2018 is going as fast as the past few years. This is my 16^th column as Treasurer and I want to share with you the progress we have made regarding the Associated Management System (AMS) and Financial Management System (FMS). In the May/June 2017 issue, I wrote about the need for a new AMS and FMS system and I thought it would be appropriate and timely to provide a progress report on the implementation of the two systems. In any professional organization, transitioning from one AMS to a new system is monumental. In fact, it was long overdue that we converted to a new system. Thanks to the Board's approval, we began first by hiring a consultant to assist us in selecting the right product and now implementing it. Below is a progress report regarding the AMS/FMS conversion.

AMS/FMS Conversion

The beginning of 2018 marked a new era in the infrastructure of AAPM. AAPM started the conversion process of its Financial Management System (FMS) and Association Management System (AMS).

The Finance and Information System (IS) teams began the process of converting data from APAK to Microsoft – Great Plains (GP). This process involved:

• Modifying the chart of accounts to conform to GP standards.
• Uploading five years of financial information to the new system.
• Converting vendor files to the new system.

After completing this phase of the conversion process, the next step in the process was for finance personnel to verify and confirm the accuracy of the data which was converted over. After this step was completed, the finance team began to use the new software to process transactions for AAPM including the processing of cash receipts and disbursements. The new system contains many enhancements which will improve efficiencies and strengthen controls over these processes.

Phase II of the FMS conversion is currently underway. This involves implementing the reporting software associated with GP. The association selected the platform BI360 which is a robust reporting program. Ultimately this platform will allow for AAPM to build and automate many of the reports which previously were manually generated in Excel. During the early stages of implementation, AAPM will be able to generate reports created by the team of consultants assisting with the implementation. Beginning in August, staff will receive training on building additional reports to improve efficiencies in the reporting process.

During the Memorial Day weekend, the AMS system conversion took place. In fact, we had planned to do the conversion earlier, however, due to requests from members (especially students taking the board exam) the conversion process was postponed to Memorial Day weekend. Some may have experienced difficulty accessing the AAPM website, however, this was necessary during the switching process to the new AMS system. Data records contained in IMPAK were converted over to Abila NetForum.

Currently the AMS system is accepting payments. The IS team is working diligently to link all pages of the AAPM website to the new database. This process will continue for a period of time. Phase II of the AMS will begin in September when meetings and registration functionality will be added.

I am happy to report that the entire process, starting from the selection of the two systems to the implementation, have gone surprisingly smoothly — thanks to the diligent work of AAPM staff.

Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated as staff work to roll-out the full features of the AMS and FMS.

I would like to thank Robert A. McKoy, AAPM Director of Finance, for his subject matter contribution to this report. Please feel free to reach out to me at mmahesh@jhmi.edu, @mmahesh1, or call me at 410-955-5115, if you have any questions concerning this report.