Colleagues,

I am looking for some feedback regarding the use of the Oracle Financial
Management System - and the statement one of our accountants made regarding
the system's capability.

We authorize pre-spending accounts for use until award docs are received on
projects that have time sensitive equipment or travel issues. However, when
these accounts are established, we limit spending to an authorized amount
which the guarantor (Dean or Chair) has approved. In reviewing some of
these transactions, we noted overspending beyond the guaranteed amounts. We
followed up and were told by the accounting department that it is
impossible to prevent overspending on the accounts (or any grant account
for that matter) because "no accounting package nationwide has the
capability to monitor and prevent an overspent situation". Being the logic
geek that I am, I have a hard time accepting this response. Can some of you
out there with Oracle fms experience (or other systems used for grant
accounting) offer some confirming comments or (preferably) affirming
counters to this capability statement?

Best,
Thea R. Arocho, CRA
Senior Grants and Contracts Manager
Ohio University
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
105 RTEC
Athens, Ohio 45701
(740) 593-2856 (Tel)
(740) 593-0379 (Fax)

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