Horizontal and vertical information flows in the Kuali Financial Management System

Kuali Foundation

Kuali Financial Management System

Horizontal Flow

The horizontal flow refers to the horizontal flow of information (Lamb, 2009), that transmits information across the organization, or in the case of the Kuali Financial Management System, across different organizations. According to Lamb (2009), "Horizontal flow of information refers to the flow of information across various firms colleges and universities. Since, many colleges and universities would not like to disclose all the information that they hold, Kuali information systems make sure that whatever is freely available from a particular college or university is also made available to all the other members. At the same time, it ensures privacy and security of data by not broadcasting private or sensitive information." (Lamb, 2009)

According to Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, Donovan, Ponsonneault (2006), the horizontal flow of information is a function of divisions, the internal units, and teams or groupings of individuals, which work in unison with the objective of accomplishing an organizational goal or objective. The implication is the information is transferred internally between decision-makers with equal responsibility and authority.

Horizontal flow therefore, involves the movement of information, and not data from one decision-maker to the next within a system where key organizational identifying information remains confidential. However, horizontal flow alone is insufficient to perform the full task inherent to the responsibility of the Kuali system. According to Lamb (2009), "However, since colleges, universities and member firms are direct users and contributors to the information system, data is gathered from these sources using the 'Horizontal' flow of information method." (Lamb, 2009)

Downward Flow

The downward flow of financial information involves the flow into the Kuali system in a manner that organizes the responsibility of the chain of command for accountability of the organization. The system is designed to control the release and submittal of documents. The downward flow of information is the financial information that flows from the top managerial tier of the organization to the lower and bottom tiers of the organization to the rank & file employee.

The data involves financial data critical to the successful operation of the organization. The workflow collated by the system to organize the information in a manner that will expedite supervisor approval in the Vertical and Downward flow of information. The data is any form of document that needs approval. Although the system is optimized to handle the flow of financial deliverables, the workflow of any deliverable subject to approval is the performance objective.

Data Involved

The data used in Kuali Financial System (KFS) include financial data in accounting form, utilizing input box to obtain data via input from an outside source (3rd party). The data includes "assets, liabilities, fund balances, revenues, expenses, budgets and encumbrances." (Lamb, 2009) Additionally, the KFS will use the data to analyze the components into information for external financial reporting.

The General Ledger, Payroll System, and Labor Distribution Module all contain data that is used by the KFS. The Labor Distrubution Module contains data pertaining to salary expense transfer, broken down into unit hours per unit of labor.

Data Manipulation

Third party systems that interact with the KFS input data into the system that is then analyzed under the Accounts Payable Interface and automated Inter-Departmental Billing (Lamb, 2009). The PeopleSoft Payroll is the payroll management system that interoperates with the KFS to facilitate comprehensive human resources management.

The Mosaic Integration Team is responsible for the KFS rollout is ostensibly the responsible group for the successful implementation of the new KFS system. The President's Cabinet and Chief Information Officer will continue to annually assess the requirements for Kuali. Other parties responsible for the information within KFS are staff members that work in the departments of business intelligence, research tracking, reliable administration of HR/payroll, finances, research and student records (Lamb, 2009)

Aggregate Effects

The effect of the move to the KFS is to improve the technology behind the management information systems and the human resources information systems used at the university to track revenues, expenses, and profits. The FRS will be integral to calculating and releasing the University of Arizona's Annual Financial Statement (Lamb, 2009)

"The scope of the areas affected and the IT solutions chosen include:" (Lamb, 2009)

Financials -- Kuali Financial System

Research Administration -- Kuali Coeus

Student Recruiting -- Hobsons EMT

Student Administration -- PeopleSoft Campus Solutions

Human Resources/Payroll -- PeopleSoft Human Capital Management

Budget -- Budget system to augment the Kuali Financial System

Source: http://mosaic.arizona.edu/about_esrp