Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Corporate Data Warehouse

Challenges

MEEI was looking for a way to avoid manually entering data from multiple financial applications into an obsolete DBase reporting package in order to generate and distribute monthly research reports. DLA assisted in designing and implementing a data warehouse and reporting suite which allows all members of the research community to produce on-demand reports as soon as project and financial data are available.

Key Features

• The database and reports inegrate data from GL, AP, Payroll, Purchasing, and Project Budgeting applications. The data warehouse combines Payroll, GL, and Project data to calculate a projected Salary commitment, and combines AP and Purchasing data to calculate an Expense encumbrance.
  
• SQL Server Reporting Services allow web-based access to 33 financial reports. User-controlled report parameters simplify data selection and sorting. Negative variances and project problems are highlighted. Users can drill down into a series of more detailed reports to analyze issues. Reports can be exported in a wide variety of formats.
  
• Ad-hoc reporting against the data mart is available.
  

Results for MEEI

• Administrators and Researchers have better control over expenses and revenues versus budget, because reports are more timely and accurate, and because they include projected salary expenses.
  
• Grant Accountants spend less time entering data, generating reports, and reconciling reports. Operationally, the application improves the process for calculating secondary costs, and improves cash flow by reducing the need to estimate expenses when drawing on letters of credit.