Upgrade Advent Geneva and Gain a Competitive Edge

Investment managers rely heavily on the Advent Geneva® accounting system to manage their middle and back-office operations, but they often fall behind on version upgrades. By continuing to use the older version of Geneva, firms miss out on several benefits such as:

• New features and functionalities that offer better and faster ways to book transactions, set up data and run reports
• Using a version that is supported by the vendor and covered under warranty
• Improved system performance that results in faster processing and saved time
• A smoother transition when upgrading the Advent Geneva accounting system in the future

Upgrading the Advent Geneva accounting system is a time-consuming and cost-intensive process that often coincides with its own set of operational risks. This is because the upgrade process involves data migration, historic data reconciliations, RSL/RDL migration, workflow manager setup and custom integration with other third-party systems. For those who have experienced the trials and tribulations of a Geneva upgrade in the past, it’s no wonder the decision to upgrade is repeatedly delayed by firms.

However, with some legwork performed in advance, careful planning and experienced team members, the journey of upgrading can actually be quite predictable and fulfilling. To ensure a seamless process, the IVP Geneva Consulting team has outlined some broad guidelines to keep in mind when planning your next Geneva upgrade:

1. Analysis, Impact Assessment & Budget Estimation:

In order to accurately estimate the amount of effort and time that it will take to fully upgrade, a preliminary analysis of technical and functional requirements should be completed. This includes details of the data to be migrated, custom reports, integration with other third-party systems, etc.

2. Upgrading to the New Version of Geneva:

In order to set up the new version of Geneva, the Advent Global Area (AGA) from the old production system must be copied into the new Geneva. Depending on the asset classes, modules and integrations you have, you can just run the utilities that are relevant, as long as they are identified and completed before starting to use the new version.

3.     Data Migration, Reconciliations & Bug Fixes

While migrating data from the old system to the new system, you should keep in mind that the accounting data might not match due to the new features or alterations made to an existing feature. These breaks should be identified and fixed by applying flags that are provided by Advent. The important data sets that must be reconciled in closed period mode for past periods include investment position and P&L, tax lots, cash receivables and payables, settled cash, and trial balance. Any differences remaining after applying the accounting flags can be removed by booking adjustment entries.

4.     Reports & Data Extract Testing

Any custom reports and queries should be tested thoroughly in the new version of the Advent Geneva accounting system to ensure both RSL and RDL compatibility.

5. Peripheral System Integration & Testing

While doing a Geneva upgrade, all processes related to integration with third-party applications must be tested thoroughly. All cron jobs, scheduled scripts and batch reports must also be set up in the new version to ensure that peripheral system integration works.

6. User Training

To make use of the full potential that the Geneva accounting system has to offer, users must be trained on the features that were introduced between the old and new version. This should include accounting differences across asset classes, new workflows and technical enhancements.

7. Testing

Before going live, the new version of Geneva accounting system must be set up for user testing with the latest data from the current production system. Issues raised by the users during the UAT and parallel testing phase must be tracked and addressed diligently to ensure adherence to upgrade timelines.

8. Go-Live and Post Go-Live Support

The new version of the Geneva accounting system must be set up with the latest data from the production system and components must be retested before the go-live date. After the go-live date, the old version of Geneva will be set as read only, and the new version will be used as the production system. Though, you should have a rollback plan to go back to the old version in case of any unforeseen issues.

The process of upgrading Geneva accounting system can be arduous and time consuming given the amount of work that needs to be done. However, if you follow a well-defined plan and a scientific method to upgrade based on the guidelines above, the journey can be seamless.

Below are some of the important new features in Version 20 and onwards:

IVP Geneva Consulting provides complete upgrade services, including project management, with a team comprised of Advent Geneva subject matter experts like RSL consultants, accountants, operations analysts and project managers.

Leveraging a proprietary and proven model that utilizes in-house developed tools and processes, clients can expect certainty and a smooth transition when upgrading to the new version with the help of IVP Geneva Consulting. To learn how contact us at sales@ivp.in.