South Dakota moves to modernize 36‑year‑old accounting system with ‘Project Bison’; go‑live set for July 1, 2026

The Joint Committee on Appropriations heard a status update on Project Bison, South Dakota’s multi‑year effort to replace its decades‑old central accounting system, on the morning portion of the combined appropriations hearing. Bureau of Finance and Management officials said the state secured implementation vendors and is preparing for a July 1, 2026, go‑live.

The update came from Jim Twiliger and Colin Keeler of the Bureau of Finance and Management (BFM), and Jason Lutz, the project’s state project manager. Keeler told the committee the current core financial system “was implemented in 1988 and it's still running today,” and described the modern platform selection and rollout as urgent because of vendor support and staffing risks for the legacy mainframe software.

Keeler and Twiliger outlined the project’s timeline and procurement history: a feasibility study and RFI/RFP process led to the selection of Oracle Cloud Fusion as the software platform and Sierra‑Cedar as the implementation partner; ISG (Information Services Group) was hired as the project management advisor and Barry Dunn as an independent verification and validation vendor. The legislature provided an initial appropriation of $70 million under Senate Bill 23; BFM officials said negotiated contracts keep the project on the authorized budget and that the project is on schedule.

Project leaders emphasized scope beyond technology. “This is not an IT project… it is a business transformation project first and foremost,” Keeler said, adding that the project will standardize business processes across state agencies and replace many fragmented “shadow” systems. Officials said Project Bison is intended to integrate accounting, budgeting and procurement functions, and to introduce modules the state lacks today — for example, centralized receivables, grants and projects management, contract management, and a supplier portal.

Key technical and budget facts presented to the committee: - The project was authorized by the Legislature in 2023 with a $70 million appropriation (Senate Bill 23). Officials said that appropriation was based on a feasibility study and that negotiated contracts kept costs near that figure. - BFM selected Oracle Cloud Fusion as the ERP/SaaS product, Sierra‑Cedar as the system integrator, ISG as the PMO advisor, and Barry Dunn for independent validation and verification. - Officials identified roughly 170 existing integrations from agency systems to the current accounting system; those interfaces will be reviewed and some will be retired. System integration testing (SIT) and a second round of conference‑room pilots are scheduled before user acceptance testing and end‑user training. - Keeler said the state expects an annual subscription cost (the negotiated software‑as‑a‑service fee) in the low millions and reported a particularly favorable negotiated subscription price; he told the committee the subscription currently runs about $1,100,000 per year. - The contract term with the vendor was stated as 15 years for the full engagement and hosting/license period.

Project staff described benefits the state expects after go‑live: electronic workflows to replace paper routing, a supplier portal where vendors can file invoices and check payment status, a risk management module to monitor segregation‑of‑duties and transaction anomalies, mobile expense reporting, and more centralized reporting and analytics. Jason Lutz described an aggressive but tested schedule: about 14 months of preimplementation work and a 24‑month implementation window leading to the planned FY 2027 go‑live.

Committee members pressed on governance, customization, staffing and procurement. Keeler said the platform is multi‑tenant — the vendor maintains one core code base for all customers and states — and that the state will rely on configuration rather than custom code to avoid upgrade breaks. Senators and representatives also asked about subscription renewals, contract length and the state’s plan for training and change management; BFM said it has a staffed organizational change management effort and a “change network” of agency contacts engaged in design and testing.

BFM concluded the briefing by offering to return with additional updates and answering member questions. The committee recessed after the presentation.