Every Oracle EPM Cloud customer gets the same software. The results differ because of design, data and testing. Those depend on the partner you choose.
This guide is for CFOs, finance directors, FP&A and close leads, and CIOs choosing a partner for Oracle Fusion Cloud EPM. It covers what to expect from a partner, how to run the selection, a scorecard, questions to ask, red flags and a checklist. If you want the project phases themselves, read our Oracle EPM Cloud implementation steps.
What you are buying
Oracle groups EPM Cloud into Connected Planning (Planning, FreeForm and Profitability and Cost Management), Connected Financial Close (Financial Consolidation and Close, Account Reconciliation and Tax Reporting) and Reporting (Narrative Reporting). Cloud Enterprise Data Management (EDM) sits alongside them to govern hierarchies and dimensions across ERP, EPM and other applications. The Oracle Cloud EPM documentation lists each one.
Three platform facts shape the partner's job:
- Test and production environments. You build and test in one, and run the business in the other.
- Monthly updates. Oracle updates test environments on the first Friday of the month and production on the third Friday. That leaves about two weeks to retest.
- Tools around the application. Data Integration loads data from Oracle ERP Cloud, E-Business Suite, files and other sources. EPM Automate scripts tasks such as snapshots, file loads, business rules and backups.
A partner who does not talk about all three in the first meeting is selling a build, not a running system.
What a good partner owns
Agree in writing which of these the partner owns, which you own, and which you share:
- Scope and phasing. Which business processes go first, and why.
- Design. Reporting needs, dimensions, hierarchies, rules and process flow, signed off by finance.
- Data integration. Source connections, mappings and reconciliation of every load to the source trial balance.
- Metadata governance. How hierarchies are kept in step across systems, with EDM where you have it.
- Security. Roles, groups and data access tested with real user logins.
- Testing. SIT, UAT and at least one parallel cycle.
- Monthly update routine. A regression script run in each test window.
- Handover. Documents, scripts and training so your team can run the system.
How to run the selection
Step 1: Write down the finance problem
Start with the pain, not the product. A slow group close points to Financial Consolidation and Close. Budgets in spreadsheets point to Planning. Hierarchies that differ between the ERP and reporting point to EDM. List the reports the solution must produce and the dates that matter, such as year-end or budget season.
Step 2: Build a shortlist
Check each partner on Oracle's Partner Finder. Then shortlist three or four firms with EPM consultants who know your business processes. A large Fusion ERP practice does not prove EPM depth.
Step 3: Send a short, specific brief
Give partners the same brief: business processes in scope, entities, currencies, data sources, number of users, reports and target dates. Vague briefs produce proposals you cannot compare.
Step 4: Ask for a design walk-through
Ask each partner to walk through a sample design document and a sample dimension design in a test environment. Watch who presents. The people in the room should be the people on your project.
Step 5: Test their data and update approach
Ask how they map GL segments to EPM dimensions and how they reconcile loads. Ask to see their monthly regression script and how they plan around production update weeks.
Step 6: Score, then check references
Score each partner with the table below. Then talk to references about delivery, not sales.
Step 7: Agree the contract terms
Fix the named team, the phases, sign-off gates, acceptance criteria and what you own at the end.
Partner evaluation scorecard
Score each partner from 1 to 5. Agree the weights before you open proposals.
| Area | What good looks like | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Business process depth | Named consultants for each process in scope, such as Planning, FCC or EDM | 20% |
| Finance knowledge | Leads who understand close, consolidation and budgeting, not only the tool | 15% |
| Design method | Reporting needs first, signed-off dimensions, change log after sign-off | 15% |
| Data integration | Data Integration experience with your ERP; reconciliation built into the plan | 15% |
| Testing | SIT, UAT with real users, parallel run, written sign-off | 10% |
| Monthly updates | Regression script, test-window routine, plan around go-live | 10% |
| Handover and support | Documents, EPM Automate scripts, training, hypercare | 10% |
| Delivery and hours | Named team, overlap with your working day | 5% |
Questions to ask
- Who exactly will design our dimensions, and which EPM business processes have they built?
- How do you decide the level of detail in each dimension?
- Which data sources have you connected through Data Integration, and how do you reconcile them?
- How will you keep hierarchies in step between our ERP and EPM?
- How do you test security with real users?
- What do you run in each monthly test window, and how long does it take?
- When would you postpone a monthly update, and how?
- Which EPM Automate scripts will we receive at handover?
- What do we own at the end: designs, scripts, test cases and documents?
- Which of your Oracle claims can we check on Oracle's own pages?
Red flags
- A slick demo but no sample design document.
- Plans to copy every GL segment value into EPM.
- Data reconciliation left until UAT.
- No answer on monthly updates, or a go-live planned in a production update week.
- Security tested only with administrator accounts.
- Different people at the pitch and on the project.
- Oracle status claims you cannot find on Oracle's pages.
- Fixed timelines promised before scope, entities and data sources are known.
Partner selection checklist
- Finance problem and required reports written down
- Business processes and phases agreed
- Partners checked on Oracle Partner Finder
- Same written brief sent to each partner
- Design walk-through held with the delivery team
- Data integration and reconciliation approach reviewed
- Monthly update and regression routine reviewed
- Scorecard weights agreed before proposals opened
- References checked on delivery
- Named team, gates and acceptance criteria in the contract
- Ownership of designs, scripts and documents confirmed
Our EPM implementation playbook sets out the order of work once the partner is chosen.
How Egisedge helps
Egisedge Technologies is an Oracle Partner, founded in 2019. We implement Oracle EPM Cloud, covering Planning, Financial Consolidation and Close and Enterprise Data Management, alongside Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, HCM and SCM. We have delivered multiple Oracle projects. Our directors bring 20+ years of Oracle EBS and Fusion finance transformation experience and 16+ years of Oracle Finance and SCM experience, so EPM design starts from how finance closes, consolidates and plans.
Our offices are in India. We deliver offshore, with teams covering GCC, UK/Europe, US and Australia/NZ working hours. See our Oracle EPM implementation services.
Choosing an Oracle EPM Cloud partner? Email info@egisedge.com and we will walk you through a sample design and our monthly update routine.
Frequently asked questions
What does an Oracle EPM implementation partner do?
A partner helps finance scope the business processes, design dimensions and rules, build the application, connect data from the ERP, set up security, test with real users and go live. A good partner also plans for Oracle's monthly updates and hands over enough knowledge for your team to run the system.
Should one partner implement Planning, Financial Consolidation and Close and Enterprise Data Management?
It can work well if the partner has named consultants for each business process. The processes share dimensions and data, so one partner can keep the design consistent. Check each consultant's experience separately rather than accepting one general EPM claim.
How do EPM Cloud monthly updates affect the choice of partner?
Oracle updates test environments before production each month. Your partner should run regression tests in that gap, avoid key project dates in update weeks and know how to postpone an update when needed. Ask to see their regression script.
How can we check a partner's Oracle status?
Look the partner up on Oracle's own Partner Finder rather than relying on slides. Then ask for named consultants, sample design documents and a live walk-through in a test environment.
Talk to Egisedge about EPM
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