By: Christine Claussen
Christine Claussen
The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) modernization program consists of seven initiatives that aim to deliver a core set of integrated IT services to USDA staff and customers. In order for this modernization program to be successful, the various initiatives must collaborate to realize integration points and deliver the most comprehensive and effective solution.
Through the USDA Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI), FSA’s Office of Budget and Finance (OBF) is partnering with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) to replace the current administrative and program ledger systems with a modern, integrated and Web-based core financial management system. At the completion of this modernization effort, all 29 USDA agencies will use FMMI for financial operations.
The MIDAS and FMMI programs intersect in several ways to deliver Farm Programs and obtain the desired financial outcomes (e.g. obligations, disbursements, creating a receivable) for FSA customers. In the future, MIDAS and FMMI will integrate seamlessly using SAP, the commercial off-the shelf (COTS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) package chosen for this modernization program. Though MIDAS will use the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) component and FMMI will use the ERP Central Component (ECC), these two SAP elements exist in the same SAP landscape with tested/proven integrations. Additional SAP configurable system set-ups, such as “Master Data”, were developed specifically for MIDAS under FMMI’s established formats to assist with consistent reporting across the SAP landscape.
FSA and OCFO have provided dedicated resources from both the MIDAS and FMMI teams to work collaboratively and ensure FMMI/ECC processes deliver the desired results for MIDAS programs. FSA is anticipating much activity in the coming months for both the MIDAS and FMMI programs, and both initiatives look forward to their continued integration.
Want to learn more about FMMI and MIDAS relationship and integration points? Visit the FSA-FMMI website for some FAQs and answers: http://fsaintranet.sc.egov.usda.gov/fmmi/frequently_asked_questions.htm
