Customer Story: Elsinore Valley

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A GOVERNING AND GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY

Water District Rethinks Financial Operations

in the Cloud SPONSORED BY

From Legacy Systems to Lasting Resilience

EVMWD’s existing ERP system was outdated, so finance processes remained heavily manual. Invoices had to be matched to purchase orders, and keeping different spreadsheets current was daunting.

“It was hard to get data out of the system,” Cardoza says. “We were doing everything manually — exporting to spreadsheets, duplicating effort across teams and operating with a chart of accounts that didn’t reflect best practices.”

This fragmented and siloed environment slowed the team’s work, increased the risk of errors and made audits more time-consuming.

EVMWD chose Infor CloudSuite Public Sector to modernize its financial operations processes. The new system runs in a multitenant AWS cloud environment, where multiple organizations securely share the same

infrastructure without sacrificing performance or data privacy.

By moving to the cloud, the district was able to eliminate on-premises infrastructure, strengthen resilience against natural disasters and deploy modern financial tools.

“They weren’t spending time figuring out how many servers to buy or which data center to use,” says Jonathan Hatmaker, global alliances senior manager at AWS. “That undifferentiated heavy lifting was managed by AWS, so EVMWD could focus fully on solving their business problems.”

Change Starts with People

Implementing Infor CloudSuite Public Sector meant coordinating people, processes and data. While executive leadership backed the project from the start, its success relied on engaging staff at every level.

E lsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD) in California faced growing demands for financial transparency, efficiency and audit readiness. But outdated

systems and manual processes made it difficult to meet those expectations. Like other agencies, EVMWD was eager to transform its processes to improve public services. Updating its ERP system was a natural solution.

To modernize its financial operations, EVMWD transitioned from a legacy environment to Infor CloudSuite Public Sector, supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The new system allowed staff to step away from time-consuming manual tasks and take a fresh look at how their work was organized.

By restructuring their chart of accounts and adopting more efficient workflows, the finance team gained greater clarity and control. Infor’s user-friendly tools and AWS’s reliable cloud infrastructure helped Elsinore simplify daily tasks, strengthen audit readiness and position its finance team for future needs.

“We improved current processes and positioned our organization for the future,” says EVMWD Accounting Supervisor Teri Cardoza.1 “Our next phase can leverage artificial intelligence and more automation.”

Key steps included:

☑ Getting organized. Staff across departments discussed why each fund existed, how it was used and what could be consolidated.

“It was a daunting task,” Cardoza says. “But it was essential. If you don’t include everyone, you don’t understand all the ways the system is being used.”

☑ Hands-on testing. A dedicated conference room was turned into a test environment. Staff rotated through scheduled blocks, entering real transactions in both the legacy system and the new one. They compared outcomes, asked questions and saw how workflows would change.

“Giving them that opportunity helped reinforce trust,” Cardoza says. “They saw the system worked, and they got to ask questions.”

☑ Changing habits. For some, the hardest part was trusting automation to manage work they had always done manually. Testing real workflows in advance gave them the confidence to move forward.

☑ Expert guidance. Infor’s consulting team bridged the gap between the legacy system and Infor, using its knowledge of both systems to translate old processes into the new environment.

“Change management is about people,” says Todd Donzelli, senior director of AI and automation solutions at Infor. “Technology evolves, but it’s user adoption that determines success. EVMWD got that right.”

Modern Workflows Bring Clarity

EVMWD reevaluated how day-to-day financial tasks were managed. The finance team significantly cut down on repetitive manual tasks, including invoice matching and account validation. Most workflows now run automatically, and staff only step in when some- thing requires their attention.

As work has become more streamlined, staff have shifted their focus from data entry to more strategic activities for improving service levels and customer satisfaction.

“You don’t hire accountants to do everything manually,” Donzelli says. “You want them analyzing data and supporting departments. When they can focus on that, they’re happier and more effective.”

Those improvements extended to audit preparation as well. By restructuring the general ledger and eliminating unnecessary funds, the team created more consistent data and clearer financial records.

“We’ve had audits since then, and I’ve been able to get through them with no problems and a fraction of the time,” Cardoza says. “The structure made it much easier.”

Moving to a cloud environment also eased the burden on IT. With Infor running on AWS, the district no longer needs to manage physical servers, install patches or handle infrastructure upgrades.

Conclusion

By modernizing financial operations with Infor and AWS, EVMWD improved efficiency and strengthened oversight. The project moved forward with careful planning and strong executive support, along with a willingness to rethink longstanding systems. Staff spend less time on repetitive tasks, which makes audits smoother and frees them to focus on more urgent work.

“We now have a system that can grow with us,” Cardoza says. “It gives us the flexibility to adapt and be ready for what’s ahead.”

With the cloud, the district no longer needs to manage physical servers, install patches or handle infrastructure upgrades.

Customer Story: Elsinore Valley

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