Report to the 87th Legislature: CAPPS — ERP in Texas
CAPPS Program Oversight
Implementing a statewide ERP financials and HR/payroll solution in Texas is no small task. By implementing CAPPS in phases, the Comptroller’s office and participating agencies are learning from previous deployments while improving those to come. Each year the CAPPS project team and the CAPPS Managed Services provider develop a detailed lessons learned document to improve processes for future years. Since the CAPPS program began in November 2009, the ProjectONE/CAPPS effort has undergone regular reviews. Each group of agencies deployed on CAPPS Central is treated as a separate project. All projects undergo oversight by the state’s Quality Assurance Team (QAT), which includes the SAO, LBB, the Comptroller’s office and DIR. The QAT requires regular updates on project status and a final report when a project completes.
This approach provides the opportunity to:
- Manage the large, complex, multi-year CAPPS ERP effort as a series of smaller, focused projects with clear, definable goals subject to oversight.
- Make process and project improvements. With each project, areas for improvement are identified that enhance the overall effort to produce a refined and effective CAPPS deployment plan.
In addition, General Appropriations Act, Article I, Rider 16, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, Report on the Implementation of the Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System, requires the Comptroller’s office to report annually to the LBB by October 1 of each fiscal year on the status of the implementation of CAPPS. Oversight is also provided through a contract for independent analysis of the ERP program.
In 2018, the Comptroller’s office contracted with KPMG to perform a CAPPS SSAE readiness assessment. The results of the engagement provided the control objectives and control tests to evaluate CAPPS during an SOC 1SM audit, and provided recommendations for improvements and identification of any significant weaknesses.
After the first audit in fiscal 2019, KPMG issued Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts System and Organization Controls (SOC 1SM) Report on Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ Description of Its Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System and the Suitability of the Design and Operating Effectiveness of Controls, which found CAPPS control objectives were suitably designed and operating effectively. The SOC 1SM audit for fiscal 2020 also found identified controls are suitably designed and operating effectively. No significant findings or exceptions were noted in either report with any material impact on the effectiveness of the controls.
The CAPPS program also includes monitoring of the CAPPS Managed Services provider and its deliverables.
In July 2020, the Comptroller’s office Internal Audit Division issued An Internal Audit Report on the Audit of CAPPS Managed Services Contract Monitoring (CPA Report 2020-105), which found CAPPS Managed Services Contract Monitoring controls were effective and sufficient. The report did not contain any contract monitoring findings or recommendations.
