For DFØ, foreign payments top the list of challenges that universities need a solution for.. Now a committee will solve the problem.
In January of this year, financial systems commissioned by BOTT were introduced to NTNU. It was somewhat delayed because there were a few issues. This was also the case after the introduction.
Universitetsavisa today discussed issues related to employees on rotation and on emergency duty. However, services for this type of employee are not part of the system that BOTT universities have purchased from DFØ.
NTNU employees feel like the salary system isn’t working, now they keep their own shadow accounts
A number of different systems
Bjørn Sæstad, Division Manager at DFØ’s Payroll Division, explains that what is often referred to as the DFØ system is actually a number of different systems, which they provide to a number of different government units. .
– We deliver, among other things, systems for invoices, budgets, payroll, financial systems and a system for employment and contracts. Some of them have been commissioned by universities as part of the BOTT collaboration, and since the beginning of the year also by NTNU. Everything has generally gone well, but there is a bit of a break-in and it always takes some time to get used to the new systems, says Sæstad.
Governing Security Challenges
The biggest problem for them in adapting the systems to the needs of universities has been payments to foreign contractors. As universities are particularly internationally oriented in the state context, this has become a major need. As discussed in several media outlets in the past, there have been major issues associated with this.
– This was mainly related to the US and Canada and security issues. Especially when entrepreneurs are linked to a new country or a new bank. It’s not really a technical issue, as it’s tied to various safety standards and rules, says Sæstad.
Now they have set up a committee to solve the problem. There are three from BOTT, i.e. two from UiO and one from NTNU, who will represent all the universities in the collaboration. In addition, there are also three from the DFØ.
– This is something we have been working on intensively. We have developed a system with SMS verification that foreign entrepreneurs can use, which will go a long way to solving the problem. We will test this with users in the United States. With the participation of universities, we hope to make it even more precise.
Nearly 80,000 payments in total at NTNU
He says there are significant sums at stake for DFØ.
– We deliver to 260,000 state employees, salaried and permanent. The goal is to get good and intuitive solutions. NTNU is a large company with 9,000 permanent employees and 14,000 paid employees. The volume is great, and there are also many payouts, he says.
The volume of payments shows that NTNU is a big company. The number of payments in Norway since the beginning of the year and the introduction of the system at NTNU is 75,852. The number of payments abroad is 2,488.
As far as the files sent to the customer center are concerned, these are ordinary user support files. There are no formal complaints.
– NTNU has done a great job with employees on training. Under the agreement, payroll and accounting staff at the universities receive support from DFØ users, while other employees receive support from the university to which they belong. So it will always take some time to learn a new system. In some areas, as I said, we work closely with NTNU to find the best solutions, says Bjørn Sæstad.
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