Federal Financial managers within CFO organizations are under continuous pressure to control their internal costs, as well as to effectively monitor and support agency service delivery organizations. Outsourcing of many functions to Federal COE organizations is a growing trend. However, agencies remain legally responsible and accountable for financial operations and are increasingly looking for financial and budget management support. Ascella has provided financial management support for day-to-day financial management activities, as well as broader analysis to provide financial recommendations. Ascella is also experienced in developing budget reports, use of budget planning and financial data warehouse support tools.
The Ascella team also has considerable in-depth skills in various software applications that support financial operations. Our staff is experienced in CGI's Momentum system, as well as SAP and Oracle applications that support financial accounting.
With our in-depth technical experience, combined with our knowledge of financial business processes, Ascella is able to efficiently deliver an extensive range of services in Financial Management. Following are some of the areas for which Ascella has provided consulting support:
Whether it is cabinet-level agency Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), government financial managers, or accounting departments, Ascella has the experience to assist in the analysis and reconciliation of general ledger accounts, accrual and cost accounting, budget and accounting operations support, internal controls reviews, and the development of consolidated financial statements. Ascella has provided financial management support to Federal agencies, including day-to-day financial management activities, as well as broader analysis to provide financial recommendations. Ascella is also experienced in developing budget reporting and budget planning support tools.
Momentum® is an ERP solution developed and licensed by CGI Federal. This product has been used by Federal Agencies for over 15 years. Momentum is supported by individual agency IT organizations, by Federal service providers GSA and DOI National Business Center, and by CGI at its secure Federal data center. The Momentum enterprise suite includes optional components for acquisition support, for planning and budgeting, asset management, timekeeping and other functions, as well as standard "adaptors" to support integration with Treasury, e-Travel, GSA and other systems.
The Ascella team has developed considerable in-depth skills on Momentum technologies and has provided support to CGI for some Momentum projects. As a result, we are able to deliver a variety of specialized support services that complement services offered by CGI Federal.
Ascella has provided a variety of implementation support services for other ERP products, including Oracle and SAP. These engagements range from initial product assessments to post-implementation support services. For the Internal Revenue Service, Ascella supported the assessment of the PeopleSoft (now, Oracle) application architecture as a platform for the development of a CRM solution for the Individual Income Tax division. For the Customs and Border Protection, Ascella evaluated the asset management capabilities of the SAP implementation as a potential "integrated" solution that could support operational asset management as well as financial asset management and control.
Ascella's staff includes financial management subject matter expertise, robust understanding of ERP application technical architectures and CMMI Level 2 certified software engineering process capabilities. Additionally, Ascella has experience addressing specific client needs by enhancing existing ERP capabilities.
Financial data warehouse development requires a combination of financial management subject matter expertise, database design and software architecture and engineering skills. Ascella has developed this skill set on fifteen significant client engagements since 2003. For example, Ascella consultants provided data base design support to the CGI Federal software engineering team developing the first Momentum proprietary data warehouse offering. Subsequently, Ascella provided senior software engineering support on the CGI Internal Revenue Service Project, including the design and development of the data reporting architecture. Additionally, Ascella has extensive experience designing and implementing service oriented integration architectures for a wide range of administrative applications integral to financial management business processes.
Ascella has incorporated a data warehouse design and implementation component into the firm's Common Sense® Software Lifecycle methodology. Ascella can assist clients through the full Lifecycle development processes, from requirements definition through deployment. The Ascella methodology is heavily-prototype oriented, proceeding with a rapid sequence of "agile" build cycles in order to ensure tangible progress that conforms to stakeholder expectations.
"Ascella’s contracting rates and cost control management has been outstanding. There have never been any issues or problems related to contract cost or burn rate controls and Ascella’s timeliness on all tasks assigned within SEC has been outstanding."
"As Program Manager on the government side for our enterprise financial system upgrade, I felt that the Ascella Technologies support was outstanding. They are truly one of SEC’s strategic contracting partners in helping to maintain and improve our core financial systems."
"Ascella has been a key contractor at SEC for a number of years. They provide mission critical support to SEC and have a good working relationship with the SEC’s CFO and CIO areas. Based on Ascella Technologies track record, I’m sure we will be contracting with them for support in the future."
"Ascella Technologies works well with Government staff and other contractors. They are very dedicated in meeting customer objectives. They were instrumental in developing a business case and providing project management for a program that is expected to result in savings of$25 million over 5 years."
"Ascella's timeliness on all tasks assigned within CBP has been outstanding. Ascella’s contracting rates are quite reasonable, even for a small business, and their cost control management has been very effective. It is a pleasure to do business with them."
"Ascella provided high quality day-to-day technical and functional support. Throughout Ascella's tenure they have continually provided support that is above and beyond what is required in the contract. They are truly one of CBP's contracting partners in helping to improve the agency."
"Ascella has served as my company’s “virtual” IT Department for two years and is a valuable and reliable business partner. The Ascella team has been highly responsive to our needs since day one. With advice and guidance from Ascella, we continue to invest in improving our operations."
