The document details Michigan State University’s (MSU) participation as one of 36 early adopters in the implementation of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) new ACM$ funds management system. Prior to this transition, MSU managed funds for approximately 500 active NSF accounts with disbursements averaging $5.5 million per month, utilising a lump sum approach. The ACM$ implementation required a shift to account-by-account fund draws, with a carefully managed conversion timeline between September 2012 and June 2013 involving system testing, staff training, and corresponding reporting adjustments. MSU meticulously planned the transition by ensuring a zero-balance cash-on-hand cut-off prior to converting accounts and worked to align reported expenditures with revenues for final financial reporting.
The conversion surfaced some reconciliation challenges, especially with legacy accounts that required adjustments but were no longer active in the NSF system. Despite initial technical difficulties, like issues with XML data uploads, MSU successfully adapted using alternative methods such as Excel uploads. While the adoption of ACM$ removed the formal requirement for quarterly financial reports, the necessity for detailed transactional reporting at each draw effectively maintained similar administrative workloads. Ultimately, the new system increased the precision and timeliness of reconciliation, albeit with increased time demands for each account-specific draw, leading to improved financial management and compliance with NSF requirements.
