Mega city council's Oracle ERP system still not legally safe, compliant... 2 years after rollout

Birmingham City Council has failed to enter the new financial year with auditable accounting software after a disastrous implementation of Oracle Fusion, which has seen its expected project costs mushroom from around £20 million ($26 million) to around £131 million ($163 million).

The council has now missed its second deadline to get the system fit for purpose in terms of its legal and statutory obligations, despite going live with the software two years ago. Independent auditors had warned the council about the risks of entering the 2024/2025 financial year — which began on 6 April – in this state.

In a council meeting yesterday, councillor Fred Grindrod, chair of the council's audit committee, called for a public inquiry into the ERP implementation, as well as into the council's failure to understand its equal pay obligations.

He said, "We need a clear investigation into what happened, what went wrong, and who is responsible. On Oracle: Why was it turned on when so many problems were known? Why did it take so long to admit there was a problem? Why are we still not safe and compliant? When did we really lose control of the finance ledger?"

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