Texas Comptroller’s Office kicks off CAPPS STARR project to modernize state’s financial systems

The Texas Comptroller’s Office on Thursday announced it’s kicking off modernization of the state’s core financial systems, replacing them with new user-friendly platforms designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The CAPPS STARR Project will involve the state’s Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System, or CAPPS, and the State of Texas Accounting and Reporting Resource, or STARR. In addition to these two systems, the project will replace several of the state’s aging mainframe technologies that have been in use since the 1980s — some of which require specialized expertise and lack modern integration capabilities — with a software as a service platform built for government operations.

According to an announcement from the office of Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock, the new platform will be secure and designed to improve efficiency, enhance transparency and ensure long-term sustainability. The office awarded the contract to CGI, an IT consulting company, to modernize these systems with CGI Advantage, an enterprise resource planning platform, and a new financial management platform.

The STARR project will also include the modernization of three legacy systems — the Uniform Statewide Accounting System, the Texas Identification Number System and the State Property Accounting System. These core systems serve as the backbone of the state’s financial operations, and process more than 42.7 million transactions annually, representing $373 billion in revenue and $378 billion in expenditures during the last fiscal year.

The project will be implemented in phases, beginning with the replacement of the Uniform Statewide Accounting System and the Texas Identification Number System, the announcement said.

“These systems have served Texas well, but technology has changed dramatically and it’s time for an overhaul,” Hancock said in a the announcement. “Upgrading to a modern, cloud-based platform will help us better serve other state agencies, safeguard taxpayer dollars and meet the needs of a growing Texas with forward-thinking, efficient technology solutions… This is more than a technology upgrade. It’s an investment in the future of Texas’ financial operations — one that will allow us to work more efficiently, respond faster to the needs of agencies and taxpayers and maintain the highest standards of accountability, all while delivering savings to the people of Texas.”