inquiries as well as the core functionality.
- Transaction processing
• The system must permit users to amend or cancel (delete or void) any transaction at any time prior to authorization or the commitment of data to the database, subject to process and user access controls.
• The system should facilitate the correction of mis-postings, i.e. by the posting of a simple reversal transaction.
• The system must allow narrative to be attached to any transaction or transaction line.
• The system should provide a notebook facility to allow diary notes to be attached to any transaction data or standing data; these notes must automatically be stamped with the username and date/time when created; it should also be possible to search notes by date, user name or keyword, and through the use of wildcards or partial data.
• The chart of accounts underpins the financial functionality of the overall system.
• The system should provide a common chart of accounts across all modules, consisting of multiple (at least 5) key elements (dimensions), for example: cost center code, representing a section or department against which income, expenditure or activity is to be recorded.
• The system must permit additions and amendments to the chart of accounts structure without corrupting existing data at any level in a simple and efficient way, i.e. without the need to rebuild the chart of accounts.
• The system should allow each level/element of the account code to be defined as mandatory or optional; for example, the first two are compulsory for all transactions, and the next three to be in the main optional, although for certain purchases, for example a third component may also be compulsory.
• The system should permit the different elements of the account code to be created or amended separately.
• The system should provide for the dynamic insertion of new account code combinations which are created for the first time that a transaction is posted to that account code, provided that all the elements of the account code exist, and the combination is valid, subject to process and user access controls.
- Accounting periods
• The system must provide the functionality to open and close accounting periods to control posting of transactions into current and/or previous/future periods.
• The system must allow multiple years to be open at the same time though posting for ordinary users will only be possible in the current year.
• The system must recalculate all forward balances after posting adjustments have been made.
• The system must warn the user if they attempt to post to a non-current period.
- Data entry, validation, lookup
• Data entry should be kept to a minimum with automation being used wherever possible to reduce the number of keystrokes.
• The system should display the description of the input codes at the time of entry, if required.
• The system must not allow final posting of entries until the relevant validation checks have been performed.
• The system should have the option to produce a validation report once the data has been input, if required.
• The validation report should contain positive verification that the data has successfully passed the checks set out below.
• The system should support wildcard lookups; for example, a drop down list of all matching entries with facilities to allow the user to identify and select the required entry; for example, a list of creditors and their addresses.
• The system must provide the following input controls: data type; for example, alpha, numeric or alphanumeric minimum field size; for example, at least two characters within range/outside limits; for example, valid day within month.
- Contract Period/Term: 2 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: April 14, 2025