Central Account Management Services (CAMS)

What is CAMS?

CAMS is the Perelman School of Medicine’s (PSOM) central account management system. CAMS feeds grant and non-grant Penn 26-digit account information to automated billing mechanisms used by core (service center) facilities when charging for services. CAMS allows departmental Business Administrators to manage user access, apply spending limits to accounts they are responsible for, and report on activity against these accounts.

Who can access CAMS, and how often does CAMS interact with the Penn Directory?

  • CAMS Access: All active PennKey users can access CAMS. Students who have not used CAMS must request initial access through the CAMS feedback link. 

    • Penn Directory Interaction: CAMS pulls user information, including email addresses, from the Penn Directory. Changes made in the Penn Directory may take up to 48 hours to be reflected in CAMS.

    • Individual Account Access: This is tied to a user’s relationship to a specific ORG and/or scope of operations. Functional abilities within CAMS may vary from basic “view/request” to “add/remove/modify.” 

What types of accounts are managed through CAMS?

CAMS can manage any 26-digit account string established through the University’s BEN Financial System with an active status.
Accounts can be classified in the following manner:

  • Grants: Accounts pulled directly from the University’s PennERA system, housing funds awarded by federal, state, or local agencies, private foundations, or corporations. Information and authority hierarchies established in the PennERA system will be reflected in CAMS, including owner, account, and any related IRB Protocols.
  • Non-Grants: Financial accounts related to non-grant activities of an ORG and/or parent department. Examples include discretionary or non-discretionary funds.

What are the various user roles in CAMS? 

  • General User: Non-admin/financial personnel (e.g., faculty, students, research/core staff, etc.). Can request access for themselves and/or others to spend on accounts via the "Request Access" link in the left-hand navigation.

  • Senior BA: Primary financial officer for the department and oversees all 26-digit accounts (grant & non-grant) related to the respective ORGS they manage. They can assign ORG Manager, Account Manager, and Core Admin roles within CAMS and delegate authority levels as needed.

  • Org Manager: Assigned by the Senior BA for that ORG. They can manage spending access to accounts within the ORG(s) to which they are assigned. 

  • Account Manager: Assigned by the Senior BA or Org Manager for the account's ORG. They can manage spending access for the account to which they're assigned.

  • Core Admin: Assigned by the CAMS Administrator. They can manage details of the CAMS core as well as External (non-BEN) accounts.