The WBFin project presents many challenges for transitioning the Walloon public sector to a new financial management system. Key challenges include finding French-speaking consultants, balancing the project with employees' daily work, complying with the 2020 deadline for double-entry accounting while the build phase takes 4 years, ensuring the solution can evolve and connect to other systems, and integrating the new system while managing data from various existing applications. These challenges will be addressed through strategies like using resources from multiple French-speaking countries, optimizing employee time, a phased implementation plan, and setting up interfaces and a migration architecture. The first phase goes live in September 2020 with further work toward the full system by January 2022.

1. WBFIN: WHAT AN EXCITING CHALLENGE!
Sophie Algoet, SAP NRB Program Manager
Christophe Soumoy, Program Director WBFIN NRB

2. 1. Introduction
2. WBFin: Context and subjects
3. The challenges
4. Next Steps
5. Conclusions
2

3. 3
Introduction

4. 1. Introduction
2. WBFin: Context and subjects
3. The challenges
4. Next Steps
5. Conclusions
4

5. Background information
• Financial governance;
• Control / Transparency;
• Optimisation (financial flows);
• Decision support
• Digital process;
• Regulatory compliance
• Common solution to be deployed accros
SPW
Result - a market over 8 years
Strategic Objectives
Context and subjects
• Obsolescence (GCOM= +30 years old &
COBOL based)
• Regulatory requirements (EU) - Double-entry
accounting for the 2020 balance sheet;
• Requirements Walloon Digital Plan 2015;
• 20 years' decision process for the Walloon
Region's new accounting system;
• One SPW but 8 General Directorates of which
one is our counterpart.
• A build phase (build): 04/2018-01/2022 on 4 go life;
• Maintenance of these projects after a 2-year warranty (the RUN);
• Hosting, infrastructure operations (Managed Operations);
• For a budget of €88 million over 8 years including VAT. 5

6. 1. Introduction
2. WBFin: Context and subjects
3. The challenges
4. Next Steps
5. Conclusions
6

7. The SPW applies quite strictly the use of the French language in its projects;
The world of SAP (software publisher, partners and consultants) works in
English;
How can we organise ourselves to find competent and French-speaking
consultants?
A project in French
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8. What's the answer?
Use of resources from different French-speaking countries
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9. The SPW agents, while participating in the project, must continue their daily work
The availability of SPW agents is therefore limited for the projects.
How to limit the impact on the customer in order to be able to carry out both the
daily work and their participation to the WBFin program?
Resources "available" at the SPW level
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10. Optimisation of the use of each available hour of SPW resources
Integration of the project schedule into the SPW activities
Workshop planning includes:
Subject of the workshops
Positioning in the process flow
Presence in person
Subject specific workshops with selected participants
Hybrid approach co-developed with SAP Belgium-Luxembourg
Resources "available" at SPW
Answers?
10

11. Key elements of the SAP Activate Agile approach
(SAP recommendations)
Start with “SAP
Belgium Best
Practices” &
“Preconfigured Public
Sector” (To Be Build)
+
Solution Validation
instead of traditional
Business Blueprint
“Fit to Standard” workshops
with customer at the steering
wheel to drive priorities +
Agile Build
Tailor the solution in short time-
boxed sprints with frequent
inspection points by the customer
= Customer Value, Efficiency and Efficacy
Supported by SolMan 7.2 with Focused Build
11

12. EU has required all public services to publish their 2020 balance sheet in double-
entry form.
The SPW launched the project in April 2018.
How to comply with European regulation while the build phase will take 4 years?
Race against time
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13. Phasing of the program in 4 go life;
A first go life in 2020: the passive phase;
Program fully operational in January 2022.
Race against time
The answers?
13

14. L1 versus L4
Scope & objectives of deliveries
Common L1-L4 SAP Systems for L4 - Active
L1 - September 2020
L4 - January 2022
L2 - January 2021
L3 - September 2021
SAP Systems for L1 - LiabilitiesData loading L1
Loading
L4 data
The SPW carries out its
business activities
through the complete
operational WBFin
solution.
Today
The SPW can prepare the balance sheet
GCOM Interface/Other SPW Sources
Loading
data L2,L3
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15. DTIC wishes to have a solution that can evolve according to future demands;
Solution that must also be able to connect with existing systems in the SPW IT landscape;
Desire to maximise the use of off the shelf solution;
What solutions should be proposed to meet this demand?
Future proof solution
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16. Solutions/Modules of the L4 delivery
The complete set of solutions after go life L4
S/4
(FI, AA, CO,
FM-
BCS,TRM,WF,BP,MM,
PSCD, HR)
xECM
GRC (AC/PC/IDM,
UIL/UIM)
BW/4
BPC
D
M
MDGVIM
PO
CTX
Addresses the integration and communication
between external applications and WBFin solutions
Addresses the BI theme, related reports, budget
preparation and consolidation
Addresses the business issues (finance, accounting,
budget, litigation, treasury, reports)
Addresses central monitoring of access right and GDPR
compliance
Addresses the theme of digital storage & publication,
desktop publishing, budget preparation and
consolidation
SAPSystemsforL4-Active
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17. Transition from budget accounting to double-entry
accounting
For 30 years SPW has been working solely on the basis of budget accounting;
Today, because of the European request to provide a general double-entry
balance sheet, the work must be based on the general accounting;
How to manage this change within SPW?
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18. Transition from budget accounting to double-entry
Accounting
What's the answer?
In addition to the technical projects, a project dedicated to change
management has been set up;
Proposition of a transversal approach to training management.
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19. Change management
Part of the WBFIN program
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20. Integration of WBFin into the SPW architecture
WBFin solutions do not replace 100% of the applications used at SPW.
WBFIN will be integrated in a landscape composed of many business
applications.
WBfin will also have to interface with federal applications such as the
National Registry.
How best to integrate WBFin into existing applications without risking
creating a giant interface spider web?
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21. Setting up the interfaces in service mode
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Data from several locations
What's the answer?

22. Interfaces in Service Mode
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23. Data from several sources
GCOM Systems manages:
Expenses
Non-tax revenues
Litigation
Fonds en souffrance (FES)
The Walloon Regional Register
Other SPW systems contain information vital to the preparation of the
Balance Sheet (Go Life L1)
How to reconcile all this data to have a correct loading during
migration?
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24. Data from several locations
What's the answer?
Setting up a specific task force for migration management;
Collaboration between legacy systems managers and the WBFin
cell;
A dedicated migration architecture that will integrate all inputs.
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25. Conceptual Architecture Temporary Interface Go Life 1
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26. 1. Introduction
2. WBFin: Reminder of the context and subject
3. The challenges
4. Next Steps
5. Conclusions
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27. Delivery of the passive phase (Go Life 1) will start in
September 2020;
Further work on Go Life 4;
Monitoring of change management by the SPW;
See you next year for an update after the start on
01/09/2020.
Next Steps
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28. 1. Introduction
2. WBFin: Context and subjects
3. The challenges
4. Next Steps
5. Conclusions
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29. WBFin a wonderful challenge for both SPW and
NRB/DXC/SAP;
Technical challenge;
Transformation challenge;
Collaboration between the parties = only option
for success.
Conclusions
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30. Thanks!
WBFIN