Mission Statement
The Financial Systems team is responsible for providing functional support, including any reporting needs, to Accounts Payable, Budget and Planning, General Accounting, Grants & Contracts, Payroll, Student Accounts and any other user of the Banner Finance system at Teachers College. Banner is an interrelated suite of software applications used by the Student, Finance, Financial Aid and Human Resources departments of the college. We advocate the efficient and effective use of our integrated financial system, monitor and ensure the quality and relevance of information, and empower the users with the skills to synthesize data into information.
The Financial Systems team acts as a liaison between the above departments and the Computing and Information Services (CIS) department in resolving technical issues related to Banner Finance and related IT systems. We plan, coordinate and conduct systematic testing during upgrades or enhancements to the financial modules. We maintain financial system setups and execute Banner system processes as needed. Any new system implementations or enhancements to the Finance module are either undertaken by this group or in coordination with this group. This includes developing system solutions that fall outside of Banner, such as the TM1 financial reporting tool licensed from IBM and the Unimarket eProcurement application.
Many of the staff at Teachers College use Banner for their day-to-day operations. To help users navigate the system, the Financial Systems team, in coordination with the CIS department, regularly provides basic Banner Finance training to all end users. Emphasis is on Banner navigation, understanding basic Banner Finance forms and an explanation of the monthly departmental budget reports.