Walworth County finance staff told the Finance Committee they plan a multiyear effort to modernize the county’s financial reporting and budget software, starting with a detailed review of the county’s chart of accounts and a vendor‑assisted implementation.
The changes aim to rebuild reporting, improve use of existing modules (project/grant/AP automation) and position the county to comply with upcoming accounting standards, finance staff said. Committee members were told the project timeline could stretch over several years and that an estimated $60,000 capital request for 2026 would cover vendor work to redesign the chart of accounts and related reimplementation work.
Finance staff said the county’s general ledger structure dates to February 2006 and that some existing Crystal Reports work is out of date; a vendor has proposed a bundled report‑writing tool and modules the county already owns, and staff recommended reusing those modules rather than buying a brand‑new enterprise system. The committee heard that reconfiguration is likely to be much less expensive than replacing the entire system.
To support the work, staff proposed converting an existing recovery grant manager position into a high‑level finance role to lead implementation. Finance staff described that candidate, Rich Abbott, as having prior experience with general‑ledger implementations and existing relationships across county departments. County leadership indicated the plan would preserve some of the position’s administration and strategic planning duties while assigning a significant portion of the incumbent’s effort to the finance modernization project.
Committee members asked about timing, expected costs and whether the vendor’s forthcoming AP automation module would be required; staff said the $150,000 already budgeted for capital projects will move the project forward in 2025 and that the additional $60,000 would be requested in 2026 if needed. Staff presented the work as foundational — reworking the chart of accounts, rebuilding reports and retraining users — with potential benefits for grant accounting, capital planning and budget presentation.