Board pack figures not reconciling to the housing management system

Esther, I need to raise something formally before the next board pack goes out. The tenant arrears and repairs figures the brain is giving us no longer match what the housing management system reports. These don't reconcile, and the gap is not small. The arrears section is the worst, but the repairs backlog is also out. We have had this working properly for most of the past year, so something has changed. My team has checked our own extract and it agrees with the housing management system, so the difference is on the brain side. I have also had three tickets open on this in the last few weeks and each one has been closed without me being able to see the source of the numbers. The board will ask where the figures come from, and at the moment I cannot tell them. Can you show me the source for each of the affected figures, and tell me when the data was last refreshed from the housing management system? I would like this treated as a priority. Kind regards, Helen

Dear Helen, Thank you for writing so clearly, and I'm sorry you've had to chase this. I've logged it as a high priority and copied Dominic Hale, our Support Lead, who has taken ownership of the investigation on the support side. Just so we're aligned on what happens next: - Dominic's team will compare the records indexed from the housing management system against your own extract, section by section, starting with arrears. - We will check when the connector last loaded successfully and whether anything changed at your end, such as a field rename or a change to the export. - I'll send you the source for each affected figure in writing, so you have something to put in front of the board. I'm not going to promise a fix date until engineering have looked at the connector, because I can't control that. I will give you a proper update by the end of tomorrow whatever we have found by then. Many thanks, Esther

Esther, It is now Monday and I have not had the update you said I would have. I am not trying to be difficult, but the pack goes to the board committee this week and the arrears section still doesn't reconcile. Can you show me the source? I need the extract the brain is using for the arrears figures, the date it was taken, and a clear statement of what differs from the housing management system. A general explanation does not help me when the board asks. To be plain about where we are: if I cannot rely on these figures, my team will have to rebuild the section by hand, which is exactly what the brain was bought to stop. I have said this to a colleague in IT as well, and the question of whether we keep going with it is being asked internally. Please come back to me today. Kind regards, Helen

Dear Helen, You're right, and I apologise. The update I promised should have reached you on Friday and it didn't. That's on me, not on your team. Here's where things stand, and I'll be careful to separate what is confirmed from what is not. Confirmed: the housing management system connector has not been loading new records as it should, so some of the figures in the brain are older than the nightly refresh would suggest. That is why they differ from your extract. Not yet confirmed: the exact cause. Dominic is working with engineering on that now and will send you the cause in his own words, with the next update time, this afternoon. I've also asked for the arrears extract with its date so you can compare it with your own, and I'll send it as soon as it comes through. I've logged everything in a written handover note as well, so that whoever supports you next has the full history and you don't have to explain it all again. Many thanks, Esther