PeopleSoft raises the bar with Enterprise Financial Management 8.8

PeopleSoft has announced PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management 8.8, the next generation of its suite of financial applications. The new release includes more than 225 new features and enhancements across 20 applications. This functionality will enable CFOs to meet compliance and profitability demands.

PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management 8.8 will provide enhanced support for financial best practices that incorporate intelligent self-service and embedded analytics. PeopleSoft will also deliver new features that can boost employee productivity by up to 30% while slashing implementation costs by as much as 20%.

"PeopleSoft is delivering on its Total Ownership Experience initiative with the latest release of Financial Management," says Lee Geishecker, VP, Gartner Research. "Customers need solutions that let them focus on running their business, not on running their software. Going forward, enterprise software vendors will distinguish themselves by meeting this need."

PeopleSoft recently engaged more than 200 end-users to test the top 120 most commonly used tasks across 20 applications. Based on customer input, PeopleSoft has simplified many of these tasks with consistent icon-driven navigation and a reduction in the number of clicks needed to execute a task. For example, employee expense reporting was streamlined by more than 50% by reducing the number of screens and introducing a new common interface for expense entry on connected and mobile clients.

PeopleSoft Financial Management 8.8 will streamline the deployment process from start to finish. The new configuration tools will eliminate implementation steps and enable applications to be deployed more quickly and easily. PeopleSoft`s Enterprise Service Automation (ESA) includes pre-packaged business process integration with SAP`s back-office systems, significantly reducing implementation time and cost. In addition, the new direct bank connectivity in PeopleSoft Cash Management and the collections functionality in PeopleSoft Receivables will reduce the need to license, integrate and maintain third-party software.

Best-practice enhancements such as intelligent self-service and embedded analytics will allow users closest to the business process to be accountable, while allowing financial managers to maintain control and visibility.

Trek to the summit

00Days

:

00Hrs

:

00Min

:

00Sec

PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management 8.8 will also leverage advanced technologies to increase process efficiencies. For example, support for XBRL and on-demand processing capabilities in Receivables and Payables will enable real-time reporting. A new condition monitor in Receivables will help manage days sales outstanding. Embedded analytics in Cash Management will give treasurers a real-time view of cash positions throughout the day to improve liquidity and investment returns.

Louisiana-based Entergy is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the US and a PeopleSoft Financial Management customer since 1996. "We`ve been involved extensively in testing PeopleSoft Financial Management 8.8 and are impressed with the intelligence of the applications," says Steve K Myers, CPA, finance operations centre manager, Entergy, Inc. "With the new release, we will be able to set up the rules so the bank accounting and reconciliation processes are done automatically.

"The ability to import and upload bank files automatically in PeopleSoft - without third-party software - should generate significant time and cost savings."

"Finance executives are walking a tightrope, balancing investor demands for improved earnings with multiple compliance narrow regulatory requirements," says Mike Evans, MD of PeopleSoft South Africa. "The new release of PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management was designed to help finance departments do more with less. We have combined a superior ownership experience with intelligent best practices to dramatically increase productivity and drive increased profitability."

The new release also supports global business and regulatory reporting requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley, International Accounting Standards, the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP).