The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) has awarded Dunn Solutions Group a contract to modernize and automate its Financial Information Control System (FICS). NCDENR uses FICS to administer and track $800 million in annual funds for the construction and improvement of wastewater treatment facilities.

Originally built using state-of-the-art technologies, FICS now is neither fast enough nor sophisticated enough to meet NCDENR's needs. Also, it does not comply with the State of North Carolina's current software architecture standards, and does not integrate effectively with the State's accounting system and other key financial applications.

Dunn Solutions will design, develop and deploy a new system, Loans and Grants Management System (LGMS). The LGMS will offer better versions of FICS's core features, plus a number of important improvements, including:

• Enhanced reporting and inquiry capabilities
  
  
• Full compliance with the State's forward-looking software and systems standards
  
  
• Improved integration and data-sharing with other State systems

In addition, the new system will be used to manage $420 million in loans and grants for the construction and improvement of drinking-water treatment facilities for NCDENR's Public Water Supply Section. In all, more than $1.2 billion in loans and grants will be managed by LGMS.