BearingPoint wins financial system work from Interior

BearingPoint Inc. of McLean, Va., will build a new financial and business management system for the Interior Department under a contract worth $124.9 million over 10 years, if all options are exercised.

Interior Department officials announced the contract award Thursday, saying that it was their highest priority among new IT systems.

The system will integrate financial management, acquisition, property management, grants administration and other subsidiary systems into one used departmentwide. The department has 16 financial management systems, and its administrative processes also will be revamped, according to department officials.

Implementing the system "is a key to the department's modernization of its financial and business management processes and operations," said Lynn Scarlett, assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at Interior.

The new system will offer accurate and timely information that will enable Interior employees to make better decisions about their programs, according to department officials. Interior employs about 70,000 people at 2,400 locations nationwide.

The improvements will allow for more efficient input and retrieval of data, ensuring unqualified audit opinions, according to the department.