Overview

June 13

Financial systems are undergoing a profound transformation in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. From combating fraud to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, organizations worldwide are embracing innovative approaches to modernize their financial ecosystems.

Join Government Technology and IBM for an insightful webinar with industry experts and government leaders at the forefront of financial system modernization. You'll hear expert advice from the Center for Digital Government's Justin Marlowe and IBM's Jill Strenzel, and firsthand modernization insights from James Murray, the Acting Director of Financial Systems Modernization with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and David Nowlan, the ERP Business Solutions Owner with the Government of New Brunswick, Canada.

Here's what's in store:

Dive deep into the key trends shaping the future of financial systems, such as fraud identification, ERP modernization, and the transformative power of artificial intelligence.
Hear firsthand accounts of financial transformation journeys from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Government of New Brunswick, Canada.
Gain valuable insights into the lessons learned, benefits achieved and best practices employed during successful finance modernization initiatives.

Speakers

David Nowlan CPA, CA

ERP Business Solutions Owner with the Government of New Brunswick, Canada

David is an Associate Deputy Minister at the Government of New Brunswick in the Department of Finance and Treasury Board as well as the Business Solution Owner for the Enterprise Resource Planning Project. In this role, David is leading a team of more than 200 business, information technology, change management, data and project management professionals in the transformation of finance, payroll, human resource and procurement activities of the departments, school districts and community colleges in New Brunswick. Most recently, this has included the migration of approximately 13,000 employees from French and English education sectors from old legacy HR and payroll solution to a new cloud platform. David has worked for the Government of New Brunswick for 18 years. David came to his current role through the Office of the Comptroller where he held various roles including Assistant Comptroller and Acting Comptroller. Prior to joining the Government of New Brunswick, David spent time with a public accounting firm and as a Controller with a privately held engineering firm. In his off time, David enjoys travelling and spending time with friends on the golf course.

James Murray

Program Management Branch Chief, Financial Systems Modernization Joint Program Management Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

James Murray is a graduate of the US Naval Academy (B.S. in Electrical Engineering) and the University of Virginia (Masters, Electrical Engineering). James served 12 years in the US Marines performing a variety of roles including a Communications Officer and a Project Officer for the Marine Systems Command. James led Program Analysis Teams for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and helped establish this role for the newly formed Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). James then transitioned to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Joint Program Management Office (JPMO) within the Office of the CFO (CFO) to lead a turnaround of their Financial Management Transformation efforts. James was instrumental in securing the necessary funding, achieving stakeholder alignment, and tailoring the DHS Systems Engineering Lifecycle (SELC) method to set the framework for a successfully ERP project. Serving a variety of roles, including Deputy and Acting Director of Financial Systems, James led the Financial Modernization project. DHS realized a long-standing objective of establishing a global model for financial, procurement and asset management across three DHS Components; Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Each agency went live as planned, audit findings were remediated, and each Component transitioned into operations and maintenance. James is now leading similar efforts for more DHS Components who look to realize the benefits of Financial Modernization.

Jill Strenzel

Partner, Oracle Managed Services Americas

Jill is a Partner in IBM Consulting and leads Americas Managed Services for Oracle. Jill has led multiple strategic initiatives with successful delivery of employee engagements and stakeholder empowerment through use of automation, transparency, emerging technologies, and analytics. Her 35+ years in consulting and 30 years of experience in client initiatives across multiple business functions, technology platforms, geographics and complexities is based on a value-add, methodological approaches and client-centric solutions. Jill’s collaboration with clients is always the key to her success. Jill earned her bachelor’s in business – finance and her master’s in business – organizational behavior, from the University of Notre Dame. She is from the Chicagoland area and participates in her local Boys & Girls Club as well as being an Adjunct Professor.

Justin Marlowe — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Justin Marlowe is a research professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. His research and teaching are focused on public finance, and he has published five books — including the first open-access textbook on public financial management — and more than 100 articles on public capital markets, infrastructure finance, financial disclosure, public financial technology, and public-private partnerships. He is an admitted expert witness in federal and state courts, and has served on technical advisory bodies for the state of Washington, the California State Auditor, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the National Academy of Sciences, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many other public, private and nonprofit organizations. Prior to academia, he worked in local government in Michigan. He is a Certified Government Financial Manager and an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and he holds a Ph.D. in political science and public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Webinar

Modernizing Financial Systems in State and Local Government